Agmates

Shadow Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, John Cobb writes:

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Today I called for the radical Earth Liberation Front to be listed as a terrorist organisation under the Security Legislation Amendment (Terrorism) Act 2002.

Reports today that a radical United States based green group has hand-delivered a threatening letter to the home of the CEO of one of Victoria’s largest power stations, highlights the extreme lengths some green radicals are prepared to go.

There was no difference between a radical religious based group who threatens and uses violence to achieve their goals or, any other group which does exactly the same.

The Earth Liberation Front may sound like something from a Monty Python skit, but they are anything but.

This organisation boasts of ‘dozens’ of violent acts, and claims it has inflicted over $150 million worth of destruction, and now is boasting about threatening the CEO of the Hazelwood Power Station.

I am very concerned about the radicalisation of some environmental groups, and the tactics they were using to spread the environmental gospel.

No right minded Australian can condone violence.

If a radical religious organisation acted like this, I have no doubt they would be listed as a Terrorist Organisation, so why is the Rudd Government letting these people off lightly?

They may claim to be saving the environment, but there is certainly nothing cute and cuddly about them. Criminal actions are just that, no matter who performs them.

The Attorney-General’s Website states there are currently 17 listed Terrorist organisations. All of them are religious based. Before an organisation can be listed, the Attorney-General must be satisfied on reasonable grounds that the organisation is directly or indirectly engaged in, preparing, planning, assisting in or fostering the doing of a terrorist act.

When a court has determined, or by regulation it is determined, that an organisation is a ‘terrorist organisation’, it is an offence to: direct the activities of the organisation; recruit persons to the organisation; receive training from or provide training to the organisation; receive funds from or make available funds to the organisation; provide support or resources to the organisation.

It is also an offence to be a member of any listed terrorist organisation and to intentionally associate with a person who is a member or who promotes or directs the activities of a listed terrorist organisation where that association provides support that would help the terrorist organisation to continue to exist or to expand

The Rudd Government must immediately investigate the Earth Liberation Front and any other radical groups who threaten our citizens and our vital infrastructure.

We need to send a very strong message that Australians will not tolerate violence, threats or intimidation against our citizens.

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Shadow Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, John Cobb writes:

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Farmers will go broke and food prices will rise, are the main findings of ‘official’ Government modelling into the cost of the Rudd Government’s Emissions Trading Scheme on farm production released today.

The Rudd Government’s ETS would be an expensive folly which will lead to higher food prices, less farmers and more imported food, with no net benefit for the environment.

The ABARE report, Effects of Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme on the economic value of farm production, finds that agriculture will be hit hard from day one under the Rudd Government’s ETS.

The ABARE report states;

‘Even if the agriculture sector is not a covered sector under the CPRS, agricultural producers will face increased input costs associated with the use of electricity, fuels and freight and may face lower farm-gate prices for their goods from downstream processors. These will have implications for the economic value of farm production’.

Graziers will be hit particularly hard and producing beef will be next to impossible with returns expected to drop by 22 percent. Producers of wool, mutton and lambs are also set to take a whopping 17 percent cut to their income.

Grain growers aren’t missed either with their income predicted to fall by 14.5 percent.

The dairy industry, already struggling because of low export prices will lose another 1.9 percent off the bottom line because of the Rudd Government’s emissions tax.

I am dismayed that the Rudd Government was ignoring the cost of Global Warming and Government policy on the food security.

Without viable productive farmers, food will become prohibitively expensive.

Every family needs a farmer to survive, but no farmer can survive a Rudd Government cut of 22 percent to their bottom line.

We are finally starting to see some figures on the cost of the ETS to food production and even the Government’s own modeller can’t hide the shocking affect its ETS will have on farm productivity.

Where does the Minister for Agriculture, Tony Burke and the Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd think their food will come from?

Far from helping our food producers cope with global warming and the Government’s ETS, the Minister for Agriculture, Tony Burke has slashed research and development which is needed to increase food production to feed the worlds growing population.

You can read the ABARE report for yourself here.

Addition reporting from today’s Australian Newspaper – Rural income to be cut by a quarter

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Shadow Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, John Cobb writes:

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John Cobb

The Rudd Government’s war on Regional Australia is intensifying with the news that the Rudd Government has purchase 240 gig litres of water from the Twynam Group for $303 million.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd today announced the Government had bought almost 240 gigalitres of water rights – the single largest purchase of water for the environment in Australia’s history – from Twynam Agricultural Group.

The deal is worth $303 million and dwarfs all previous water buy-outs, taking the total amount of water rights purchases to 297 gigalitres. The Twynam purchase is equivalent to half the water Sydney uses each year.

I am appalled that not only is my electorate being hit again by the Rudd Government’s attack on regional communities, but astonishingly there are no guarantees that any of the $303 million of taxpayers money Twynam’s has just pocketed will even stay in Australia.

The Rudd Government $23 billion cash splash was supposed to ‘stimulate’ to such an extent that even dead people were lining up to get it.

Yet here we have the Rudd Government ripping 240 gigalitres of water out of regional communities which has the potential to create hundreds of jobs in regional Australia, grow thousands of tonnes of food and fibre to feed people and permanently stimulate the economy.

The Rudd Government is hell-bent on turning the current climatic drought into a permanent Rudd made drought.

Perhaps the most frightening aspect of this sale is that taxpayers have just paid an Argentinean company $303 million and that money could end up being spent off shore at a time we need resources and funds being invested in Regional Australia.

The Australian economy has just taken a double hit, not only are we permanently losing productive capacity, jobs and food security, $303 million could be shifted offshore to Argentina.

The Minister for Agriculture, Tony Burke has shown yet again he lacks the ticker to defend his Portfolio.

No wonder on a recent farmonline poll over 60% of respondents rated his time as Minister for Agriculture as terrible or poor.

At this rate if this phantom Minister refuses to stand up for his portfolio he won’t have any Agriculture constituents left.

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Federal Shadow Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, John Cobb writes:

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In what can only be described as a national disgrace, buried in this years budget papers is a massive $35.877 million cut in funding to Australia’s vital Quarantine and Bio-security programs, which will lead to the loss of 125 jobs.

I am astounded the Rudd Government had learnt nothing from the Equine Influenza incursion, Avian Influenza or the Chinese melamine milk scandal and was putting Australian lives, agricultural industries, the environment, the community and lucrative export markets at risk.

At the same time the Government is cutting its contribution to our quarantine and bio-security programs it is raising taxes and user charges on exporters who have no choice but to use AQIS services by up to 1352 percent.

Cutting the agriculture research budget is unforgivable – but cutting the quarantine budget is criminal. At this rate the Rudd Government’s legacy will be a diseased debt riddled nation.

Just one incursion of Foot and Mouth disease would cost up to $13 billion a year and would result in the slaughter of potentially millions of animals, crippling our economy and devastating regional Australia.

How the Minister for Agriculture, Tony Burke can justify cutting the government’s contribution to quarantine and bio-security measures is beyond me.

Mr Burke’s failure to deliver additional funding for quarantine and bio-security programs makes a mockery of the recommendations contained in the Beale Review into our quarantine and bio-security programs.

The Beale Review Recommendation 73 stated;

The Commonwealth should increase its bio-security investment by an amount in the order of $260 million per annum, subject to a full costing by departments, to meet the recommendations of this report.

In a media release announcing the release of the Beale Review Mr Burke stated

‘the Rudd Government had accepted all 84 recommendations in-principle’.

Yet Mr Burke has ignored his own $1,728,067 review into quarantine and bio-security and cut the level of government funding by $35.877 million.

This decision by the Rudd Government to cut funding has placed at risk our trade markets in agricultural produce, seafood and timber products, worth more than $30 billion each year.

Similarly any major disease or pest incursion will not only cost money, but has the potential to change our landscape for ever and decimate our unique native flora and fauna – you need to look no further than the damage cane toads are inflicting on native species in the Northern Territory.

Mr Burke has already attempted to laugh off the fact that he has delivered a cut of $908 million to his budget bottom line – a massive 32 percent cut, by claiming it was the fault of hard economic times.

However, his cut to our quarantine and bio-security programs are no laughing matter.

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Shadow Minister for Agriculture, John Cobb writes:

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The Rudd Government’s second budget is not only plunging the nation into $220 billion of accumulated deficit, it is compromising our farmers’ ability to feed and clothe the nation.

I am shocked the Rudd Government had targeted Agriculture to pay for its reckless spending, with a massive $908.234 million cut to the Departments budget next year.

The Agriculture Minister has gutted his own budget by 32%. Make no mistake this is a horror budget for agriculture.

Minister Burke should hang his head in shame – he has proven to be no friend of Agriculture.

Agriculture was the only bright light in our economy and the only sector to record any growth in the last quarter and has now been gutted by the Rudd Government.

It was the height of hypocrisy for the Minister for Agriculture, Tony Burke to be swanning around Europe as an observer to the G8 Agriculture Minister’s meeting two weeks ago where he claimed in a media release;

“Australia has a major role to play in meeting the global food shortage and boosting global food security … We believe investment in agricultural research will be essential.” Mr Burke said.

Farmers are already being forced to produce more with less, in particular less water and less arable land, and without increasing public expenditure too dramatically increase productivity there was the very real possibility of Australia becoming a net importer of food at a time the worlds population is set to double within the next thirty years.

I am now convinced this vindictive Rudd Government has cut the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC) because it had the temerity to tell the truth in a recent report by RIRDC which highlighted the heavy burden the Rudd Government emissions trading scheme would have on the profitability and productivity of Australia’s agricultural industries.

Whilst I support overseas aid, it is concerning that the Rudd Government has announced it will be spending more on overseas food aid and research ($464 million) whilst slashing research at home to pay for it.

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Federal Shadow Minister for Agriculture, John Cobb writes:

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The Rudd Government is compromising our farmers’ ability to feed and clothe the nation after admitting it would be slashing research jobs and funding in next weeks budget.

I hope the Governments decision to cut the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC) by 25% was not linked to a recent report by RIRDC which highlighted the heavy burden the Rudd Government emissions trading scheme would have on the profitability and productivity of Australia’s agricultural industries.

If the Prime Minister can lose the plot and reduce a RAAF VIP jet hostess to tears because he didn’t get a hot meal, I shudder to think what he would do to an taxpayer funded organisation which broke his governments tightly scripted spin and highlighted the extremely negative consequences of his ETS on agriculture.

Farmers are already being forced to produce more with less, in particular less water and less arable land, and without increasing public expenditure to dramatically increase productivity there was the very real possibility of Australia becoming a net importer of food at a time the worlds population is set to double within the next thirty years.

Without real increases in funding for agriculture research and development the cheap, high quality, clean and green food we take for granted in Australia will be relegated to the history books.

Similarly the only way we are going to tackle the worst affects of climate change is to produce new plant varieties that can cope with droughts, new disease and fungus strains (such as Rust in wheat) and increase yields.

The Prime Minister has already made cuts to vital agriculture R & D when he slashed $63 million from the CSIRO’s budget with the majority of those cuts coming out of the agriculture research leading to the decision to close the Merbein Laboratory in North West Victoria and the JM Rendel Laboratory at Rockhampton in Queensland.

This has been compounded by State Labor Government’s in NSW and Victoria also slashing their agriculture R & D budgets and closing down research institutes.

It is the height of hypocrisy for the Minister for Agriculture, Tony Burke to be swanning around Europe as an observer to the G8 Agriculture Minister’s meeting two weeks ago where he claimed in a media release;

“Australia has a major role to play in meeting the global food shortage and boosting global food security … We believe investment in agricultural research will be essential.”

I can only hope the Minister for Agriculture hasn’t ratted out his constituents completely and we still have a functioning Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry after Tuesday night’s budget .

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Shadow Minister for Agriculture, John Cobb [pictured] writes:

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Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Tony Burke has announced the Rudd Government will introduce a new tax on agricultural exports by moving to 100 percent full cost recovery for AQIS export inspection services.

Not only would the Rudd Government be introducing a new full cost recovery tax, it is increasing AQIS fees by up to 1352 percent.

The Coalition today branded a proposed tax hike of 1352 percent on agriculture exporters as ‘crazy stuff’, especially in light of the fact that the only sector to record any growth last quarter was agriculture.

The Prime Minister was creating his own ‘perfect economic storm’ by massively increasing taxes on our agricultural exporters, which will lead to jobs losses and business closures in regional Australia.

Our exporters are struggling, the credit crunch has hit them hard and their margins are being slashed, to increase taxes and fees is the equivalent of committing economic suicide.

It’s almost as if Minister Burke is deliberately trying to increase the economic pressure on our exporters, when they can least afford it.

The Rudd Government is spending $6 billion to bailout the car industry which employs 50,000 workers, the same amount of people as the meat industry, yet is slugging the meat industry with a tax and extra charges.

Industry is ropable with One Australian agriculture exporting company wrote to me stating;

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“The proposed increase on 1 July 2009 in AQIS certification charges relating to Health certificates and the issuing of other export documents of between 767% and 1352% threatens the viability of our business. Should these proposed charges be implemented the cost to our business for these same services would increase by some AUD 618,000 to AUD 684,000 – in excess of a 10 fold increase.

Such a cost increase is simply abhorrent, uneconomic and has the potential to derail export business that this company has spent years developing.”

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In dollar terms the largest impost would be the meat industry, with the new tax adding up to $5 per head for cattle and up to $0.50 per head on sheep to process them, the bulk of this will be past back to primary producers.

Other industries such as the seafood industry will also be hard hit with the abalone, tuna and rock lobster industries already experiencing extremely tight margins and will struggle to absorb the new tax.

The Horticulture industry has already expressed concern that they are operating on extremely low margins, and both cherry exports and $30 million worth of citrus exports to Japan are being placed in jeopardy.

Our dairy exporters have recently been hit with a 50 percent price cut and a massive increase in European subsidies and can not afford a new tax on exports.

It is extraordinary that at the same time as our major competitors are increasing subsidies and protectionism the Rudd Government is hitting ours with a new tax.

This announcement will cost jobs in regional Australia.

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Shadow Minister for Agriculture, John Cobb [pictured] writes,

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Being the Local Member for the town of Bourke NSW I’m demanding to know how the Minister for Water and Climate Change, Penny Wong justified holding back water from reaching the Darling River until she takes part in a public relations stunt at Toorale Station near Bourke today?

Locals have been informed by the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) – the new owners of Toorale Station – that the floodgates have been closed because:

‘they are waiting for the Minister to come and open it as she wants a PR opportunity to show that the Rudd Government is physically releasing water back into the Murray Darling Basin’.

Communities and property owners downstream are wondering why the Rudd Government is holding the water back when the Government claimed the reason it purchased Toorale Station was to knock down the dams and weir to return the water to the Darling River.

The pipes on the weirs were opened two weeks ago after locals downstream of Toorale Station complained that they were closed, however in the days just prior to the Ms Wong’s visit to Toorale Station gates on most of the five dams were again shut in order to back the water up and make it far more impressive.

This disgraceful stunt is solely aimed to give the impression the Rudd Government is doing something to alleviate water shortages particularly in her home State of South Australia. However, none of this water will reach the Murray or the Lower Lakes in South Australia.

Even worse, given that Ms Wong is in Bourke, why has her visit been shrouded by more secrecy than a visit to Afghanistan by the President of the United States?

Could it be that she is too frightened to meet the people of Bourke whom she is pushing into Recession faster than any financial crisis?

As a direct result of the purchase of Toorale Station, Ms Wong has created a permanent jobs drought in Bourke, with over 100 full, part time and casual jobs lost forever. Morale in Bourke has been more affected more by the purchase of Toorale Station than seven years of devastating drought.

Bourke businesses estimate the economy of the Bourke Shire will contract by more than 10 percent, plunging the already drought-stricken community into a severe economic recession. As a result of Toorale Station being turned into a national park, the Bourke Shire had also lost four percent of its rate revenue, seven to 10 percent of the district’s sheep and cattle and 15 percent of its water entitlements.

I’m appalled by Ms Wong’s callous disregard for the welfare and economic security of the Bourke people and called on the Prime Minister to personally intervene and discipline Ms Wong.

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Independent Senator from South Australia Nick Xenopkon despite his bluff and bluster about standing up for the people of the Murray Darling basin has rolled over this morning and voted with the Rudd government to pass the $42b stimulus package.

Shadow Minister for Agriculture, John Cobb [pictured]writes from Canberra this morning.

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I am genuinely appalled that every man, woman and child in Regional Australia will now be saddled with $9,500 debt.

The Rudd Labor Government has now spent everything the Nation had in reserve – there is nothing left in the kitty.

My major concern is the direction the Rudd Government is leading our Nation.

Last time Labor maxed out the credit card to the tune of $96 billion, taxpayers paid over $108 billion in interest alone. Just think of how many schools, roads, hospitals, ports, railway lines, water infrastructure, could have been built in regional Australia if the nation had not been saddled with $108 billion in interest repayments alone.

The Rudd Labor Government has absolutely no idea about how or who will pay back its $200 billion plus interest debt.

Far from creating jobs the Rudd Labor Government’s $500 million water buy back deal with Senator Xenophon will destroy jobs and productivity in the Murray Darling Basin.

The last time the Government was panicked by greenies they bought Toorale Station near Bourke in my electorate which resulted in the loss of 100 full and part-time jobs, slashing the economic out put of the Bourke Shire by 12 percent.

This deal is job and productivity destroying making a complete mockery of the government’s claims that its legislation which authorises the increase of public borrowing to $200 billion is all about saving jobs.

We need infrastructure which will create jobs and improve productivity, not these types of dodgy deals that will see more communities in the Murray Darling Basin destroyed.

We have been completely sold out in regional Australia, not only will we be lumped with a $200 billion debt, our ability to produce food and pay off that debt has been destroyed by the dodgy deal cut by the Labor Party and Senator Xenophon.

We need investment in water infrastructure which will increase productivity and return water to the environment to ensure we can pay back Rudd Labor’s $200 billion debt, not hundreds of millions of dollars in further water buybacks which will destroy jobs and our ability to payback Labor’s $200 billion debt.

Remember Friday the 13th of February, 2009 – this is the day that you and your children were sold out by the Rudd Labor Government and a motley collection of greens and other cross benches.

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Shadow Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, John Cobb [pictured] writes:

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I and my  Coalition’s coalition colleges have  thrown our support behind a campaign to urge shoppers to buy cosmetically blemished fruit and vegetables to help our farmers battling fires, drought and floods.

The heat wave in Southern Australia and the floods in the North have resulted in some cosmetic blemishes to otherwise excellent fruit and vegetables.

Both Ausveg and Victorian Farmers Federation have urged shoppers to keep buying fruit that looks like it has been sun burnt.

So much hard work and money goes into producing our food. It would be an absolute crying shame if people stopped buying perfectly good fruit and vegies because of a slight blemish, in turn depriving farmers of a living.

Similarly, I suspect there may be some weather damaged fruit coming down from Queensland, which again will be great to eat, but maybe not cosmetically perfect.

Buying fruit which has blemishes will not only help our farmers who have been hit by droughts, heat waves and floods, it will help alleviate fruit and vegetable shortages which in turn will drive up prices.

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