Matthew Canavan (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Minister for Resources and Northern Australia) Share this | Hansard source

You would think that for laws that impact on almost all of Queensland—as Senator O'Sullivan outlined in his earlier question, at least 84 per cent of Queensland is affected by this—the Queensland government would actually talk to and listen to those people who manage that part of the state. Many farmers have provided evidence that these laws will strip enormous amounts of wealth and prosperity from them without a cent or a dollar of compensation. It's a property right taken from them without any compensation from the Queensland government.

Cattle farmers Blair and Josie Angus from Moranbah in Central Queensland say they will have $3.3 million wiped off their balance sheet. As Blair said: 'The last surviving manufacturing industry is food manufacturing. If these laws continue, it's goodbye grass-fed beef.' The Anguses want to build a meatworks in Moranbah and that'll be put at risk by these laws. Beef and crop farmer Peter Thompson makes the point these laws:

… will lead to erosion because we won't be able to manage scrub.

The laws won't even necessarily meet their objective because they don't have any understanding of how to manage the land. It's why farmers are against these laws, and it's why people who support farmers should be against them too. (Time expired)