, , ,

Both sides funding ‘farmer-bashing’

BOTH sides of politics are blaming farmers for perceived damage to the reef in a bid to win over metropolitan votes. While Queensland Labor is being blamed for spending taxpayer money to demonise farmers through the Reef 2050 Water Quality program, the attacks are being funding by the LNP at the Federal level. Both parties and both governments should hang their heads in shame for the way they are treating farmers and I call on them both to withdraw taxpayer funding from the program and use it to support industries that keep taxpayers employed.

These political parties can’t just place all the blame on farmers without considering the impact our urban population has on water quality. I would go up the Pioneer River, where the fresh is, and drink water out of the river any day but I don’t think the Premier (Annastacia Palaszczuk) would do the same in the Brisbane River any time soon.

The Pioneer River is surrounded by sugar cane farms from top to bottom but Mackay still has the second best drinking water in the world.  For the Reef 2050 funds to be spent on demonising farmers and driving them out of business instead of actually making a difference on the reef is a travesty. The LNP in Queensland likes to pretend they are the friend of the farmers but they never let on that their Federal counterparts are funding this lunacy.

I wrote to the Prime Minister about this issue and asked for taxpayer funds to be withdrawn from the program. The Prime Minister, in his reply, pointed out some of the positive support being offered to farmers to voluntarily change their practices, but he doesn’t’ mention what happens with the millions of dollars in untied funding gifted to the water quality program. The truth is the whole program, including the disastrous measures being implemented by the State, are funded by both the major parties.

 

KickStart – Reef 2050

/0 Comments/by
,

Rocky road for traffic flow

Mount Morgan residents face a long wait before the Burnett Highway fully reopens. The highway at the entrance to Mount Morgan has been partially closed since heavy rain caused a rockslide in March this year, leading to long delays and plenty of frustration. It’s incredibly disappointing it has already been two months without anything happening to fix the problem. If this was a partial closure of George Street in Brisbane, it would have been fixed long ago.
The Department of Transport and Main Roads has at least confirmed a survey and detailed design for the repair work has now been completed. The department is now looking for a contractor to carry out the works, which is encouraging. However, while construction work will commence by July, it is not expected to be completed until late this year.
I have previously written to the Minister requesting an urgent fix for this problem, given the impact on locals and local industry. This is a key highway for a number of industries and the extended time delays is a major inconvenience for locals making trips into Rockhampton.
The boulder (about the size of a small car) that came to rest beside the road has been removed and technical experts have inspected the site. As a result of the inspection, the department imposed a single lane restriction with a reduced speed limit. At this stage, those restrictions will remain in place until the work is completed. TMR has rejected a proposed widening of the highway at the site to allow two-way traffic on the basis of cost and the time it would take to build.

I continue to advocate for urgency on a full opening of the highway. It’s not just slowing down trucks and buses going about their business but it’s slowing down everyday life and worker commutes. Workers are finding themselves sitting in the dark early in the morning, with no traffic around, waiting for a traffic light to change.

/0 Comments/by