AgForce was pleased to see over the weekend an announcement from the Premier of an additional $5 million to further expand wild dog fencing in western Queensland.
AgForce has been lobbying both the Federal and State governments for years about the importance of managing wild dogs, so funding for more fencing is welcome.
Wild dogs cause significant impacts on the cattle, sheep and goat industries in Queensland through predation, disease transmission and lost production due to stress.
In a 2008/09 report, it was estimated wild dogs cost the grazing industry $67 million a year, with some anecdotal reports suggesting the cost now exceeds $100 million.
It is vital this new State Government funding gets out on the ground as quickly as possible and isn’t chewed up in administration costs.
I note the Premier has said this funding for wild dog fencing flowed from a meeting she had with graziers in January – that she listened and then acted.
AgForce would like to see the Premier listen and then act on graziers’ concerns about vegetation management laws as well.
Rather than just listening to noisy green groups in the city, the Premier and her senior Ministers need to see and hear first-hand from the regional Queensland families who will be most affected by their proposed changes to the Vegetation Management Framework.
Last Friday, AgForce put in our submission voicing total opposition to the proposed changes.
AgForce highlighted our opposition to the removal of ‘high value agriculture’ from the framework, the re-introduction of the reverse onus of proof, the re-inclusion of high value regrowth as an additional layer of regulation, and increasing category R regulations.
We also outlined a series of actions government could take to develop laws and regulations that have bi-partisan support and provide certainty for all stakeholders, especially landholders who are sick of constant changes in this space.
So while the wild dog funding is welcome, if the Queensland Premier really wants to be a ‘Friend of Ag’ and boost the bush, she would scrap her government’s job-destroying vegetation management laws and engage in some real consultation with those most affected.
