Scenic Rim farmers hit by Labor’s water meter attack
Scenic Rim MP Jon Krause says a Queensland Government proposal to require farmers to pay for and install expensive metering equipment on pumps in dry rivers and creeks is yet another disgraceful blow for farmers from the Queensland Labor Government and the proposal should be immediately dumped.
Many of the rivers and creeks to be metered are dry due to drought, yet Government papers show that farmers would be forced to install meters at a cost ranging from $8,000 to $12,000 for a small point to $90,000 to $100,000 for the largest pumping point.
“This proposal is a huge kick in the guts for farmers enduring the worst drought in living memory.”
“Where do the Government think the money for this is going to come from? Do they think people just have this type of money sitting around in their back pocket? How out of touch they are.”
“I have had people on the land break down in my office because of the drought – this drought is cruel, the fires add another layer of misery, and now this? It might be just a proposal, but when people are using every last cent to try and save their farms, even the prospect of this type of outrageous charge is the last thing they need right now. Even talk of another tax, and and that’s precisely what this would be, is cruel and a disgraceful thing to be “consulting” about at this point.”
“It is a disgraceful act from a disgraceful Government that seems to delight in doing things to force people out of farming.”
Mr Krause said he had heard from farmers from different parts of the Scenic Rim Electorate about the proposal, and that he would be demanding the Government dump the proposal.
“The timing of this is simply cruel. Many farmers are living day-to-day, feeding animals, carting water, hoping and praying for rain. This is no time for more taxes, more costs, that could push people over the edge.”
“Labor should immediately scrap this proposed tax and instead support our men and women on the land as they battle to survive the scourge of drought.”