Media Release

30 June 2015: KAP Leader and Federal Member for Kennedy Bob Katter has today said it is critical for the survival of our sugar industry to mandate ethanol.

Mr Katter’s renewed calls come off the back of a number of public meetings he attended across Queensland called by the Department of Energy and Water Supply to hear from the public on a biofuel mandate in Queensland.

“Ethanol is critical for our survival in the sugar industry.

“We need a 10% mandate in Queensland. Unless we can get ethanol we simply can’t survive in the longer term.

“The closure of mills are destroying the economy of our homeland. Mourilyan gone, Babinda gone.

“We are closing a sugar mill every 2 years in Australia. Why? Because we can’t compete.

“The value of our currency and the dollar plus massive direct subsidies in America and Europe make it impossible to compete.

“India has a $23,000 million a year subsidy on fertiliser alone.

Mr Katter has again stated we need ethanol to compete and has called on Australia to look to the Brazil model.

“The Brazilians, if you take the price of petrol back to the farm gate (or mill gate) have been getting $420 per tonne. We get $340 per tonne.

“Vast bulk of the Brazilian cane goes to the ethanol stream, while ours goes to the sugar stream. The Brazilians are cross subsidised.

Mr Katter has acknowledged the role of the two KAP members and the crossbencher in the QLD Parliament and pointed the finger at the LNP who originally deregulated the sugar industry.

“We are deeply appreciative of the State Government for holding these meetings; but the cynic in me might ask if they would be doing it if the KAP members Rob Katter and Shane Knuth and cross bencher Billy Gordon didn’t have the balance of power?

“The fact is history books will read ‘this State Government is going to do it’.

“If the Government achieves it - the world will recall it was the LNP that removed our tariff protections and deregulated our industry. The ALP threw us the life raft.

Mr Katter attended the public ethanol meetings in Mareeba, Innisfail, Ingham, Townsville and Brisbane.

Submissions on the biofuel mandate close on 3 July 2015.

More information can be found at: https://www.dews.qld.gov.au/energy-industry/renewable-energy/projects/biofuel-mandate

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