Media Release

KAP Federal Member for Kennedy Bob Katter has hit back at what he claims is an orchestrated campaign by the major oil companies and others with a self-interest against the imposition of an ethanol mandate in Australia.

The formally named ‘Alliance Against Ethanol Mandates’ is comprised of companies from animal production and marine industries plus stock feed manufacturers, with the President of the Australian Lot Feeders Association the loudest opponent of an ethanol mandate.

“Oil companies are pathologically opposed to ethanol and they have certain mouth pieces, one of those being the Lot Feeders Association” Mr Katter said today.

“The Lot Feeders Association will say that the grain used for producing ethanol should be going to feed cattle, which is their first lie, in fact the vast bulk of our grain produced in Australia goes overseas.

“The real story is that they’re squealing because ethanol will hit the lot feeders in two ways.

“One, it will put the price of grain up, but for every lot feeding business where most of them are foreign corporates anyway, there will be 1,000 Australian grain farmers who will benefit.

“Second, it gives the cattle industry super cheap and infinitely more nutritious dry distiller’s grain (DDG), the by-product in ethanol production, which enables cattlemen to lot feed on the farm in times of drought as DDB is far more compressed than other feeds and very cheap to transport.

“So the very reasons that the lot feeders are squealing are the very reasons ethanol and its by-products are vital to our country.

“The grain industry needs a 13-16 percent price benefit to be viable.

“The cattle industry needs compressed nutrition and therefore cheap transportation from DDG for their survival.

“And if this comes at the expense of a few foreign owned lot feeders that stand to lose a few bucks, then I won’t be crying any tears,” Mr Katter said.