Queensland’s farming families are being dudded out of the ability to make money from their land by the State Labor Government’s moratorium on clearing regrowth, said Senator Barnaby Joyce, the Leader of the Nationals in the Senate.

 

“The worst is yet to come. If this three-month ban is made permanent, agricultural producers will be left with land worth nothing. People must understand that this is not an environmental crusade, this is the Bligh Government putting its hands on privately owned assets and stripping away their value, with no compensation or payment,” Senator Joyce said.

 

“We should call this for what it is: theft. If the State Government feels strongly about regrowth and protecting land they should put a value on the land and buy it.

 

 “The Government did a deal to secure Greens preferences at the State election and in return primary producers are having all their efforts undermined by this initial three-month ban on clearing regrowth. The Vegetation Management Bill affects more than 1 million hectares of freehold and leasehold land.

 

 “AgForce called a meeting of landholders in Rockhampton on Monday and it voted unanimously to form a working group to fight this incursion. They must be congratulated for their united stand.

 

“Freehold title is the repository of wealth in this nation. It is where people can store the efforts of their labours and that of their forebears. Without the capacity for wealth to be stored in the land, you undermine the effort that created the wealth and take away the fundamental building block of commerce. Why would anyone go to work if their asset can be stolen from them?

 

“It is time that regional and rural Queensland tells urban dwellers what life is like on the land and how the State Government is trying to disrupt their lives. Imagine the uproar if a home owner in Brisbane was told they couldn’t use their spare bedroom or had to stop mowing the lawn. There would be an uprising in the streets.”