In State Parliament this week, Member for Burnett Stephen Bennett went into bat for cane growers across the state by supporting laws that would have forced milling companies and QSL into arbitration when they failed to agree on the marketing of grower’s sugar.
Mr Bennett said he continued to put canegrowers, their families and mill workers first, while Labor continued to back a foreign-owned milling company.
“The legislation we introduced would have provided for formal arbitration to resolve any future deadlocks in contractual negotiations between sugar millers and sugar marketers – in the same way arbitration is available to resolve deadlocks between canegrowers and sugar milling companies,” Mr Bennett said.
“These proposed laws meant that when on-supply contracts between milling companies and QSL can’t be reached, both parties would have been forced into compulsory arbitration.
“Our interest has always been to ensure that cane growers have genuine choice in marketing.
“This has dragged on far too long and put our third largest agricultural industry at risk – an industry that supports thousands of farming families and mill works in regional Queensland,” Mr Bennett told Parliament last night.
Mr Bennett took the opportunity in Parliament to congratulate local growers and millers in the Bundaberg and Burnett region for moving forward professionally to provide growers with genuine choice in marketing for Grower’ Economic Interest sugar.
“They have shown maturity and are getting on with the job in the best interest of our growers,” he said.
“I acknowledge Bundaberg and ISIS mills, along with Maryborough, who have been able to work through the new marketing contracts to provide their growers with the economic choice in marketing for the grower’s economic interest of their sugar.”
Mr Bennett said he was bitterly disappointed the Palaszczuk Labor government failed to stick up for canegrowers and voted down the LNP’s sugar bill.
Mr Bennett vowed to continue to stand by farmers and work with the industry.
ENDS.
Thursday, March 2, 2017