Media Release

KAP Leader and Federal Member for Kennedy Bob Katter has responded angrily to comments in the Australian Financial Review today by the Foreign Minister that attempts to regulate the sale of sugar would jepoardise Australia’s international and free trade agreement obligations.

In May the KAP introduced a Bill into the Queensland Parliament that ensures cane farmers across Queensland have a choice in marketing their own product and retain existing market arrangements.

The legislation follows extensive consultation by Mr Katter, Shane Knuth MP and Robbie Katter MP including community meetings attracting a few hundred people held in Innisfail and Ingham in April and attended by leading cane growing groups Australian Cane Farmers Association and Canegrowers, peak ethanol industry body Biofuels Australia, the AWU, local farmers and community members.

The issue of sugar pricing has been on the agenda in Queensland since one of Queensland’s biggest sugar groups announced its intention to break away from the current independent marketing and pricing body, Queensland Sugar Limited. Farmers would be left no choice but to accept the price allocated.

“The Foreign Minister has exposed the corporatisation of democracy in Australia,” Mr Katter said today.

“She has said that we have no sovereign rights any more, that a corporate agreement has more power than the people of Australia.

“Well she should know that corporate agreements do not override the will of the people.

“It’s called democracy, not corporatocracy.”

The comments by the Foreign Minister also stand in contrast to those of her own party members, a Code of Conduct for sugar marketing having been promoted by Federal Government backbenchers as well as the Opposition LNP Government in Queensland.

“The two Liberals in North Queensland all represent sizeable sugar areas as does the one National member.

“Clearly she is more reactive to the pecuniary interests of corporations like Wilmar Sugar than of her own back bench,” Mr Katter said.

Mr Katter said the situation in the sugar industry in Queensland would leave only two foreign corporations each with a monopoly in the selling of sugar.

“Wilmar Sugar enjoys a monopoly position with respect to their sugar cane farmers who simply can’t afford to transport their product to another mill to seek a better price.

“Cane is worth $38 a tonne so the cost of carting it 150km down the road is prohibitively expensive.

“This is a Minister fighting on behalf of corporations against farmers of Australia and imposing a monopoly on the sale of sugar cane – except it’s not enough for them to have one monopoly, they’ve got to have two,” Mr Katter said.