Statement from LNP Shadow Energy Minister Michael Hart:
"Queensland households are paying around $42 more for electricity a year under the Palaszczuk Labor Government.
"Today’s modest reduction in wholesale electricity prices from the Queensland Competition Authority (QCA) is only because the LNP called out government-owned generator Stanwell for gaming the market.
"Under Labor there is a lack of competition in the wholesale electricity market which is causing sustained high wholesale prices.
"Labor’s so-called CleanCo* isn’t reducing prices – the experts and industry don’t know how it will operate because Labor hasn’t even set it up despite it being a key election commitment.
"The government directed the QCA to take the introduction of CleanCo into account in finalising this determination but the QCA and their consultants were unable to do so as Labor’s new company doesn’t exist (page 37 QCA report).
"Annastacia Palaszczuk should immediately introduce retail competition across the state to bring power bills down.
"It’s not fair that people in regional Queensland can’t chose who they buy their electricity from.
"Irrigators got no decrease at all from today’s QCA determination – another kick in the guts to our farmers from Labor.
"The Palaszczuk Government is treating people in regional Queensland like second class citizens and dividing the state."
*CleanCo was promised by Labor to deliver 1,000MW of new, affordable renewable energy projects for Queensland.
Letter to the Editor
There is nothing more precious than a child’s life.
Yet in Queensland last year 19 children drowned – 10 more than in the previous year.
These tragedies could have been avoided if all young Queenslanders were taught to swim.
Which is why the Liberal National Party promised to provide free swimming lessons for 120,000 Queensland kids at the last state election.
Following criticism of Queensland’s record on child drownings earlier this year, the Palaszczuk Labor Government eventually decided to order a review into what could be done.
I don’t believe parents in the South Burnett want another review – they just want their kids to learn to swim.
Annastacia Palaszczuk’s first government commissioned 213 reviews in just 18 months.
Labor is great at ordering reviews, but bad at solving problems.
The way to prevent more drownings is simple – make sure all our kids can swim.
The Liberal National Party will continue to argue for universal access to swimming lessons in our schools and will continue to pressure the Premier on this issue.
The safety of Queensland kids should be the top priority of any government.
Deb Frecklington
Member for Nanango
DELIVERING faster payments to businesses working with the State Government is part of Liberal National Party Leader Deb Frecklington’s plan to encourage owners to grow and employ more Queenslanders.
Ms Frecklington and Shadow Minister for Small Business Fiona Simpson unveiled the plan to industry representatives at a breakfast in Brisbane this morning.
"Small businesses are the backbone of Queensland’s economy and the LNP’s plan delivers the State Government support they deserve," Ms Frecklington said.
"My LNP team and I back small businesses – Queensland’s job creators - to grow, invest and succeed by committing to introduce faster payments.
"Efficient cash-flow is crucial for the stability and growth of small businesses.
"The LNP’s Fair Pay Policy would support businesses to organise their plans, hire more Queenslanders and invest in opportunities knowing they’ll be paid sooner rather than later."
Part of the LNP’s plan to boost small business is the Fair Pay Policy where government contracts up to $1 million would be paid within 20 calendar days, down from the current 30.
Ms Frecklington said her plan, if elected at the October 2020 state election, also included a commitment to reduce red tape by 20 per cent over six years.
"Annastacia Palaszczuk’s Labor Government has made it harder for Queensland businesses by increasing red tape while introducing new taxes at the same time," she said.
"There are red flags everywhere for our businesses – no wage growth, high unemployment, a youth jobs crisis in regional Queensland and flat-lining business confidence.
"Our plan would allow businesses to spend less time complying with paperwork and more time focused on creating jobs.
"Hours and minutes are worth just as much to small businesses as dollars and cents."
Ms Simpson said the Labor Government had no plans and no targets for supporting Queensland’s small businesses.
"The CCIQ Pulse Survey released earlier this month showed business confidence was at its lowest level since 2016," Ms Simpson said.
"What kind of government would rather tax Queensland businesses than support them?
"I’m proud to be part of an LNP team that has a plan to work with small businesses to ensure they can continue to drive Queensland’s economy and create jobs."
"The LNP welcomes the decision by the Supreme Court on the New Acland project.
"Hundreds of jobs and communities depend upon the continuation of New Hope’s operation.
"Today’s final orders underline that the Palaszczuk Government should have respected the current legal process and not refused the application to amend the environmental authority for the New Acland Stage 3 project.
"Labor’s contempt for the legal process has caused massive investment uncertainty in Queensland.
"It sent shockwaves through the state’s resources sector and showed that, under Labor, Queensland is not a place that is open for business.
"The matter will now be reconsidered by the Land Court and the LNP respects this process."
"Labor’s $1 million is simply not enough to tackle Queensland’s feral pig problem.
"The LNP had promised $3 million for this initiative at the election.
"We welcome Labor copying the LNP’s plan to manage feral pigs and control the spread of Panama TR4 disease, but the funding just isn’t enough.
"It’s another example of Labor ignoring the needs of agriculture and regional communities.
"Agriculture is vital to Queensland but it’s being neglected by Labor."
A statement from Deb Frecklington in relation to the Police Minister’s media release today about ‘Operation Quebec Overwhelm’ in Murgon and Cherbourg.
"I welcome this crime crackdown in Murgon and Cherbourg, but the Minister’s statement is a slap in the face for these communities," Mrs Frecklington said
"His claims that ‘police resources are promptly allocated when an issue arises’ is simply not true. We have been calling for extra police resourcing to tackle the crime-wave in these communities since January this year.
"Four months doesn’t seem like a prompt response to me.
"It is obvious we need a more permanent solution in the South Burnett, not a fly-in, fly-out band-aid on this problem.
"I wrote a third letter to the Minister on 18th May urgently seeking more staffing and resources for the Murgon Police Station and a stronger, continued police presence in both Murgon and Cherbourg.
"The Minister can’t wipe his hands of this matter now and think it’s all fixed. The work must continue to address the crime-wave," Deb said.
We want our kids to be the smartest in the nation.
As a mother of three teenage girls, I know reading and writing are two of the basic skills our kids need to get a job and succeed in life.
With the worst unemployment rate in Australia, Annastacia Palaszczuk and Labor should be doing more to help our next generation of workers get a good job.
Revelations English will not be a mandatory inclusion for ATAR, the new university entrance ranking system, diminishes the importance of the subject.
It also sends the wrong message to our kids and our teachers. We should be boosting literacy and numeracy standards, not reducing standards.
English should not be treated like a third-rate subject.
If it’s good enough for the other states, it should be good enough for Queensland kids.
Annastacia Palaszczuk needs to intervene and reverse this terrible decision.
Education is a major priority for me and my team because we know that an investment in education is an investment in the future of our children and grandchildren.
Labor are settling for second best and we don’t think that’s good enough.
Deb Frecklington
Liberal National Party Leader
The Palaszczuk Labor Government today refused to cut water bills for South East Queenslanders.
LNP Leader Deb Frecklington said she was appalled that Labor defeated a motion in State Parliament calling on the Palaszczuk Government to use its power to reject massive water price hikes over the next three years for households in SEQ.
"The LNP understands that Queenslanders are struggling to make ends meet every week and we asked the Premier to use her power to stop water price rises," Ms Frecklington said.
"Before the last election Annastacia Palaszczuk promised Queenslanders their water bills wouldn’t increase.*
"Today the Premier all but confirmed she’d be breaking that promise, like so many others.
"South East Queenslanders are already suffering soaring power prices and now they’re set to be slugged $50 to $90 more for water – three to five times the rate of inflation."
The LNP motion stated:
"This House calls on the Palaszczuk Labor Government to rule out accepting the Queensland Competition Authority’s recommendation for an increase in water prices."
Shadow Natural Resources Minister Dale Last said Annastacia Palaszczuk had the power to reject the Queensland Competition Authority’s recommendations to increase SEQ water prices but refused to do so.
The Queensland Competition Authority’s Final Report for SEQ bulk water prices has recommended price increases of over:
"Queenslanders are still paying the price for Labor’s multi-billion dollar water grid fail that saw pipes built without dams and dams built without pipes," Mr Last said.
"Labor’s legacy has been a 400 per cent increase in bulk water prices over 10 years.
"It’s the same old story – Queenslanders always end up paying because of Labor’s incompetence and lack of planning."
Liberal National Party Leader Deb Frecklington today issued a warning to primary producers across Queensland - Annastacia Palaszczuk and Labor are a threat to farming families and rural communities.
On a visit to Rockhampton to celebrate Beef Week, Ms Frecklington said the LNP’s fight against the Labor Government’s unfair, unjust and devastating vegetation management laws would continue.
"Agriculture generates economic benefit and jobs for tens of thousands of Queenslanders," Ms Frecklington said.
"We have an industry to be proud of, but it’s an industry with a lot of uncertainty now Annastacia Palaszczuk has rammed her vegetation management laws through Parliament.
"Labor’s unfair vegetation management laws mean farming families will struggle and rural communities will be gutted.
"Let’s be incredibly clear - the reason we are stuck in this mess with a majority Labor Government is because Pauline Hanson’s One Nation preferenced against sitting LNP members.
"Only a vote for the LNP in 2020 would deliver certainty for all Queenslanders, in particular in rural and regional areas.
"I hope the mistakes of the 2017 election that saw this majority Labor Government elected are never repeated and people take with a grain of salt the outlandish promises minor parties make but can never deliver."
Ms Frecklington said the LNP would work to ensure farmers were never used as a political football again and would hold discussions with all stakeholders to ensure a truly common-sense and workable vegetation management policy.
"We want to give our farming communities certainty so they are never kicked in the guts like this again," Ms Frecklington said.
"Our canegrowers, beef and horticultural producers do fantastic work to farm sustainably and feed the country.
"The LNP will continue to fight these unfair laws on behalf of farming communities."
Photo: Opposition Leader, Deb Frecklington, speaking at Beef 2018.
Labor’s unjust vegetation management laws will devastate Queensland farmers and destroy desperately needed jobs in the bush, LNP Leader Deb Frecklington said tonight.
On a day when a corruption scandal is engulfing the Queensland Labor Party in Ipswich, Ms Frecklington said it was a disgrace Annastacia Palaszczuk’s Labor Government had abused their numbers and rammed their vegetation management laws through Parliament.
"This arrogant Labor Government silenced the voice of our farmers and rural and regional Queensland tonight by ramming their contentious and damaging vegetation management laws through Parliament," Ms Frecklington said.
"To deny Members of Parliament the opportunity to speak freely on these controversial laws underlines how little Labor cares for farmers.
"They even broke their own new ‘family friendly’ sitting hours to pass these very ‘farmer unfriendly’ laws.
"Labor didn’t listen to farmers and they didn’t listen to Members of Parliament.
"By gagging debate on these laws, Annastacia Palaszczuk showed she couldn’t care less about Queensland farming families and rural communities."
Ms Frecklington said debate on Labor’s controversial laws should have been allowed to continue at the next sitting of Queensland Parliament.
"Annastacia Palaszczuk is supposed to govern for all Queenslanders. Tonight, with the passing of these laws, Annastacia Palaszczuk has robbed regional communities of their future," she said.
"All she cares about is sweeping up green preferences in inner-Brisbane electorates.
"Annastacia Palaszczuk has refused to support sensible amendments by the LNP and Labor’s regional MPs haven’t lifted a finger to help their communities.
"Farmers are the custodians of our land, but this Premier thinks they are criminals."
Ms Frecklington said she was staggered that Labor was locking up almost a million hectares of agricultural land while two-thirds of the state was still drought-declared and outback youth unemployment had risen to 59 per cent.
"The pain won’t just be felt in the bush – every Queenslander will be hit at the checkout," she said.
Liberal National Party Leader Deb Frecklington today pleaded with Annastacia Palaszczuk to listen to farmers and accept a number of proposed amendments to limit the devastating impact of Labor’s Vegetation Management Laws.
"Make no mistake, these laws are terrible. Labor’s laws are unfair, unjust and are based on ideology not science and should be sent packing," Ms Frecklington said.
"Such is the contempt Annastacia Palaszczuk’s government has for our farmers after not bothering to turn up to speak to the hundreds of farmers who left their properties to travel hundreds of kilometres to be heard.
"This situation is extremely desperate for our farmers and we need to use any means necessary to make a bad situation a slightly bit more palatable.
"That’s why we are proposing some common sense amendments that even the most raging greenie would find hard to argue against."
LNP Shadow Minister for Natural Resources and Mines Dale Last said unlike Labor’s farce of a committee process, the LNP has put these amendments together after consultation with farming advocacy groups AgForce and Queensland Farmers’ Federation (QFF).
"The Liberal National Party is proposing five very simple amendments that will help bring more balance to this incredibly flawed Bill," Mr Last said.
The proposed amendments are:
"The Liberal National Party is committed to environmental protection and laws to ensure vegetation management is undertaken in a properly regulated manner. This will ensure biodiversity is protected along with our streams and rivers and particularly in the catchments of the Great Barrier Reef," he said.
"It is important to acknowledge that these five simple and practical amendments do not solve all issues with these flawed laws but they do attempt to bring some administrative and principled balance to the vegetation laws that will offer farmers some reprieve.
"These amendments will make the day to day lives of our farmers a lot easier in what is an already overbearing and restrictive vegetation management system."
The Liberal National Party welcomes the decision today by the Supreme Court. There are hundreds of jobs and communities depending on the continuation of New Hope’s operation.
The Palaszczuk Government should have respected the current legal process and not refused the application to amend the environmental authority for the New Acland stage 3 project.
The matter will now be reconsidered by the Land Court. As always the LNP will respect this process.
Member for Nanango, Deb Frecklington has spoken passionately in Parliament this week about how Labor’s proposed changes to Vegetation Management Laws will hurt primary producers.
Mrs Frecklington’s speech called on the Labor Government to hear the voices of the hundreds of farmers who descended on Parliament House to protest the changes.
"Labor’s proposed changes to the Vegetation Management laws are a brutal and unprovoked attack on the farming families and communities right across Queensland," Mrs Frecklington said.
"I was very proud to speak about Gordonbrook primary producer, Mr Alan Crawford, who sadly passed away on 28th April. Alan had fought against the Vegetation Laws for a long time and I wanted to highlight his plight and the toll it had taken on him and his family.
"The laws we are fighting against will lock up nearly a million hectares of agricultural land from routine practices of vegetation management that keep land in production.
"They will shut down the ability to open up any new agricultural land, killing off thousands of potential jobs and denying billions of dollars in export income for our state.
"These laws reduce farmers to criminals on their own land by reactivating and giving more power to Labor’s dreaded tree police. These laws tie up rural producers in reams of red tape including costly bureaucratic development application processes that see these landholders charged thousands of dollars just to manage their own thickened vegetation—and all at a time when Queensland desperately needs to grow this important agricultural sector," Deb said.
"I would really like to applaud all the primary producers right across Queensland and here in the Nanango Electorate who put so much time into fighting these changes. From the producers who travelled to Brisbane for the rally, to those who held virtual rallies and took to social media to spread the word.
"The effort has been enormous, and I want to let primary producers know that the party that I lead, the Liberal National Party, will always stand shoulder to shoulder with our regional producers, our farmers and our landholders across this state. The LNP will protect farmers’ rights to run sustainable, successful businesses and support their families and the next generation. We will always respect and support the industry that is the economic backbone of this great state," Deb said.
Video –
Please see Deb’s Facebook page for a link to her Parliament speech against the proposed changes to Vegetation Laws - https://www.facebook.com/DebFrecklingtonMP/
Hansard Transcript - Vegetation Management and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 1 May 2018
Mrs FRECKLINGTON (Nanango—LNP) (Leader of the Opposition) (12.20 pm): It is a privilege to hold a seat in this House. It is a privilege that is hard earned, and we have it at the behest of our constituents—constituents across this great state who understand what it is to feed our people and to clothe our people. They are the ones who have spoken out against this bad law.
There is no-one sadder than me that the great Andrew Cripps has not got a seat in this place anymore, because the former member for Hinchinbrook worked his guts out for the people of Queensland, along with the LNP, to make common-sense vegetation management laws so our farmers knew what they were working with. They knew what the boundaries were. These people are not criminals. They are people who are just trying to look after their land, to keep it in the place where it should be for the next generation. They are the custodians of our great state, and it annoys me so much that we are back in this chamber defending those common-sense laws.
Today is one of those days in this parliament that exposes the absolute ignorance and the blatant disrespect that those opposite in the Labor Party have for our Queensland landholders and farmers. Labor’s proposed vegetation management laws are a brutal and unprovoked attack on the farming families and communities right across Queensland. No other issue so starkly demonstrates the difference between them and us. The party that I lead, the Liberal National Party, will always stand shoulder to shoulder with our regional producers, our farmers and our landholders across this state. The LNP will protect farmers’ rights to run sustainable, successful businesses and support their families and the next generation. We will always respect and support the industry that is the economic backbone of this great state. Sadly, but not surprisingly, none of those principles matter to those opposite. If they did, they would not be reintroducing these draconian native vegetation laws that simply make it harder for our regional people to get ahead—and it is not the first time.
For decades the Labor Party have been trying to turn the screws on this proud profession to satisfy their own green obsession and buy those votes in the south-east corner. Make no mistake: behind each and every Labor member in this House is a union master pulling their strings. For decades Labor have put themselves, their green mates and their union masters before the real people of Queensland, and I acknowledge those sitting in the gallery here today.
The LNP is committed to protecting our precious environment. We support laws that properly and fairly regulate the vegetation management practices that farmers must carry out to maintain and boost the productivity of their land. We support laws that protect the streams and rivers of our Great Barrier Reef catchments, but the laws that Labor are proposing are not fair and will hurt farming and grazing families and their communities. They are not fair to the thousands of Queensland farmers who invested in land, livestock and equipment with the clear expectation of being able to manage their properties to make the money they need to pay the bills—the taxes that this Labor government keeps putting on them.
Labor’s laws literally pull the rug from underneath these farming families. These laws lock up nearly a million hectares of agricultural land from routine practices of vegetation management that keep land in production. They shut down the ability to open up any new agricultural land, killing off thousands of potential jobs and denying billions of dollars in export income for our state. These laws reduce farmers to criminals on their own land by reactivating and giving more power to Labor’s dreaded tree police. These laws tie up rural producers in reams of red tape including
costly bureaucratic development application processes that see these landholders charged thousands of dollars just to manage their own thickened vegetation—and all at a time when Queensland desperately needs to grow this important agricultural sector. We have had years of prolonged drought and loss of employment in regional areas. How does Labor defend this? With dodgy figures and no consultation, that is how. The very people these laws hit the hardest were not even given a seat at the table when the laws were written.
The bill was introduced in such a short period of time. On behalf of the LNP, I personally want to thank each and every one of the 13,000 Queenslanders who made submissions to the committee. I want to thank each and every Queenslander who stood out here on Speakers’ Corner and rallied for their rights. I want to thank my family members—graziers from Wandoan—who stood out there to defend the rights of my family to continue farming in this great state. I am a proud daughter of an agricultural producer, and I am not going to stand in this chamber and let those opposite call my family, my friends and the farmers of Queensland criminals.
To add insult to injury, for decades we have had to listen to Labor peddling mistruths about vegetation management in Queensland. They were happy to trash reputations but they are now happy to stand over there and claim that chickpeas are going to solve the world’s problems. Well, I have news for the Premier: you need land to grow chickpeas. It is funny that. My husband and I have grown chickpeas. We know what it takes to grow chickpeas. If you are going to stand up and take credit for Queensland farmers who are growing and exporting chickpeas to feed thousands of starving people across this world of ours, you need laws that allow landholders to manage their land full stop. But do not let the truth ever get in the way of a good story when it comes to the Labor Party and Annastacia Palaszczuk.
The hypocrisy of this Labor government is simply staggering. Not only that, they have hidden from Queenslanders the long-term impact the laws will have on all households. To make it simple for those opposite: if you make it harder for us to farm our land, it is going to be more expensive in the supermarket full stop. Again, it is simple but unfortunately this is what we are dealing with. There is no common sense on that side of the House.
I was proud to be a member of the LNP government that helped restore balance to the vegetation management laws. In 2013 I stood in this House and I spoke about Mr Alan Crawford, a grazier from Gordonbrook in my electorate. I dealt with Mr Crawford when I was a lawyer in Kingaroy. He continued to talk to me after he fell foul of another Labor government’s obsession with farmer bashing in the Vegetation Management Act 1999. After responsibly managing his vegetation since the sixties, the tree police dragged Mr Crawford to court, prosecuted and fined him.
This took a huge toll on his life. He told me at the time, ‘This has taken 10 years off my life.’ Sadly, Mr Crawford passed away two days ago. I would like to send my heartfelt condolences to his family—to Val, their family and friends—and thank them for standing up to these draconian laws after they were at the front line. My message to the rural producers is clear. The Liberal National Party has and will continue to fight for your families. We will fight Labor’s law at every turn. These laws are unfair, they are unjust, they are unworkable and every LNP member in this chamber stands to vote against this bill.
