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LNP to deliver fair and balanced landscape laws

Member for Scenic Rim Jon Krause says that problems with farmers in Scenic Rim managing weeds, pest trees and regrowth will be top priority to be fixed under a new LNP Government.

Mr Krause said that since Labor changed the Vegetation Management Act and related codes in 2018, farmers in the Scenic Rim Electorate have faced difficulty knowing what they can and cannot do due to completely unworkable management codes.

“Labor’s codes are incomprehensible to most people – you need a law degree to interpret them,” he said.

“I have sat down with a number of landholders to try to make sense of how they can manage weeds and woody invasive species on their land, but it is virtually impossible. It’s not good enough – if there are going to be self-assessable codes, people need to be able to understand them,” Mr Krause said.

Mr Krause added that Labor’s locking up of land not managed for 15 years as “regrowth” was problematic in areas like Scenic Rim where there had been a significant shift in the nature of farming in the past 30 years. It could see land not actively farmed for 15 years locked up forever under Labor’s laws, removing any chance of new uses for that land and denying opportunity to grow more food and fibre for Queensland and jobs for the region.

“This is not on – we need to use our rich agricultural soil for production, not make laws that prevent it being used,” he said.

“This is all about supporting more rural and regional jobs, while also protecting the state’s valuable eco-systems.”

LNP Leader Deb Frecklington said her aim was to restore balance to Labor’s flawed laws, allowing Queensland to both improve food security and create more jobs for young people growing up in rural areas.

“The LNP’s plan for Queensland will support our regions by developing water infrastructure projects across our state,” Ms Frecklington said.

“I want Queensland to produce more food and fibre to make our country less reliant on overseas imports and create more jobs here at home.

“But the Palaszczuk Labor Government’s unfair and unworkable anti-farmer laws have hurt agriculture and destroyed jobs in our regions.”

“That’s why the LNP is committed to reviewing and reforming Labor’s laws.”

“The LNP will restore balance to our laws and deliver a long-term, sensible environmental landscape management policy for all Queenslanders.” 

LNP Shadow Minister for Natural Resources Dale Last said an LNP Government would launch a consultation process on changes within its first 30 days, with the intention of delivering the review’s findings by mid-2021.

Mr Last said an LNP Government’s approach would be based on:

– Providing certainty of process to encourage investment

– Acknowledging and accommodating Queensland’s diverse and varied biodiverse ecological regions

– Restoring sensible property rights for landholders

– Supporting regional economic development, jobs and food security

– Considering the impacts of drought, bushfires and flooding

“Only an LNP Government will introduce balanced laws that secure the future of farmers and regional communities,” Ms Frecklington said.

“Only the LNP has a plan to stimulate the economy, create a decade of secure jobs and drag Queensland out of this recession.”