Federal Labor Leader, Bill Shorten has launched an aggressive attack on Queensland’s agriculture sector with his ideologically-driven proposal to impose a federal 'climate trigger' on state vegetation management laws. I condemn the Federal Labor Leader's new policy, slamming it as another 'centralist' and 'interventionist' policy that undermined the relationship between and Commonwealth and State Governments.
Subscribe now for unlimited access to all our agricultural news
across the nation
or signup to continue reading
Bill Shorten and Federal Labor are returning to their crazy old schemes on climate change, but this time they’re not only going to waste taxpayers money and drive up the cost of electricity, they’re going to create massive uncertainty for agriculture and stop northern development in its tracks. Mr Shorten’s plan rides roughshod over states' rights to manage native vegetation, and is clearly part of a crusade by Federal Labor to resuscitate its failed and unpopular carbon tax policy.
Labor’s ‘carbon tax by stealth’ scheme will add another layer of complexity to the massive uncertainty already created by the Palaszczuk Labor Government in Queensland with their plans to trash the LNPs sensible 2012 reforms to vegetation management. With this announcement of a proposed federal 'climate trigger' on vegetation management activities, Bill Shorten has shown himself to be an enemy of farmers and regional communities in Queensland.
Labor is trying to use farmers as cash cows to make their climate change policy stack up. They couldn’t care less about the drastic impacts farmers will have to cop in terms of reduced productivity and plunging property values.
I urge Queenslanders to reject Shorten's attack on state rights and resist Federal Labor's climate change policy collusion with the extreme greens.
The Federal Environment Minister, Greg Hunt, has described Federal Labor's new climate change policy as a 'carbon tax on steroids' - well there is no doubt in my mind that Bill Shorten was on something when he came up with this outrageous policy to steal the property rights of farmers and offend state rights.
- LNP Shadow Natural Resources and Northern Development Minister, Andrew Cripps
