Bruce Scott (Maranoa, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to discuss an issue of major concern not only to the people of my electorate of Maranoa but to the entire Australian population. The farming communities of Haystack and Warra in the region of the Darling Downs have recently been informed of a decision by the Queensland Labor government to grant Tarong Energy, a state government owned enterprise, a mineral development licence over the most fertile, arable soils in the state. The community and farmers are obviously devastated by this news. With just one letter to the stakeholder, the Queensland Labor government has just wiped away long-laid plans to pass on farms to children, grandchildren and even great-grandchildren. With just one letter, the families of Warra and Haystack now face an uncertain future. Last year Haystack farmers alone produced enough grain to make 68 million loaves of bread—1.3 million loaves each week for Australian families. Under the rich, arable lands that provide this grain lies only 25 years worth of coal. In 25 to 30 years, when the mining equipment has been packed up, that area will no longer be making bread for Australian families.

We are on the verge of a global food crisis. By the end of this year, the world will have eaten more grain than it has produced in the last 12 months. Global grain production will need to increase by around 50 per cent between 2000 and 2030 to meet global demand, and yet the Queensland Labor government is happy to destroy an area that is so crucial in helping Australia provide the world with clean, green food. Mining companies in Queensland, as in many parts of Australia, have more rights than the title deed holder. We understand the importance of energy generation and export success, but we must recognise the fundamental importance of food security for our nation. Our prime arable farming soils are so very limited across Australia, and they must be provided with the same protection as our conservation areas. There is no point in inviting foreign tourists to visit the Daintree Forest and the Great Barrier Reef if we cannot feed them when they arrive.

It is of the utmost urgency that we put in place policies and legislation to protect Australia’s prime arable soils. The question needs to be answered: what is more important, coal or food? I think most Australians would answer that question rather easily. As the farmers of the Warra and Haystack areas say about this rich arable soil that is a gift to all of us in this nation, ‘You cannot eat coal for breakfast.’ I support the drive by many farmers in some of the most productive arable soils, so limited in our nation, that we must take strong and decisive action to protect these soils from mining operations. (Time expired)