The debate around a single representative body for cattle in Queensland often featured on North Queensland Register pages in the 1980s.
The national president of the Cattlemen's Union, Ian Park, and executive director Rick Farley set the ball rolling with meetings throughout the north of the state, where the Hughenden branch urged the executive not to let the issue die, after the National Party's cattle committee failed to achieve any results. At the same time, the United Graziers' Association, the forerunner to today's AgForce, said it was not willing to split its cattle and sheep operations.
To force a referendum on the issue, Mr Farley said would require a joint approach from the Union and the UGA, and the union would then have to achieve a 50 per cent response from cattlemen in the state, and of those, 60 per cent would have to vote in favour of a statutory body.
Pointing again to the UGA's reluctance to change its attitude, he said another possibility may be the establishment of a state structure similar to the National Farmers Federation.
Under that, the UGA and the CU could each provide an agreed number of delegates to a Queensland Cattle Council.
Retiring CU Charters Towers branch president Ian Stuart, Doongarra Station, said that with persistence and dedication, ways would be found around producers who belong to no organisation.
"To have tried and failed is better than to have not tried at all," he said.
- This story first appeared in the North Queensland Register's 130 year souvenir edition.
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Sally Gall
Based at Blackall, CW Qld, where I've raised a family, run Merino sheep and beef cattle, and helped develop a region - its history, tourism, education and communications. Get in touch at 0427 575 955 if you've got a story idea for me.
Based at Blackall, CW Qld, where I've raised a family, run Merino sheep and beef cattle, and helped develop a region - its history, tourism, education and communications. Get in touch at 0427 575 955 if you've got a story idea for me.
