Bob Brown running scared on green tax deductibility

FORMER Greens leader Bob Brown should demonstrate he has the courage to stand by his convictions in relation to green groups deserving tax deductibility status, rather than hiding from a parliamentary inquiry.Mr Brown stated today that he was “reconsidering appearing before the parliamentary inquiry into tax-deductibility” which will be held in Hobart on Tuesday.It seems that Bob Brown is running scared, which makes me think ‘what has the green movement got to hide?’

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South Pacific alliance aids superyacht industry

A NEW alliance to promote superyachting in the South Pacific region will help the Whitsundays create more jobs as it becomes established as a destination. South Pacific Superyachting, a collaboration between Australia, New Zealand, Tahiti, and Fiji, aims to double both the number of superyachts that currently visit the South Pacific annually, and the number of days they spend in the region by 2018.

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Centre to cater for more medicos

A plan to create an expanded medical facility in Mackay’s city centre will provide space for teaching medical students and GPs.I congratulate One Stop Medical Centre’s owner Dr Rachel Bidgood, who has been successful in her application for a Rural and Regional Teaching Infrastructure Grant (RRTIG).This $300,000 of Federal Government funding will ultimately provide better health outcomes for the people of Mackay.Dr Bidgood plans an extension consisting of five consultation rooms, a training room, library, treatment room and two rooms for visiting specialists.

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Farmer friendly business environment

6 July 2015: Through the Agricultural Competitiveness White Paper, the Australian Government released a series of measures designed to strengthen the contribution of agriculture to the national economy by providing a better business environment for farmers. These initiatives will play a critical role in developing a better business environment for agriculture by increasing farmgate returns, improving risk management and encouraging investment.

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Ag white paper commits to clearer country of origin labelling

6 July: The Australian Government underlined its commitment to improved country of origin labelling to help consumers make informed choices about the origin of the food they eat with the release of the Agricultural Competitiveness White Paper. Considerable public interest in the issue made it clear that consumers wanted to know whether the products they were buying were sourced locally or from overseas.

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Securing Australia’s water supply for the future

5 July 2015: The Australian Government has set up a National Water Infrastructure Development Fund with $500 million for water infrastructure, including dams, through the Agricultural Competitiveness White Paper. An allocation of $50 million will support the planning necessary to decide on viable projects for investment, and $450 million was available to construct water infrastructure in partnership with states and territories.

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ACCC to champion agribusiness transparency

5 July 2015: The Australian Government has acted on concerns raised by farmers about supply chain transparency during the consultation phase of the Agricultural Competitiveness White Paper. The white paper commits $11.4 million to establish an Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) Commissioner dedicated to agriculture as well as supporting capability at the ACCC concerned with agriculture supply chain issues.

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Bright future for coal

Queensland’s coal industry has a bright future, built on the back of continuing strong demand from Japan, China and India. And with this bright future comes continued prosperity and jobs for the people of the Mackay region.However, Queensland Resources Council chief executive Michael Roche says green activists continue their unrelenting bid to shut down Queensland’s fossil fuel sector, also without a care for the jobs and prosperity this sector brings to resources hubs such as Mackay.He told me this week: “My prediction of a bright future might seem like an overly buoyant appraisal in the current climate, however our coal companies are preparing for the next inevitable upturn.

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Extreme green antics and the effects on Bowen

Bowen Chamber of Commerce president Bruce Hedditch reckons the Bowen community has had enough of the antics of green activists who sought to use the Abbot Point expansion project for their own ends. Here’s what he had to say:“The community is very upset with what’s happening with the delays. They’ve been going on for such a long time and we seem to be a political football when it comes to Abbot Point. This is not about Abbot Point - it relates purely to coal development.“They’re telling mistruths. It’s about time those people stepped aside; they’ve had a fair go with their objections to the development, and they’ve been defeated every time.

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Talking about tax breaks for extreme greens

THIS Question and Answer session with my parliamentary colleague Alex Hawke provides some information regarding the Inquiry into the Register of Environmental Organisations which I am involved with. What this is really about is questioning the ability of millionaires and others having the ability to get a generous tax break when they donate to environmental groups who want to see the demise of the industry this region depends on.

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Community input on Ice handed to Taskforce

THE valuable feedback gathered during two Ice Forums held in Mackay and Bowen this month has been officially handed over to the head of the Abbott Government’s Ice Taskforce.I met with Taskforce chairman Ken Lay, the former Victorian Police Chief Commissioner, in Canberra last week to present the findings from two very productive and frank discussion forums to gather information about the extent of the ice problem in our region.

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Green activists killing jobs on your taxes

Anti-coal activists are attacking jobs and industry and they are doing it at taxpayer expense. A Federal Government inquiry will investigate how green groups are able to take advantage of a tax privilege to prosecute their ideological agendas.If you care about jobs in Mackay and Bowen and further afield, if you care about projects that will inject huge amounts of money and confidence back into our region, then you should also be rightfully angry about the actions of these extreme greens. They pretend they’re saving the reef, but it’s not about the reef at all. It’s about destroying the coal industry, and your jobs and our economy along with it.

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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.

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Pitt, stop your buck passing

I HAVE just one simple question for State Labor Government ministers who can’t seem to get their stories straight as they play the blame game on the approvals process for Adani’s massive mine, rail and port project.Gentlemen, can you rehearse your lines, but most importantly, where is the Environmental Impact Statement?”Yesterday the Queensland Labor Treasurer Curtis Pitt wanted to lay the blame for approval delays on the Federal Government, while the office of his Mines Minister Dr Anthony Lynham confirmed that the State Coordinator-General was still assessing Adani’s further application for port facilities at Abbot Point and a number of rail-related applications.

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