• Labor’s farmer-bashing tactics ramp up in lead up to Parliamentary vote on vegetation laws

• In latest media stunt, Miles claims Labor’s laws won’t harm agricultural productivity

• LNP laws achieved balance between environment and agriculture

• LNP laws offered hope to indigenous communities on the Cape and across Qld

The Palasczcuk Labor Government has taken its farmer bashing to a new level of dishonesty today with Environment Minister Steven Miles claiming Labor’s drastic new controls on vegetation management won’t affect agricultural productivity.

Shadow Natural Resources Minister Andrew Cripps has urged all Queenslanders, whether they live in country towns, regional cities or in the suburbs of Brisbane, to see through Labor’s insulting and misleading portrayal of farmers as environmental vandals.

“Another day, another desperate attempt by this Labor Government to convince Queenslanders that farmers don’t care about their land or the native wildlife it supports,” Mr Cripps said.

“I have faith that the overwhelming majority of Queenslanders know that’s not true, have more respect for our farmers and will see through Labor’s manipulation of data and grandstanding.

“Steven Miles comments today that Labor’s draconian vegetation laws won’t affect agricultural productivity are astonishingly misleading. This debate has reached a new low.

“Managing vegetation on properties is essential to allow farmers to maintain enough pasture to feed their cattle and sheep, as is the small scale removal of vegetation to build and maintain fences and the harvesting of fodder for starving livestock during drought.

“Annastacia Palaszczuk will stop farmers from undertaking such routine tasks and what Mr Miles clearly doesn’t understand is that means less income for farming families and less food and fibre for Queenslanders.

“It’s no coincidence that the politicians leading the farmer bashing, Jackie Trad and Steven Miles, are from ultra-marginal Brisbane seats who are completely dependent on green preferences to hold onto their jobs. This is pure self-interest.”

Mr Cripps said Labor never talks about the hope and opportunities the LNP’s laws offered to indigenous communities to achieve economic independence by allowing them to establish agricultural industries on their land.

“Our sensible laws allowed the development of new agricultural projects in remote parts of Queensland where jobs are desperately needed, particularly communities in Queensland’s Gulf of Carpentaria and on Cape York,” he said.

“Many Queenslanders in those indigenous communities are standing shoulder to shoulder with farmers to fight Labor’s damaging laws and I’m amazed Ms Palaszczuk hasn’t stopped to wonder why.

“The LNP is standing proudly beside this broad coalition of Queenslanders to fight Labor’s Bill when it comes back to Parliament for debate.”

Key facts:

• Statewide Landcover and Trees Study (SLATS) report shows 261,000 hectares of vegetation was cleared under Labor laws in 2012-13, the same laws Labor now claims will reduce clearing rates.
• When releasing latest SLATS report, Labor did not disclose how much vegetation was harvested to feed starving livestock during drought.
• Sixty-two per cent of all vegetation management activities in the latest 2014-15 SLATS report involved farming families managing regrowth on previously cleared land – a practice essential to maintain pasture to feed livestock.
• Long-term analysis of SLATS report shows that under LNP laws vegetation management reduced by 30% over the long term average.