PROPERTY RIGHTS AUSTRALIA
“The erosion of private property rights is the single biggest issue
facing the rural community. It creates uncertainty, stifles investment,
job creation and threatens incomes and service delivery.”
Members’ Newsletter – 2nd October 2014
The need hasn’t eased for an organisation such as Property Rights Australia to speak out with a strong, clear, independent voice against the ongoing erosion of property rights affecting the ability to manage your land, diminution of value, amenity of living and to continue to make an income. There are certainly more than enough issues needing the attention of the volunteers on the PRA board.
Members are important
I would like to encourage members who haven’t already done so to fill out and return the member survey sent out on September 16th. For those who received the survey by email could you please look for an email from PRA on the 16th of September in your Inbox and print it out. If more were able to help even just once a year it would make a big difference.
There are many small ways you can help your organisation to be affective that require no qualifications or any great set of skills. In many ways advocating a point of view to politicians or to the media is a numbers game. By simply attending the PRA conference or to an event at which PRA would like to make an impression sends a message of an active, interested membership. Your bum on a seat can make a difference. I would like to thank those members who responded the call and attended the Qld parliamentary committee hearings in Toowoomba & Mackay.
Letters
Another small way that members can help is by writing letters to the editor. The letters don’t have to be long or any masterpiece of writing. It merely has to say why you believe any particular issue is important to you. Don’t be daunted by not knowing every last bit of technical background information about the issue that you are writing, after-all your letter is not a news article providing information rather a call to the powers to be to provide greater considered attention to an issue. A steady trickle of letters from the ordinary members will be more effective than a letter from the chairman of PRA. It is seen as the role of the PRA chair to be advocating a point of view but a few letters from outside the board shows a greater genuine concern.
In today’s Qld Country Life there are letters from Deputy Premier Jeff Seeney and from resource industry lobbyists defending the newly passed Mineral & Energy Resources (Common Provisions) Act. The PRA board would like to ask you as an ordinary member to consider writing a letter in response.
It is also noticeable that the Minister’s office is monitoring the small local newspapers and is responding to any dissent about the M&ER (CP) Act. If you are able to it would be appreciated if you could scan any letter from government MP’s in support of the bill and email the scan to the PRA office.
Great Barrier Reef Regulation
The issue of the Great Barrier Reef, the exaggeration of the damage to the reef and laying the entire blame at the feet of the agricultural sector is again on the rise. It could well be an effort to affect the outcome of The Reef 2050 Plan now open to public comment until October 27.
http://www.environment.gov.au/marine/gbr/reef2050
On Monday’s ABC Radio Qld Country Hour dispiriting remarks were made of “Older cane growers and graziers have been singled out in an independent report as being part of the reason better farm practices have not been more widely adopted to protect the Great Barrier Reef,” along with calls for detail record keeping to be made available along with greater regulation.
PRA will continue to refute the misinformation that all scientists believe that farming with canefarmers in the front row and livestock producers especially cattle are solely to be at fault for the reefs woes as we did back in June in this article. http://www.queenslandcountrylife.com.au/news/agriculture/general/news/farmers-scapegoats-in-reef-debate/2701038.aspx
One very experienced marine scientist Walter Starck recently had published the opinion article”It’s the science, not the reef, that is being polluted.” http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=16659
Amendments to Qld Water Act
Joanne Rea is currently researching the changes and preparing a submission that is due next Thursday. There will be a lot more detail in the next newsletter but in the interim Joanne writes:
The amendments to the Water Act will be every bit as important as the Common Provisions Act. PRA will make a submission within its area of expertise which includes “make good” provisions.
It is concerning that the “Water monitoring authority” will be the holder of the mining tenement. I am concerned about the process in the case of a dispute about “make good.” It appears that the mining company will be judge, jury and expert witness if a court process is required.
The previously untouchable concept of “stock and domestic“water will be able to be regulated by this Bill. They have been separated with different provisions for each.
It may not be acted upon by this Government but it is extraordinary that an LNP Government has inserted the provision which could be a time bomb for it or any future Government to act upon.
https://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/work-of-committees/committees/AREC/inquiries/current-inquiries/26-WaterReformOLA14
Powerlink
Anyone involved in negotiating High Voltage Power Infrastructure for the sole purpose of the Private Coal Seam Gas Activity in North West Surat Basin needs to be aware that both Santos and Origin are offering annual “Goodwill” payments while the infrastructure is being used by the resource companies to power their wells or 30 years whichever is the lesser. If the payment has not been offered, PRA suggest that these Gas Companies be approached by impacted landholders as these annual (plus CPI) payments will be a separate written agreement to that occurring under the Acquisition of Land Act 1967.
Regards
Dale Stiller
Dale Stiller, Chairman
Property Rights Australia
Phone: 07 49213430
Fax: 07 49213870
Email: pra1@bigpond.net.au
www.propertyrightsaustralia.org
STAND YOUR GROUND