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Agribusinesses Back LNP Ag Policy March 21, 2012 - Opposition spokesman for agriculture Andrew Cripps says agribusinesses have put their hands up to support the LNP's plans for the industry. An LNP media release today contains supporting comments from Growcom CEO Alex Livingstone, Canegrowers CEO Steve Greenwood, Australian Sugar Milling Council Chairman Quinton Hildebrand and Brett Finlay from AgForce. "Our comprehensive Agriculture Strategy to double production by 2040, and a number of policies to back that strategy have received strong endorsements from peak industry groups during the election campaign, and they are filtering through to the grass roots," Mr Cripps said. "Our policies to undertake the most comprehensive Land Audit ever in Queensland and provide an additional 15 Biosecurity Officers, for example, attracted strong industry interest." Download the LNP media release * * * You don't have to wait until Saturday to exercise your democratic muscles. If you'd like to vote early in the State Election, pre-poll voting in the South Burnett for the seats of Nanango and Callide is available at: Blackbutt (QGAP Office), 69 Hart Street, March 2-22 Mon-Fri 9:00am-3:30pm, Mar 23 Fri 9:00am-6:00pm (Nanango electorate) Kilkivan (QGAP Office), 26 Bligh Street, March 2-22 Mon-Fri 8:30am-4:30pm, Mar 23 Fri 8:30am-6:00pm (Callide electorate) Kingaroy Courthouse, cnr Kingaroy & Alford Streets, March 2-22 Mon-Fri 9:00am-4:30pm, Mar 23 Fri 9:00am-6:00pm (Nanango electorate) Murgon Courthouse, 48 Stephens Street West, March 2-22 Mon-Fri 9:00am-4:30pm, Mar 23 Fri 9:00am-6:00pm (Callide electorate) Nanango, Office of the Returning Officer, 85-87 Drayton Street, Mar 2-22 Mon-Fri 9:00am-5:00pm, Mar 23 Fri 9am-6:00pm (Nanango electorate) * * * Country singer James Blundell will be performing - and, who knows, Bob Katter may well join in - at this evening's free Katter's Australian Party public meeting at Kingaroy Town Hall. The party's Queensland president Aidan McLindon will also be in attendance, alongside local party candidate Carl Rackemann. * * * The ALP today promised to spend more than $900,000 upgrading the D'Aguilar Highway between Caboolture and Kilcoy if it is re-elected at Saturday's poll. On March 1, LNP leader Campbell Newman announced in Kingaroy that if elected, he would spend $10 million to build passing lanes between Blackbutt and Nanango and between Harlin and Toogoolawah. Now Katter's Australian Party Glass House candidate Peter Harris says his party will transform the D'Aguilar Highway into a 125km/h "super highway"'. But as today's Courier-Mail notes, Mr Harris could not say how many lanes such a road would have or how much it would cost.

A Big Achievement For Local Bendigo Team! ABOVE: South Burnett Community Enterprise Financial Services Limited Directors Noel Strohfeld, Brent McLennan, Bendigo Bank State Manager Noel Jessup, Jeff Connor, Branch Manager Anne Woodrow, Regional Manager Garth Seymour, State Community Enterprise Manager Stephen Simpson and Ross Begent March 20, 2012 - A contingent from the South Burnett Community Enterprises Financial Services Limited, which operates the local Yarraman Community Bank and Blackbutt branch of Bendigo Bank, travelled to Far North Queensland recently to attend the annual Community Bank State Conference. Branch Manager Anne Woodrow was ecstatic that the local branch was not only nominated but won the 2012 Queensland Achievement Award. This award recognises the significant achievement in business growth and profitability while engaging and assisting local youth. South Burnett Community Enterprises Limited says it has always been at the forefront of director education, to help the future capacity of their community and developing significant relationships with government.

Katter Coming Back To Kingaroy March 19, 2012 - Controversial Federal MP Bob Katter is returning to Kingaroy on Wednesday to host a free public meeting from 7:00pm at Kingaroy Town Hall. A press release from his Katter's Australian Party today invited "everyone from the community" to hear Bob Katter and local candidate Carl Rackemann explain their vision and get a chance to ask questions. Meanwhile, the party today advised voters that the "Katter Army" could now "vote in confidence" because the ALP era was over in Queensland. "We announce today unequivocally that Katter's Australian Party will not support a Labor Government after the election," Mr Katter said. "Today marks the end of the Bligh Labor era and on Saturday all Queenslanders will have the opportunity to get rid of Bligh's Labor policies. It is clear Queenslanders are taking a baseball bat with them to the polling booth and Labor's time is up but I plead with them to think about the government they are going to install." The finally party ruled out supporting the ALP after polling showed the Labor vote had collapsed. * * * Katter's Australian Party candidate Carl Rackemann told The Australian newspaper recently, (see story below) that he had not experienced any local backlash over his party's anti-gay marriage TV ad. This has stunned SBBiz reader and Kingaroy resident Polly Birchall who has contacted us - and Carl - to express her point of view: "The first time I saw that ad on TV, I was so shocked that anything like it was even allowed on TV, that would single out a people group in such a volatile way. Those visuals were a deliberate attack on gay people, used simply to incite hatred (by) the anti-gay movement which seems to exist in such a stronghold in this region. "I listened on Sunday to a harrowing documentary on the ABC about the genocide in Bosnia 20 years ago and it featured painful interviews with soldiers from the conflict and survivors. "Has it not occurred to you that this kind of advertising simply incites and encourages hatred of people - groups who are different from oneself? We seem to live in a region of particularly shallow thinkers, homophobes and those clearly bordering on religious extremism. "Can we not learn the lessons from places like Bosnia, Rwanda (and) Germany in WWII?" Polly urged Carl and the Katter party to "take responsibility for your actions" and immediately "stop this kind of publicity, renouncing any affiliation with homophobes". "I myself am a Christian but understand that married couples have civil advantages over gay couples. It seems to me that the issue at stake is a civil one and relates to human rights and should be debated as such," she said. She said politicians should "leave the spiritual high ground to spiritual leaders" and focus on what they can do for a community as opposed to inciting hatred. * * * UPDATE SBBiz has now been contacted by another outraged reader. Jill McKiggan, of Kingaroy, who writes in part: Mr Rackemann, I hope there is a backlash in the Nanango electorate and everywhere else KAP is standing a candidate. Mr Katter's policies may have some credibility - heaven knows we need something better in rural areas than we have had. But to encourage and harness bigotry and hatred in others is shameful and has no rightful place in any religion. Mr Rackemann, do you profess to be a person capable of leading our district in a just and honourable way?

A Day Of Sad Farewells ABOVE: Barry Krosch (who organised Dorothy's farewell function) with Cr Keith Campbell, Dorothy Pratt and Wayne Kratzmann March 19, 2012 - Friday was a day of farewells in the South Burnett ... Retiring Member for Nanango Dorothy "Dolly" Pratt was honoured at a function organised by friends at Kingaroy RSL Club on Friday evening. Dorothy was elected in 1998 as the One Nation representative for Barambah but soon left the party and remained in State Parliament as an Independent MP. In 2001, Barambah was abolished and replaced by the seat of Nanango which Dorothy continued to hold as an Independent. She announced last year that she would not be re-contesting Nanango at the upcoming State election. About 60 people attended her farewell. Dorothy reflected on her 14 years in Parliament. Speeches were given by Don Davey, president of the South Burnett Vietnam Veterans Association (of which Dorothy is Patron), Cr Keith Campbell and former Wondai Shire Deputy CEO Wayne Kratzmann. * * * Earlier in the day, Wayne Kratzmann, (pictured at right with sports guru Russell "Skippy" Exelby), was also farewelled by CROW-FM fans after 14 years at the radio station. Wayne has resigned as breakfast announcer and General Manager of the station to contest the Mayoral position of the South Burnett Regional Council at the upcoming Local Government elections. CROW-FM marked the occasion with a special outside broadcast in Coronation Park at Wondai which was attended by a large crowd. John Box, from the CROW-FM Board, presented Kratzie with a Life Membership of the station to mark the occasion. Chris "Corky" Corcoran has been appointed the new CROW-FM General Manager. Photo courtesy: Eleanor Sharpe * * * Katter's Australian Party candidate for Nanango, Carl Rackemann, has told The Australian newspaper he has not experienced any backlash over the party's anti-gay marriage advertisement. "The position of the party and me personally is pretty straight-forward: marriage is between a man and a woman," Mr Rackemann said. * * * ALP candidate for Nanango Virginia Clarke has criticised the LNP's plan to scrap the commercial Waste Levy, saying it is a short-sighted policy. "This will significantly set back efforts to reduce the substantial environmental and economic costs of waste management," she said. She said the promise would also seriously hamper the growth of waste recycling businesses. "Businesses need to be encouraged to get their waste recycled rather than sending their rubbish to the dump and imposing costs on the average taxpayer," she said. "Labor's waste levy is encouraging the development of new recycling businesses which creates new jobs and wealth and also reduces the demand for landfill sites and their associated costs."

Mariner Sells Stake In PCA March 16, 2012 - Corporate investor Mariner Corporation, who purchased a 19.83% majority shareholding in the Kingaroy-based Peanut Company of Australia earlier this year, has now sold off its shares. Back in February, Mariner paid $3.2 million to the Guinness Peat Group for stakes in four food companies - Farm Pride Foods, Tasmanian Pure Foods, PCA and Capilano Honey. Tasmanian Pure Foods, which operated a cannery, was immediately on-sold for $850,000. The Australian newspaper reported today that Mariner has now sold its stake in PCA and in Victorian egg producer Farm Pride Foods. These two sales have reportedly netted Mariner almost a $515,000 profit, including $315,000 from PCA. There is no word at present as to who has purchased the PCA shareholding. * * * Ringsfield House at Nanango hosted a special celebration today to mark the official naming of the Pat Lee Meeting Room in the Old School building in the grounds. Betty Elaine (Pat) Lee, of 'Broadmere', Nanango was a very active member of the Nanango community, a member of the Nanango Historical Society and a Life Member of the Glengallan Homestead Trust. She died on February 18 last year, aged 80. RIGHT: Pat Lee's husband John spoke at the official naming ceremony. Photo courtesy: Damien Tessmann

Rackemann 'Appalled' By Foreign Land Sales March 16, 2012 - Katter's Australian Party candidate for Nanango Carl Rackemann has contacted SBBiz to to say how appalled he is over a report on Today Tonight this week that detailed the sale of a Victorian State Government dairy research farm at Kyabram to a Chinese investor and the alleged "spruiking" of Australian farms overseas by former politicians. "If this story is true, it seems the dots are finally starting to get joined up. How can this be going on? What is the agenda?" Carl asked. "Why are the Liberal Party, the Labor Party and the National Party all in on it? Katter's Australian Party is appalled by this revelation. "If the aim is to sell off Australia then let's get on with it. It is not the aim of Katter's Australian Party. "I cannot believe this is being allowed to happen. Our party will cap foreign ownership of land at 49 per cent per title. "I would recommend having a look at our policy document 'Re-constructing Queensland' and at our agriculture policy 'Returning Confidence To Food and Agriculture'. "We cannot accept our farmland being sold off to foreign companies and foreign governments. Our farm land is being sacrificed, but why? I want our grandchildren to be eating Australian-grown food and drinking Australian-produced milk." Controversial MP Bob Katter will be returning to Kingaroy on March 21 for a public meeting at Kingaroy Town Hall * * * Greens candidate for Nanango Grant Newson has criticised an LNP promise to put a three-year freeze on registration fees for family vehicles, saying it will hurt farmers. Motorcyclists, truck and ute drivers are expected to pay more in registration fees to help fund the LNP promise. "Every farmer has either a ute, truck or motorbike, if not all of them to help with rural life and farm work," Mr Newson said. "People are fed up with paying more for everything and receiving nothing in return, especially when these vehicles are needed for normal rural living. "Rural residents and farmers are already doing it hard enough through bad management from the current government. Slugging them for extra money from vehicles that are an essential part of farming life is not going to help." * * * The date for the annual Colours of Yarraman festival has been changed again. Organisers say a decision to hold the festival on September 14-16 has been made due to: Comments from garden competitors that their gardens are prepared for a Springtime September competition, The Yarraman school is participating with a number of projects including growing plants for distribution to household gardens; School is in recess for school holidays immediately prior to the former October date; The October date clashed with a neighbouring festival. This year's event will also include a major sports carnival.

Unemployment Rate Hits 8.5% March 15, 2012 - Unemployment in the Wide Bay region has continued to rise - hitting 8.5 per cent in February. Federal Member for Wide Bay Warren Truss said today the jump demanded immediate action from all levels of government. "The unemployment rate in our region has been volatile, reaching a peak of 12.3 per cent in August last year before dropping to 5.3 per cent in November," Mr Truss said. "The sharp rise to 7.5 per cent in January, to 8.5 per cent in February, indicates that action is needed to create jobs and strengthen the regional economy." Mr Truss said the State and Federal ALP governments had broken their promises to create new jobs. "The Bligh Labor Government could have created countless jobs in Maryborough by awarding its multi-billion dollar train project to local manufacturer Downer EDI instead of inviting offshore contractors to tender and create jobs in Asia," Mr Truss said.