Lazarus, Labor and Greens want job-destroying sugar tax

JUNE 22, 2016: SUGAR cane farmers, sugar industry workers and those who live in communities which are underpinned by sugar should be wary of being crash-tackled by Glenn Lazarus – the senator who wants a sugar tax.Mr Lazarus has shown that he is firmly aligned with the Greens and Labor on the sugar tax issue, and cannot be regarded as an independent voice.A sugar tax will destroy local jobs and hurt local farmers.Job on farms, harvesting jobs, jobs in mills and in the refinery and at ports are all at risk when people talk about introducing a sugar tax.There is only one party which has ruled out a sugar tax and that’s the Liberal National Government.The Greens want a sugar tax; they’re calling for 20% on drinks.Lazarus wants it; he’s been quoted as saying ‘I really like the idea of a sugar tax’.And Labor has done modelling on the revenue benefit of a sugar tax.A vote for any of the three – Labor, Lazarus or the Greens – is a job-destroying vote.Minister for Rural Health Fiona Nash had also ruled out a sugar tax, stating it would be a simplistic response to a complex problem, and a tax which would unfairly impact the most vulnerable.There is no gain for this region from a sugar tax, only the threat of lost jobs.If you support local jobs and the sugar industry, Lazarus, Labor and the Greens must go last.