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THE
ISSUE
The anger and frustration felt by
struggling family
farmers at the devastating policies of successive Federal governments will
undoubtedly be targeted against sitting party
politicians, of all political persuasions, in the coming Federal election.
Primary producers of cattle, dairy,
fishing, grains, pork, sugar, timber and wool, have been deregulated,
restructured or otherwise decimated in the names of the National Competition
Policy, economic rationalism and
globalisation.
Thousands of international treaties
including the Lima Declaration and the General Agreement on Trade in Services
(GATS), plus countless World Trade Organisation, International Monetary Fund and
World Bank agreements, are destroying the very fabric of Australia's society.
President Bush's
trade representative, Bob Zoellick, said the US wanted a Free Trade Agreement
(FTA) with Australia '… as absolutely broad as possible, and that includes
agriculture, manufacturing and services'.
But at what cost to Australia?
Australia's Foreign Investment Review Board
is to remove restrictions on US multinational investors, we must relax our
quarantine laws, remove the 'single desk' grain marketing policy, rewrite our
pharmaceutical benefits scheme, downgrade genetically modified food labelling,
and provide access for US telecommunications, airlines and banking services.
The most frightening aspect of all this,
despite the FTA NOT
being in the best interests of Australia, our elected
representatives supported the FTA proposal, and its introduction effective 1
January 2005.
Unless there is a sustainable, and
specific, RURAL POLICY to guarantee security and a
continued viability for Australia's primary producers, a real possibility of
Australia becoming a nett food-importer will become an eventually.
The party politicians rely on the
'apathy'
demonstrated by a significant number of Australian voters at election time to
ensure their re-election!
It's time for a
change... or there's no
reason to complain!
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POLICY
BRIEF
-
Impose strict
'TARIFFS',
similar to those imposed by Australia's trading partners, on all
IMPORTED agricultural products. This would permit ONLY the importation of
additional agriculture products required for Australian consumption AFTER
the acquisition of Australia's entire annual, or seasonal, crops.
ALTERNATIVELY
-
A 'COMPENSATION
PACKAGE' which will include:
-
An immediate moratorium on
ALL financial institutions from taking any action against primary
producers on outstanding farm
debts
-
Full debt relief to ALL
primary producers eliminated from the market by cheap foreign imports
-
Immediate access to
Government 'assistance' in real financial terms
-
A Government 'Buy-Out' of
family-owned farms, at current MARKET VALUE, with Legislative restrictions prohibiting the resale
of the land to ANY foreign corporation
It is beyond belief that
Australia's elected representatives have condoned the wanton destruction of
Queensland primary industries, via deregulation policies, which only serves the interests
of 'foreign multinational corporations'.
Queensland primary producers have
'had
a gutful' of the national competition policy, globalisation, economic rationalism and free trade
agreements with trading partners who subsidise their primary producers with thousands
of millions of THEIR taxpayer dollars annually, while Australian farming
families are being destroyed by these one-sided international agreements and
treaties.
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It's
Your Choice!
The introduction of
the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS)
has the REAL potential to allow foreign multinational corporations to IMPORT
cheap labour from third world countries, at rates of pay payable in their
home country, to work on 'Company' owned properties snapped up at bargain
basement prices from Australian farming families forced to leave their land as a
result of Australia's Government policy of ratifying of international treaties.
It has ALREADY
happened in the Queensland town of Emerald!
Other likely targets
for international interests include the 'salad bowl' area of the Lockyer Valley,
the coastal growing regions, and the rich fruit and vegetable region of Far North Queensland's Atherton Tableland.
Queensland's primary
producers only have to answer two questions:
-
Have
YOU
had a gutful yet?
-
Are
YOU
hurting enough to do something about it?
If the answer is 'YES'
to both question, then the opportunity is coming for you to send your message to
the
political parties via the ballot box.
It's YOUR
choice!
