Members’ Newsletter
12th March 2015
Dear members
Firstly I would like to apologise for the time between newsletters. Sometimes the business of trying to look after our members interests gets in the way of communicating with them.
Election
The election result was a shock with the Labor Party promising during the election campaign to look after the Great Barrier Reef which could easily result in the regulating farmers in the catchments; reversing changes to the Vegetation Management Act and investigating animal welfare at every stage in the chain from Paddock to plate. No acknowledgement has been given that we already have laws and codes which govern each of these stages. A committee to do this has post-election already been set up.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-03-03/animal-welfare-board-advise-best-practice/6274980
http://www.queenslandcountrylife.com.au/news/agriculture/general/politics/new-lessons-for-new-ag-minister/2725671.aspx
http://www.queenslandcountrylife.com.au/news/agriculture/cropping/general-news/canegrowers-cans-cokes-reef-project/2725000.aspx
Board meeting, Roma
Before the election result was declared but with the writing very much on the wall the PRA board met in Roma on the 10th of February. Because of the spread of distance usually board meetings are held by phone hook-up but with so much to discuss the effort was made to get together for a lengthy meeting.
Beef Week, AGM & Conference
After the many visitors in 2012, PRA will again have a stand at the 2015 triannual Beef Week at Rockhampton in the first week in May. At the board meeting in February it was decided that it was too much having Beef Week & the Conference in consecutive months. It would be impossible to have a full day conference during beef week but it would be possible to hold an hour long AGM followed by a meal together. Since the constitution requires PRA to have the AGM before June 30 it was decided that the AGM will be on Thursday 7th May and the conference would be split to August 22nd in Emerald.
More details soon.
Restructure Grassfed Beef Industry
Board members, Ashley Mackay & Joanne Rea on behalf of another organisation, Australian Meat Producers Group are still working on the restructure of the grassfed beef industry arising from the Senate Inquiry into grassfed levies which many of you made submissions to. If you would like to know more some discussion is unfolding at this blog: http://www.huntblog.com.au/
Joanne this week had an article published at Beef Central: http://www.beefcentral.com/uncategorized/ampg-grassfed-plan-does-not-throw-baby-out-with-the-bathwater/
It is also still important that you vote at www.cattlereform.com
Chinchilla Forum & Hopeland worry
Chairman Dale Stiller was recently invited to speak at a Conference on CSG in Chinchilla on February 28. He spoke on the value of diversity in highlighting the shortcomings in the effects of CSG. His full address can be found here.
The day before in the nearby cropping district of Hopeland landowners were told not to dig more than 2 metres as “combustible gases” had been found by EHP. The cause is yet to be determined but suspicion is focused on the nearby Linc Energy Underground Coal Gasification project where coal had been ignited underground.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-03-03/hopelands-gas-in-soil-fears/6274618
Bank penalising poor environmental track records
The NAB has recently announced that they will be measuring their rural clients against an “index” of good stewardship. We have no idea at this stage who is constructing the index or supervising it but it will likely be farmed out to one of the environmental groups.
The carrot is that those with good stewardship “may” be eligible for an interest rate cut. This is a correction from an earlier version where those with poor stewardship would be penalised.
My question is “How will someone fare on this index if they have had, for example, three years drought”? There are numerous farm practices that may or may not be included.
One must also ask how many Governments, groups and organisations want a say in our paddocks.
A financial institution above all others should be aware of the pressures that we are already under and not adding to the Green tape we already experience in order to make themselves appear more Green in the eyes of a gullible urban population.
Newman resource legislations
Under the previous State Government we put in a great deal of work on the Mineral and Energy Resources (Common Provisions) Act, the Water Act and the Regional Interests Planning Act. There may be some of these legislations or supporting regulation that are yet to be enacted. If this is the case the new minister may decide to send them to review. During the election the ALP indicated that they would either repeal or amend these legislations. We are yet to know if this will occur.
Regards
Dale Stiller
Dale Stiller, Chairman
Property Rights Australia
Phone: 07 49213430
Fax: 07 49213870
Email: pra1@bigpond.net.au
www.propertyrightsaustralia.org
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