15 August 2016
The Member for Bundaberg and her Labor Government has ignored the pleas of local farmers and further insulted them by forging ahead with aggressive vegetation management reforms.
Member for Burnett Stephen Bennett said the 150 farmers, fishers, real estate stakeholders and property rights representatives who took to Bundaberg’s main street in protest against the regressive anti-agriculture reforms last week had been snubbed by the local Labor MP who continued to support her government’s farmer-bashing tactics in the lead up to a parliamentary vote on the laws.
Mr Bennett said the Palaszczuk Labor Government had taken its farmer bashing to a new level of dishonesty following the Environment Minister’s recent claims that Labor’s drastic new controls on vegetation management won’t affect agricultural productivity.
Mr Bennett urged locals to see through Labor’s insulting and misleading portrayal of farmers as “environmental vandals”.
“Labor’s manipulation of data and accusations that farmers don’t care about their land or the native wildlife it supports is offensive and simply not true,” he said.
Mr Bennett said the member for Bundaberg had failed to stick up for the rights of local farmers.
“Leanne Donaldson has turned her back on farming families in the Bundaberg region. She didn’t even have the courtesy of meeting with the farmers to answer their questions when they rallied for fair laws. Instead, she was busy living it up at the Ekka,” he said.
“Clearly, the member for Bundaberg and, ironically, the Agriculture Minister doesn’t understand, or care, about our farming families and the impact it will have for consumers.”
Mr Bennett urged the member for Bundaberg to think about the region’s farmers and the impact the controversial laws will have on them when she heads to Cabinet today, where the future of the tree clearing laws will be considered.
Mr Bennett said the LNP’s sensible vegetation management laws achieved the right balance between protecting the environment and supporting agriculture across the state.
Mr Bennett vowed to stand proudly beside his LNP colleagues to fiercely fight Labor’s Bill when it comes before Parliament.
ENDS.