Qld: Dairy farmers to milk votes

AAP General News (Australia)
12-15-2003
Qld: Dairy farmers to milk votes

By Paul Osborne

BRISBANE, Dec 15 AAP - Disgruntled dairy farmers plan to run television and radio advertisements
in more than a dozen seats during next year's Queensland election.

Australian Milk Producers Association spokesman Shane Paulger said today his organisation,
which supports re-regulation of the industry, would not be supporting individual candidates
but pointing out the flaws in the parties' policies.

"We will be saying some of these members of parliament have let us down severely,"

Mr Paulger said.

"It's the only thing that politicians understand - if they are threatened to lose their jobs."

A state election is due by May next year.

Mr Paulger said a "substantial amount of money" would be pumped into the campaign in
around 18 seats, which would be repeated later in the year during the federal election.

Meanwhile, the coalition today announced it would give dairy industry players a direct
say on government policy if elected next year.

Opposition leader Lawrence Springborg said today a working group, which would be set
up within the first 100 days of a coalition government, would have an open brief.

"The coalition's dairy working group would have free rein to investigate all the issues
impacting on dairy farmers and make wideranging recommendations to support the industry,"

Mr Springborg said.

The state government has forecast the value of milk production to expected to drop
10 per cent to $215 million in 2003-04.

Mr Springborg said low prices, drought, rising feed costs and water charges and industry
deregulation were all impacting on dairy farmers' bottom lines.

The working group would comprise dairy farmers, milk processors, retailers and transport
sector representatives.

A spokesman for Primary Industries Minister Henry Palaszczuk said the government already
had a working relationship with the dairy industry.

The spokesman said while the government had improved aid for farmers, the key problem
was price, which was a national issue.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and major supermarket chains needed
to take up the issue, he said.

Mr Paulger said the working group would not solve the industry's woes.

AAP pjo/sc/cjh/

KEYWORD: DAIRY QLD

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