After a couple of weeks of vote counting, the state election delivered a re-elected Labor Government with a small majority. While it was not an emphatic victory, it does deliver a degree of certainty for the state and the agricultural sector in the coming years. And as they say in politics, a majority is a majority, so the Queensland Farmers’ Federation (QFF) will be expecting the government to deliver for our sector.
The new 18-member State Cabinet was announced earlier in the week, and again there will be many ministerial offices that QFF will need to constructively work with to address issues that affect our members, and to advance Queensland agriculture.
As the full portfolio responsibilities become clearer and any machinery of government changes have occurred, this could mean as many as 10 (out of 18) ministerial offices. This situation highlights what QFF has long advocated for – a cross-portfolio ministerial forum to appropriately deal with the issues that modern agriculture faces.
It will therefore be important for the government to quickly establish its Agricultural Ministerial Advisory Council (AgMac). For AgMac to be successful, it must bring relevant ministers to an objective, solutions-focused table, and its decisions must feed directly in to Cabinet. Without the right purpose and structure, it will achieve little.
Some other election commitments that will need similar guidance and/or consultation include the Rural Jobs and Skills Alliance continuation, the expanded Energy Savers Plus program, the export distribution centre feasibility study, rural economic development grants, and the Land Restoration Fund.
As a returning government, it is also important that issues that were put on hold when the election was called are quickly picked up and progressed. Some key issues QFF was working on with the government include electricity tariff reforms, a Solar Planning Guideline (and Code) and general planning reforms, bulk water pricing, Condamine Alluvium groundwater buybacks, Local Management Arrangements, the statewide water measurement and compliance audit, and removing stamp duty on agricultural insurance.
There will also be issues to work through where industry and government principally differ, such as increasing regulation in the Reef catchments and vegetation management. QFF remain committed to consultative and conciliatory approaches to find ways forward on these issues and deliver mutually beneficial outcomes. Only through evidence based approaches that properly consider the views of all stakeholders will the government be able to achieve its goals in these areas.
Throughout the incoming term, agriculture has the potential to continue to be a major employer, support regional communities, better manage our natural resources, increase export revenues, and become an even stronger pillar of the state’s economy. Encouragingly, the government has frequently recognised and acknowledged the sector’s importance and value, but talk is cheap. With a majority government, there is no excuse for not walking the talk.
QFF welcome the returning Labor Government, congratulate all Ministers appointed to the new 18-member Cabinet, and look forward to working together to deliver the vibrant and thriving agricultural sector Queensland deserves.
QFF is the united voice of intensive agriculture in Queensland. It represents the interests of peak state and national agricultural industry organisations that collectively represent more than 13,000 primary producers across the state.