Sharman Stone MP

 

“What was announced today was as shocking as expected and really makes you wonder what sort of country we have become,” Sharman Stone said.

 

“What other Government in the world would deliberately set about to kill off viable, hard working, tax paying rural communities providing a living to millions of individuals, by destroying the food producing capacity of the countryside?”

 

“This Gillard Government must immediately reject the proposal as un-Australian, not just because it proposes to kill off communities without compensation or adjustment support, but because it will also lower the living standards of all Australians who will have less choice to buy clean, cheap, fresh food grown in Australia, and exported to help feed the rest of the world. “

 

“Ninety three percent of all of the food we eat in Australia is grown here and 40% of the food produced in our country is grown in the Murray Darling Basin,” Sharman Stone said.

 

“At the same time, despite all of this destruction, there is no guarantee that the rivers and streams will reap the benefit of a depopulated countryside. The just released proposal actually acknowledges that the condition of the waterways in our part of the world will remain poor even after the removal of up to 45% of water destroying our food production capacity.

 

“There has to be a win-win situation where alternatively investment in on-farm water saving measures delivers more food production for less water, and the savings go to the environment. Why can’t we be a lot smarter in this country?”

 

“Everyone who drives a truck, works in a food factory, picks or packs local produce, milks a cow or in any way serves the dairy or horticultural industries needs to join our farm families and say no. Enough is enough, because it is all of these other jobs as well that will be in jeopardy,” Dr Stone said.