QUEENSLAND farmers will be looking for all political parties to set out visionary policies that drive productivity growth and profitability in the agricultural sector, now that the election date has been set at March 24, says the Queensland Farmers' Federation.
Last week, Premier Anna Bligh announced the election date, and also that the Local Government elections would be moved to April 28.
QFF said it understands that there will be one more sitting of Parliament before the Government enters caretaker mode on February 19 and the formal election campaign begins. In reality, the announcement of the date means that the campaign has already begun – if it had not already.
"Heading toward the election, farmers will expect a new government to deliver leadership that can support growth, and also to not throw cumbersome regulatory hurdles and red tape upon the sector," QFF said.
"We will expect all sides of politics to outline how they will deliver positive policies that underpin the profitability of agriculture, and to do so in a way that balances it with the State’s other big industry, the resources sector."
QFF said that the current government set a target for the agricultural sector to be worth $40 billion by 2020, and the LNP has a target of doubling food production by 2040.
"This is the election where we need to see policies that spell out what each party would do to make that happen - policies, strategies and investments that go beyond targets."
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