Agmates

Freelance Journalist and Agmates member John Mikkelsen writes:

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John Mikkelsen

Shopping gives me the China Blues. A rare shopping trip turned out to be the China Syndrome revisited for me recently.

But that wasn’t until I tried on the new T shirts with Bundy Rum and Pink Floyd logos in my regular ‘L’ size and found none fitted. The tag revealed all -- Made in China -- so back to the shop to exchange for ‘XL’. It’s not me that’s grown; the sizes keep shrinking.

Are we becoming a Chinese satellite state by stealth? How many Australian jobs have been lost or put at risk because of cheap Asian imports flooding our markets?

China is an important trading partner for our resources industries, but maybe we are taking things too far by allowing their electrical, clothing and food items an open door to compete against Australian-made items.

The local products can’t compete as Australian manufacturers have to comply with more stringent controls and higher wages. Australian made goods  are not often subject to the safety recalls we have seen for various Chinese goods including toys, textiles and dairy products.

China Blue

So, have the Blues got it right this time? No, not the State of Origin team, Premier Nathan Rees and his  NSW Government, which has just introduced a virtual ‘Made in China‘ ban.

Almost $4billion worth of NSW government goods and services will now have to be sourced from Australian companies, including stationery, uniforms, cars, even trains and building contracts.

To make local tenders more competitive, a 20 per cent discount will be applied when up against overseas bidders.

This is bound to cause some international friction, putting NSW Labor at odds with its Queensland counterpart and the Rudd Government, which makes no secret of plans to strengthen ties with China.

It’s a huge contrast to what we have seen in Queensland, where the State Government recently rejected a local bid and awarded a $45 million contract to supply glass for its new supreme and district courts in Brisbane to a Chinese firm. The job would have been a lifeline for local firm, G James Glass, which reportedly sacked 100 workers in March because of a drop in orders.

Their shattered hopes followed those of a Gold Coast firm which also lost a contract for work on the $32 million Southport Broadwater Parklands project to a US firm.

It’s hard to reconcile such decisions with Premier Anna Bligh’s election promise of creating 100,000 new jobs, reaffirmed again after this week’s State budget.

The government plans to plunge a massive $85 billion into the red over the next five years to support infrastructure spending and employment. But more than 50,000 Queenslanders are still expected to lose their jobs over the next two years.

Despite the growing jobless queues, Ms Bligh said her government was committed to meeting her election jobs promise by 2012.

The government is apparently pinning a lot of hope on our fledgling gas industry, with forecasts that 10,000 construction jobs will be created through the development of a liquid natural gas hub in Gladstone.

Meanwhile, the Chinese are already upset over the snub by Rio Tinto in rejecting the $27 billion Chinalco offer for a big slice of the company and its resources, as reported last week. They have claimed the proposed BHP -- Rio iron ore joint venture will represent a monopoly, which could push up prices and cause them to look elsewhere.

Their concerns have been echoed by European steel makers, who are calling for a European Union probe. Both have found an unlikely ally in WA Premier Colin Barnett, who has warned the proposed joint venture could end up in the High Court.

Fair shake of the sauce bottle mate, at the end of the day our workers just want jobs and I just want to buy a shirt that fits.

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Freelance Journalist and Agmates member John Mikkelsen writes:

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JUST a couple of months ago, Queensland Premier Anna Bligh told us we had to have an early election to provide business and economic stability.

She promised us 100,000 new jobs; she promised there were no plans to dump the State’s 8.35 cents a litre fuel subsidy when we went to the polls six months early.

The LNP’s then-leader, Lawrence Springborg, had warned there would be a move to have the fuel subsidy scrapped at the State Labor conference this weekend. He was wrong, but only just – Ms Bligh announced on Tuesday the decision had already been made.

According to media reports, that will mean a fuel price rise of more than 9 cents a litre when GST is factored in, costing average motorists an extra $300 a year on top of scheduled increases in vehicle registration.

But that’s not all. The government also plans to sell off key State assets including Queensland Rail’s coal freight business, the Port of Brisbane, Queensland Motorways Ltd, Forest Plantations Queensland, and the Abbot Point Coal Terminal, to raise $15 billion.

(Coincidentally, Abbot Point has just been named as the export port for Waratah Coal’s huge $6 billion thermal coal project in the Galilee Basin near Alpha).

The Premier’s announcements on the eve of the conference where such controversial moves are usually debated, has practically everybody fired up, including the unions among her key backers during the election campaign.

Businesses, producers, transport companies, the RACQ and the unions are practically united in their protests about increased costs which will flow through to all consumer items, and the increased threat to jobs.

Labor’s state president and union leader Andrew Dettmer said he was shocked by the decision and promised the State Government would face a showdown at this weekend’s ALP conference.

He accused the Government of dealing with a short-term economic downturn with a solution which would create long-term problems. These included giving major mining companies complete control of regional economies.

“Would you want Rio Tinto or BHP in charge of everything to do with your economy from pit to port?” he asked.

Mr Dettmer said the government was certain to face a series of resolutions from the floor of the State conference condemning its action.

Not surprisingly, Ms Bligh has blamed the global financial crisis and the huge black hole in projected income for such radical action.

“These are tough decisions for tough times,” she said.

When the State lost it’s AAA credit rating just before the election, critics pointed out that after years of boom times, Labor had kept nothing in reserve. Now the Premier plans to sell off the equivalent of the family silver and raid the kids’ piggy banks to bail her government out.

Back on February 28 I wrote:

“So you could say it’s a brash move by Ms Bligh to provide Queensland with the early opportunity to elect a government ‘with a mandate, it needs economic stability, it needs political certainty…’ But she knows she is on a slippery slope, so standing up for judgement now rather than later is probably a shrewd, cynical move.”

It’s history that a majority of Queenslanders took her at her word – not the discerning voters of Gladstone though, who returned our strong independent Liz Cunningham with a vastly increased majority.

Had she waited until after this week’s shock announcements or next month’s budget, the proverbial snowflake in hell would have stood a better chance of survival.

I’d imagine things will get pretty hot at this weekend’s Labor conference too.

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QLD Shadow Minister for Main Roads and Transport and LNP Member for Maroochydore Fiona Simpson [pictured] writes:

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QLD Premier Anna Bligh’s new 9.2 cents/litre fuel tax will be a vicious blow to the state’s trucking industry and the communities they support.

The Queensland Trucking Association has estimated the price rise would cost truckers an additional $12,000 to $15,000 in fuel costs. The increase would be passed on directly to consumers.

Anna Bligh’s latest tax grab will hurt Queensland’s trucking industry and the pain will be felt throughout the whole state.

Households will struggle with an increased fuel bill, and tight budgets will be stretched even further when the cost of food, clothing and other goods rise to cover the truckers’ growing expenses.

It’s another broken promise from the Bligh Government who has proven they have no intention to keep their election promises.

Motorists and the trucking industry already carry a substantial tax burden which does not get reinvested into the state’s roads.

The trucking industry already has to endure substandard and dangerous roads under the Bligh Government.

They’re bearing the brunt of huge hikes in vehicle registrations and now everyone will be slapped with Labor’s new fuel tax.

Anna Bligh’s only solution for Queensland’s economy is to increase debt and push up taxes.

Queenslanders don’t have any reason to trust Labor’s election promises anymore – Anna Bligh has proven she’s happy to dump them as soon as they become an inconvenience for her Government.

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Agmates Episode 3.

Today: Swine Flu ….  Save the Pigs ….. Conspiracies ….. Kevin Rudd ….. Global Warming ….. Anna bligh ….. Peter Garrett ….. Media Paranoia

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Have Your Say Below!

My email has been running hot with torrents of outrage at the QLD governments announcement of a 3 month moratorium on clearing of regrowth that came into effect at midnight last night.

Interesting that the most vigorous outrage expressed has been from the leaders of the State Farming Organizations (SFO’s).

My question is why?

They knew it was coming if Anna Bligh won the election on March 24th, but chose the remain silent on behalf to the very same farmers they are now trying to rally to the cause.

Not only did I predict exactly this outcome, I pointed out not only the political intrigue behind it, who is responsible (WWF) and how our state farming bodies sat back and let it happen.  Here is the efforts we made to try and spur the SFO’s and farmers into action … while it still counted for something.

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• 9th March - If Labor wins QLD election on Green Vote – Clearing regrowth will end. from that article …Mark my words – WWF has made its position clear, if Anna Bligh’s Labor government is returned, the Green’s will be holding them to account. ……. WWF will still take Premier Anna Bligh – if re-elected to task over the clearing of regrowth. Hold your breath Australia ……. and pray.

• 9th March – John Cotter & AgForce high Stakes Gamble on QLD election. In This article AgForce President states their plan of action … “It would be easy for us to talk about a whole range of issues that you understand and would like to hear us talking about on your behalf such as vegetation management …. However, we trust you understand that (we won’t be)…I wrote As the peak farmer organization AgForce and John Cotter are taking an enormous gamble with the livelihoods of thousands of rural Queenslander’s with this insane policy of ignoring it’s members issues and views.

• 11th March – Greens expose AgForce as Amateurs in State politics game. In that article I wrote … We’ll look back and say John Cotter and AgForced took a massive punt. If Labor gets up, AgForce will have given away farmers ability to control regrowth without a squeak – Why would any farmer want to belong to a farm body that did that?

Then – due to a total lack of interest I published:

• 12th March – OK I’ll stop flogging the AgForce V’s Greens banning Regrowth Treatment Dead Horse … from that article … If Labor get up on March 21, they will ban the treating of regrowth. Watch the howls of protest come from AgForce and QLD farmers then. All I say is – you were warned, but you chose to remain silent, when it mattered.

Then the announcement was made by Bligh that she was taking this as policy to the election:

• 17th March – As Predicted AgForce got it wrong – now QLD farmers must pay the price…. from that article … Agmates and indeed your own members were demanding that AgForce ‘get on the front foot’ on this issue at the start of the campaign, but your President John Cotter and your executive decided that ‘keeping mum’ on the issue during the campaign was the ‘best’ approach. Well Andrew, disastrously you were wrong and look at the price your members and Queensland farmers will now pay.

• 17th March – Who was fighting the Greens as they stole the rights to clear regrowth? .. from that article … Or maybe it’s that they have known all along that the LNP will win the election this Saturday and the Tree Clearing Laws will remain unchanged. If the LNP does win, I will bow to AgForce, QFF, PRA and ABA’s superior knowledge and wisdom.In fact I will gladly apologize to them all publicly here on Agmates for questioning their deliberate strategy of complete inaction on this issue.

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This outcome is a blight on  – AgForce, Queensland Farmers Federation, Property Rights Australia and Australian Beef Association – not one of them did a thing to fight this, while they still had a chance to influence the outcome.

Now when its happened, these organizations are wanting to rally their members into ‘a regrowth uprising’.  The challenge is that any protest or radical action now will just see farmers portrayed by the media as ‘red necks’ or ‘environmental vandals’.

It would be far more productive for farmers to turn the anger and focus onto these farm organizations that have once again let them down so badly. These organizations should be completely disbanded and started again from scratch with a whole new structure and strategy. Rather than a regrowth uprising against the government it should be a membership uprising against the SFO’s.

It suits the leaders of these organizations to stir up farmers and focus their frustration away from their inept performance. It however is a waste of farmers time and energy – Its a done deal – was the night Anna Bligh won the election. Bligh is not going to budge – the Green vote helped her win her historic election – not the farmer & Indigenous vote – She has a debt & it’s now time for here to ‘pay the piper’ being WWF and their political arm The QLD Greens.

But hey … what would I know?

Agmates Founder
Steve Truman

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AgForce Cattle President Grant Muadsley in a Media Release 24th March (Not available on their site)

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One of the bright spots in the Queensland’s economy – agriculture – is under threat from proposed changes to regrowth management, and the beef supply chain will pay the price.

The beef industry alone contributes $3.4 billion to the Queensland economy and supports many thousands of meat processing jobs in urban areas such as Dinmore and Beenleigh.

The ongoing strength of the industry is based on innovation by beef producers and world-leading resource management and grazing practices.

There is huge concern in the bush about the impact of Labor election commitments including a proposed three-month moratorium and new restrictions on regrowth clearing, the introduction of three more Wild Rivers, and new regulations over reef run-off.

Premier Bligh gave AgForce a commitment that there would be negotiations with farmers before any changes are made to vegetation management laws and we look forward to meeting with the Premier and newly named Natural Resources Minister Stephen Robertson to present the facts about sustainable beef production.

We will not take a step backwards. AgForce Cattle will not accept a single hectare of well-managed productive land being unnecessarily removed from production.

The proposed three-month moratorium on regrowth clearing will present massive issues for all landholders currently operating under vegetation management principles.

AgForce Cattle believes a complete ban on clearing for a period of time will be unable to be implemented and will create ongoing land management issues regardless of the outcomes from negotiations with government.

Landholders understand the Vegetation Management Act and have undertaken the associated PMAV (property maps of assessable vegetation) after earlier Queensland Government vegetation management laws were implemented to protect remnant vegetation while landholders retained control over regrowth.

We have willingly participated in PMAV development and made big steps in our management to ensure we are compliant with that legislation.

Premier Anna Bligh will not be granting any favours for producers on this issue and for landholders to win this debate we have to rely on the facts of production and the real commitment of graziers to good environmental outcomes on the reef and elsewhere which must be recognised.

Rural industries must be given the chance to show that producers are meeting the existing laws before any new legislation is considered.

Removing nearly two-thirds of the productive landscape of Queensland – or 21 million hectares as proposed pre-election by an extreme green World Wildlife Fund spokesman – would have massive impacts on the economy.

AgForce is seeking a meeting with Minister Robertson at the earliest opportunity to put the case that primary producers have already made a significant contribution to conservation and Australia’s carbon credits by sustainable management of actively growing pastures.

If the Premier is to genuinely fill her election commitment to govern for all Queenslanders then she should ensure that the beef industry has the right policy settings and resources to produce sound, safe and healthy food – and jobs – for the people of this state.

AgForce policy on regrowth is concrete and immovable – AgForce opposes any changes to current exemptions which apply for regrowth and fodder harvesting.

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It is interesting to see the spin coming out of AgForce as it tries to salvage some credibility after its disasrous QLD state election strategy .

The headline in Rural Press is: 

Differences aside, AgForce to cooperate with Bligh

As usual the article is just a reprint of an AgForce press release from the groups president John Cotter [pictured].

Bligh acknowledges strength of regional Queensland

In that release John Cotter says:

“Regional Queensland received special mention in re-elected Premier Anna Bligh’s acceptance speech at the weekend, reinforcing the need to keep rural and regional issues high on the agenda of the new government.”

Now I’d listened to Anna Bligh’s acceptance speech and Cotters claim is rubbish. Here is a link to the audio. Have a listen for yourself.

The speech is 9min and 54 seconds long and in that Anna Bligh talks about regional QLD for 24 seconds. What Anna Bligh was doing in that 24 seconds was thanking those people in Regional QLD that voted Labor – here is what she said:

“To those that voted Labor today I thank you for your support ….

I want tonight to particularly acknowledge the support of regional QLD.

When I became Premier I said I wanted to be a Premier for the whole of the state, and A Premier that recognizes the strenghts of QLD & its Regions.

And I thank them for putting their faith in me tonight.

I’ve done my best as Premier to look after the Regions of QLD. And I give them this commitment tonight – I will keep doing just that.”

Firstly Bligh was directing her thanks to those that voted Labor in the Regions. Secondly at no time does Anna Bligh during the speech mention rural QLD.

John Cotter and AgForce have isolated themselves and the farmers of QLD from the new Labor government through their flawed election strategy.

Were they so arrogantly confident of an NLP win that they thought all they had to do was sit back and wait for the glorious victory. Is that really why they chose not to engage the people of QLD on the vital issues of regrowth management, reef regulation and the encroachment of mining on Agricultural land.

Mind you not one of the other three farmers organizations lifted a finger to champion the states farmers cause.

What a disgraceful situation. No wonder farming in this state is under constant threat from politically active minority self interest groups.

QLD farmer representation is so poor and incompetent that it is worse that having none. The states farmers will for another 3 years pay the price of this breathtaking incompetence.

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Central QLD Grazier and Property Rights Australia Chairman John Purcell [pictured] writes:

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So our recently re-elected Premier Anna Bligh believes in “Jobs Jobs Jobs”!

How come she also will be responsible for forcing farmers to walk off their properties because she intends to ban essential management practices for controlling regrowth vegetation?

This Government imposed restraint is not only banning regrowth it is intruding in an expensive program of developing productive land where the prime purpose is food production.

This Act is similar to Government ordering a retailer to close down half his shop and stop mowing his lawn. Farmers will certainly be forced to ‘walk off’ their properties and leave their homes.

How come the Government maintains a six-year ban on harvesting overland water flows most of which runs out to sea instead of encouraging usage for higher productivity?

How come Bligh’s Department of Natural Resources misplaced a completed application for a permit to use underground water?

This utter incompetence caused the applicant to lose 50% of his expected allocation due to a Departmental decision to change the criteria for allocations!

How come the same DNR&W sat on an application for water harvesting by pumping flood water from a major river into large ring tanks? This application gathered dust in a DNR&W office from 1994 to 2004 without being processed by the Department. This application was compiled by a professional water engineer.

How come the Bligh Government has issued coal mining exploration permits leading to the establishment of coal mines on absolute prime lands on Queensland’s Darling Downs?

Not to mention the pollution of the Fitzroy Basin by pumping contaminated water from open cut coal mines together with flood pollution of a number of streams in Northwest Queensland.

How come Premiers Beattie and Bligh introduced the draconian Vegetation Management Act in 1999 to ban clearing practices at a time when the vegetation coverage was at its peak?

One family faced seven court cases at great costs over a six-year period to finally be vindicated and cleared of all charges. Is this a free democratic country?

Finally, Premier Bligh called for a mandate as Labor was the party to guide Queensland through the world economic crisis-all this when Labor Governments have been responsible for the loss of Queensland’s triple A credit rating. The State has a $74 billion debt level, a $1.6 billion deficit and an interest bill of $10 million a day.

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Central QLD Cattle Producer and chairman of Property Rights Australia John Purcell [pictured] writes:

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Queensland Labor Premier Anna Bligh and her current government are unfit to govern the State of Queensland.

Financial mismanagement alone, including the loss of Queensland’s triple A rating during a prolonged period of boom in the mineral sector, is enough to ensure the removal of the Bligh Government.

The Queensland Government debt stands at $74 billion and this year’s State deficit is $1.6 billion which generates an interest bill of $10 million a day.

Isn’t this a shocking performance? Incidentally, all other Australian states maintained their triple A financial status.

Bligh’s government actions in issuing coal mine exploration permits over prime farming land, including areas of the Darling Downs, is no better than an act of vandalism and destruction. This practice must be brought to a halt immediately and previous licences issued be revoked.

Coal mining must continue but only on land of lesser quality, certainly not on prime grazing or arable farm land.

The latest panic driven threat by Bligh of a three-month moratorium over regrowth control is the act of a coward. This is driven 100% by fear of the voters and has NIL science content.

Regrowth control is a normal and necessary management practice which follows the initial clearing of timber to create pasture and farming land. The undertaking of development of farming and grazing country is a very significant commitment in dollar terms. To cut off the process in midstream is nothing more than an act of a government that does not know what it’s talking about.

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Well what do you know, AgForce is shocked that it has been outflanked by the Greens and their pre-election preference deal with the Labor party.

Here is AgForces latest press release.

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Preference deals that lead to restrictions on farming are ill-advised at this time of global downturn when agriculture is the one bright spots on Queensland’s economic horizon, said AgForce acting chief executive officer Andrew Freeman.

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Wow that’s a revelation Andrew. Why is it that you political novices at AgForce just don’t get it.

Agmates flagged this would happen see here.

Agmates also told you that your strategy of ignoring the issue (against the wishes of your members) in the lead up to the election was a disastrous strategy, see here.

Apparently Andrew thought AgForce had a deal with Anna Bligh.

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The Labor Party’s announcement yesterday of a three-month moratorium on endangered regrowth clearing is of grave concern to AgForce, which had earlier received a commitment from Premier Anna Bligh that there would be no changes to vegetation management laws before she talked with farmers.

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Oh dear Andrew, everybody in the real world except you and John Cotter could see that the deal was on. The Greens set it up and your organization fell for it ‘hook, line and sinker’. Screaming about it now is really quiet pathetic.

In fact as Agmates pointed out this election campaign has graphically demonstrated the dangers of having naive political amateurs like you and John Cotter representing them.  See here.

Agmates and indeed your own members were demanding that AgForce ‘get on the front foot’ on this issue at the start of the campaign, but your President John Cotter and your executive decided that ‘keeping mum’ on the issue during the campaign was the ‘best’ approach.

Well Andrew, disastrously you were wrong and look at the price your members and Queensland farmers will now pay.

You know Andrew and John, here is a novel idea for you to consider for the future, why not try listening to your members from time to time.

Oh that is if you have many members left after this debacle.

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