July 11, 2012
Queensland Agriculture Minister John McVeigh slammed Federal Labor’s carbon tax today saying it would cripple regional Queensland by driving up the cost of doing business and potentially kill off local industries and jobs across the State.
“Rural Queensland will pay more for everything under the carbon tax with families, businesses and entire communities all set to suffer or even go under,” Mr McVeigh said.
“Australia’s biggest abattoir and Ipswich’s biggest private employer, Dinmore Meatworks, is one of the companies which will pay an extra $3.3 million a year because of this tax.
“The carbon tax is yet another kick in the guts for the cattle industry, which is already on its knees after the Gillard government suspended the live cattle trade to Indonesia last year.
“The carbon tax will drive cattle transport costs up. Freight is already expensive, so a carbon tax fuelled price rise will make road transport even more expensive again for some graziers, especially those in the farflung corners of Queensland.”
He said research showed the average Queensland primary producer would pay an extra $1500 a year in costs under a carbon price of $23 per tonne, eroding their net farm income by 2.4 per cent.
“Labor just doesn’t get it when it comes to agriculture. They never have and they never will,” Mr McVeigh said.
“Producers are already doing everything they can to keep their heads above water in the face of a high Australian dollar and low commodity prices yet the Gillard Government is putting more pressure on them and making it even harder to run a farm, repay the debt and get ahead.”
