Rural Vote Worth A Thought

By Kevin Borg, Chairman, CANEGROWERS Mackay

We are a month out from the next local government election, to be held 16 March.

Councils and their mayors can play an important role in outcomes for farming businesses across the regions. Between the Isaac and Mackay region cane farming sector alone, that is upwards of ONE THOUSAND family farming businesses, supporting 8.3 per cent of the Mackay-Plane Creek workforce and a raft of service businesses, millers, and beyond across the regional economy.

Local government can play an important part in speaking up for the value of the sugar industry in the regional economy, and certainly both current Isaac and Mackay Mayors have been strong advocates for the potential of our industry. But this election we’d ask the mayoral and councillor candidates to think about how they could support farmers and rural communities across the Mackay and Isaac local government areas. We form an integral part of the regional identity, and are the mindful managers of a substantial portion of the land.

Roads: If you take a drive about the countryside, you’ll find road conditions good, bad and ugly: from decent carriageways to narrow, uneven bitumen to dirt roads in need of decent maintenance. These are the roads that lead to our homes. They are the roads some of us need to use to haul out along to sidings. Some roads are so bad, they damage our vehicles just in the course of getting around. No-one would put up with it in town, why do we have to put up with it in rural communities? Yes, regional road networks account for many kilometres, but all ratepayers equally deserve a reasonable road quality and safety standard.

Rates: In Mackay region cane farms, which are both small businesses and family homes pay a cents-in-the-dollar rate that is virtually the same as a Paget engineering business. Whilst an adjustment to that did result in a decrease in the actual rates paid by some growers, increases to land valuations – for some growers by up to 60% - meant that many farmers had a real and substantial increase to the rates paid, into the thousands per rates bill. These cases need to be rectified. The cents-in-the-dollar rate is double that of other rural landholders. Cane-farmers operating in the Isaac region are treated far more equitably.

Rural dumping: This is an issue for landholders of all types – including council. Farmers – particularly ones living closer to town often find other residents are using their land as a dump, rather than paying to dump at proper facilities. Farmers can be left with substantial waste removal bills when illegal dumping occurs, and more support from council is needed to manage this.

Biosecurity: Feral animal and weed control are important issues. Pigs, particularly, continue to be a major problem in farming systems, doing substantial economic damage to crops and environmental damage to creek-lines. Weeds can be spread along road networks and waterways. There is some great work done by pest teams in council, and by natural resource management groups like Landcare and Reef Catchments. It would be fantastic to see more funding for this, and more boots on the ground. Weed and pest management is a whole of community issue, impacting farms, natural environments and recreational spaces.

Land under cane: We’ve seen a lot of quality agricultural land disappear over the past few decades as Mackay’s population has grown- it’s disappeared for roads, for housing, for other industry’s footprints. Retaining quality agricultural land under cane is an important issue for the longevity of the industry, and incentives that support this would be welcomed.

If sugarcane is worth decorating the city gates with, it’s worth making sure that it retains its place as a keystone in the economy, and the great rural communities that grow around it have quality municipal services and support.

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CAPTION: Mackay’s large farming and rural vote is worth a thought for candidates in the upcoming local government election. Pictures: Kirili Lamb

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