The Australian Democrats have called on the Federal Labor Leader Mark Latham, who meets canegrowers in Cairns today, to reverse Labor's opportunistic opposition to assistance for ethanol production if he is serious about a future for Australia's sugar industry.
Democrats’ Agriculture spokesperson Senator John Cherry said the sugar industry did not have a future without value adding, and that renewable energy initiatives like ethanol and co-generation were an essential part of that.
"Mr Latham needs to disassociate himself from comments from his senior frontbenchers Lindsay Tanner and Bob McMullan who have opposed increased assistance for the sugar or ethanol industries," Senator Cherry said.
"Instead, he should listen to Labor Premier Peter Beattie who has backed the Democrats’ call for a longer excise-free period of ten years to allow an infant ethanol industry to take hold.
"Federal Labor has done enormous damage to the ethanol industry in its campaign against ethanol additive in petrol, and it will take years for the industry to recover consumer confidence after Labor's untruths.
"The Democrats opposed new Federal fuel labelling on the basis that it continues to perpetuate the myth that ethanol as a fuel additive is somehow bad, when in fact the best technical advice is that it will have no negative effect on the vast majority of engines.
"Already the future of an $80 million ethanol plant at Dalby is up in the air because of the Federal Government's plan to impose an excise on ethanol. Labor is on the record as saying the excise should apply sooner rather than later, even though they know that this will kill the industry.
"In 1993, the Democrats reached an agreement with the then Labor Government to offer a $30 million production bounty for ethanol. That far-sighted decision, reversed by the first Costello Budget in 1996, helped kick start a small ethanol industry in Australia.
"Queensland sugar farmers need that sort of vision from Labor, not the opportunistic points scoring that was part of Labor's anti-ethanol campaign under former Leader Simon Crean," he said.
Senator Cherry also called on Mr Latham to lobby the Beattie Government to drop its tough opposition to collective bargaining and arbitration for sugar farmers.
"Federal Labor has called for stronger protection for small business and the way it treats struggling cane farmers is the first test of its commitment to improved legal protection for small business," Senator Cherry concluded.
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