THE minority Palaszczuk government is on a collision course with Queensland’s 4000 cane farmers, with Labor maintaining its opposition to LNP-introduced laws giving growers a say in who markets their sugar.
Agriculture Minister Bill Byrne announced today he would make a freedom of information request to the Commonwealth to discover what the final Productivity Commission report says about regulation in the Queensland sugar industry.
“This is an extraordinary step, but it’s a bid to save our sugar industry and there is no time to lose,” Mr Byrne said.
“The LNP are threatening to introduce further regulations on an industry that has been significantly damaged by their 2015 amendments to the Sugar Industry Act. They are threatening to do this despite sugar millers warning it will put the entire sugar industry at risk.”
Mr Byrne’s threat comes despite the legislation having the support of farm group CANEGROWERS and marketing company Queensland Sugar Limited (QSL). The legislation has been strongly opposed by the Australian Sugar Milling Council.
Hundreds of growers also met in Ingham and in at Ayr in the Burdekin at the weekend demanding sugar milling company Wilmar finalises negotiations with QSL. Wilmar is the only one of seven milling companies not to have reached an agreement with QSL.
The LNP says it will introduce mandatory arbitration legislation if negotiations are not finalised between the two companies by February 28.
“The industry has real fears that these new amendments being planned by the LNP put the whole industry and the thousands of jobs it supports at risk. The Government shares those concerns,” Mr Byrne said.
“Before the LNP defies the industry with its job-destroying legislation, all MPs should know the Productivity Commission’s verdict on the impact of the 2015 amendments.
“Federal Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce should release the Productivity Commission report without delay.
“We know that the draft report said that the 2015 changes were counter-productive and likely to restrict competition, innovation and productivity growth.
“It said re-regulating the industry was also likely to constrain innovation in marketing and continue to limit the premiums available to sugarcane growers.
“Further it said that the costs of the Sugar Industry (Real Choice in Marketing) Amendment Act outweigh the benefits and that repealing the Act could enable consolidation and productivity gains which would enhance the international competitiveness of the sugar industry.
“No surprise then that the draft report’s single recommendation was that the Queensland Government should repeal the amendments.”
Mr Byrne said it would an act of economic vandalism for the LNP to introduce further regulations without knowing the details of the final PC report.
Mr Byrne said the Palaszczuk Government’s position before the legislation passed was that contracts between millers and growers should have been resolved by industry through normal commercial means.
