14 Feb 2015
THE Queensland Farmers’ Federation congratulates Premier-elect Annastacia Palaszczuk on forming government following the final declaration of the January 31 election result, and the peak lobby group for intensive agriculture in Queensland says it will work with her government on achieving positive outcomes for the State’s farmers.
“We have just experienced an uncertain two weeks following an election that divided the electorate, and the wait for the final declaration of seats has been arduous,” QFF CEO DanGalligan said. “While there remains some uncertainty regarding a possibly re-election in Ferny Grove, the Labor party has emerged the victor. It is now crucial that Ms Palaszczuk act quickly to pull together a Cabinet and have it get to work on achieving positive outcomes for the State, and in particular for farmers and agribusiness.
“Ms Palaszczuk and her team must work within the constraints and challenges of minority government and a tight budget to deliver policy outcomes that improve the productivity and profitability of farmers, and QFF will work with her to achieve that.”
Mr Galligan said that the ALP went to the election with a Food and Fibre policy that indicated some of the direction it would take in government.
“This included some positive policies around making farmers more prepared for drought, investigating options for multi-peril crop insurance schemes an investigation in power prices and establishment of a rural job agency. But other parts of their platform included policies thatneed serious discussion, including plans to reverse changes to the Vegetation Management Act and repealing the Water Act.
“QFF will work with the new government on ensuring that it understands the needs of farmers in framing its policies and help ensure that it can approach this task constructively. As we have done with all other Governments we will seek an early opportunity to meet with Ministers to see how we can work through issues that delivery on the ALP objectives in a way that does notimpede the viability of our existing primary producers.”
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