$28,400 grant for business to train up staff
SECURING a Liberal National Government Industry Skills Fund grant of more than $28,000 will enable Paget-based business Mackay Conveyor Equipment to train up employees in preparation for a diversified future.I paid the business a visit today and caught up with managing director Jason Kelly, who told me he wanted to upskill his staff so together they could work towards establishing a consistent flow of business.He said it came down to looking further afield to source work for his business which has traditionally provided parts and maintenance services to coal mines in the Bowen Basin.
Wilmar negotiations welcome
We've had good news late today that Wilmar Sugar will begin negotiations with cane growers which recognise their right to a say over who markets their sugar.I’m pleased to hear that Wilmar is now ready to come to the negotiating table following the changes to legislation passed in State Parliament late last year, and thank goodness the tantrum is over.Wilmar have now written to growers to say that they will comply with the new laws which enable growers to choose who markets their sugar, whether it’s Wilmar or Queensland Sugar Limited.
Sugar, it’s sweet with me
The push for a sugar tax in Australia by celebrity chef Jamie Oliver was not one that would win him any accolades in the sugar-growing regions of Queensland.I’m no poster boy for health and fitness, but sugar is not the only nutrient to blame for obesity and that point has been made previously by the Dieticians Association of Australia.Introducing a sugar tax would cost jobs in this part of the world, and that’s the last thing we need right now.Operations like the Mackay Sugar Refinery which produces sugar purely for the domestic market, as well as our sugar mills and even cane farms would face job cuts if such a plan was introduced.
Foreign millers acting like spoilt brats
FOREIGN-owned millers such as Wilmar and Mitr Phol need to stop throwing temper tantrums and get on with business.Wilmar is saying it will not sign any further agreements for next year’s crop and Mitr Phol has announced that it was cease all new investment across its Australian sugar business.Both foreign millers are reacting to the passing of legislation in State Parliament to ensure growers have choice over who markets their sugar.These foreign-owned millers are behaving like two-year-olds chucking a tantrum because the parliament hasn’t done what they wanted.
State Labor need to ‘cop it sweet’ on sugar deal
THE sugar industry owes a debt of gratitude to the Liberal National Party, Katter’s Australian Party and independent state MPs who stood up for a grower’s right to a say over who markets their sugar in the Queensland Parliament last night.Though the Palaszczuk Labor Government now intends to seek Federal intervention on a deal which backs growers rather than foreign millers, they have little chance of succeeding.I particularly congratulate the LNP Shadow Minister for Agriculture Deb Frecklington and Katter Australia Party MP Shane Knuth on their considerable efforts to secure this amendment to the Sugar Act which will ensure that growers have a real choice over who markets their sugar.
Sugar industry issued with marketing ultimatum
SUGAR industry representatives were given an ultimatum on marketing in Canberra today by the Minister for Industry and Science Ian Macfarlane.About 40 people from various sectors of the industry attended the meeting at Parliament House this morning organised by the Industry Minister.There was a very robust discussion with questioning and rebuttals, and all points of view were heard.However due to the impasse, the Minister has announced he will appoint an independent mediator to work with the industry on resolving this, and the industry now has 30 to 45 days to achieve that resolution.
Calling on our allies to seal a sweet deal
I'M urging our allies on many battlefields to once again recognise the historically strong relationship between Australia and the United States and come up with a sweet deal for sugar in the US Trans Pacific Partnership.Negotiators head to Hawaii next week for what could be the final round of talks, and we need a strengthened sugar trading relationship.Queensland sugar cane growers will be understandably devastated if we do not see an outcome of a commercially significant agreement on sugar with the US.
Taskforce recommends Sugar Code of Conduct
THE ABBOTT Government’s Sugar Marketing Code of Conduct Taskforce will today recommend to Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce and Small Business Minister Bruce Billson that a mandatory Code of Conduct be adopted for the sugar industry.The overarching fact is cane growers operate in markets which are not truly free, as they are, by and large, forced to sell their product to a single monopoly miller.The overreach by millers, in seeking to further entrench a lack of competition in the market by monopolising the marketing of sugar had caused widespread anxiety about the future of the industry.
Singapore FTA clear on anti-competitive behaviour
THE Singapore Free Trade Agreement very clearly makes provision for measures such as a proposed Code of Conduct, or amendments to the state-legislated Sugar Act.I am outlining the relevant sections of the Singapore FTA in response to media claims that Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has urged Queensland Government representatives to vote against proposals by the Liberal National Party and Katter’s Australia Party to make changes to the Queensland Sugar Act.I can confirm that I have personally spoken with the Minister for Foreign Affairs Julie Bishop and received an assurance from her that she has never insinuated or inferred that a proposed sugar marketing code of conduct, nor any changes to the state-legislated Sugar Act, would breach any Free Trade Agreement or World Trade Organisation rules.