Member for Burnett Stephen Bennett has condemned the new Labor State Government for scrapping the former State Government’s Agricultural Energy Council.
Mr Bennett said the committee was formed late last year by the then LNP State Government to work with key industry stakeholders to tackle electricity prices for irrigators.
“The Agricultural Energy Council gave irrigators a voice straight to cabinet,” he said.
“We had two Ministers on that committee working with leading farm groups on electricity issues, and now Labor is cutting regional Queensland off at the knees.
“We had taken strong action and were already putting downward pressure on electricity prices for farmers, we stopped the increases and engaged with the best people in the industry sector.
“We had an absolute definitive plan in our short three years in government and put all that work in place and started to see real and tangible outcomes.”
Mr Bennett said the move was evidence Labor had absolutely no plan or interest in the bush.
“Labor set electricity costs soaring and has no policies to help farmers,” he said.
“They have axed something that was going to start long-term sustainability for electricity prices.
“The hypocrisy is that it’s going to cut jobs – people will be forced to leave the land.
“Everything that was done that was positive by our previous government is being axed, in particular those reforms that were put in place to help our farmers.”
Mr Bennett urged the Labor State Government to reinstate the Agricultural Energy Council.
[ENDS] 26 March 2015
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