Agricultural College and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2010

 

Mr Speaker, I rise today to contribute to the Agricultural and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2010 introduced by the Minister for Primary Industries, Fisheries and Rural and Regional Queensland.

The Liberal National Party will be supporting this legislation as it brings the Agricultural College Act 2005 in line with current standards for statutory entities.

I note that this is the first piece of legislation that the Minister has introduced into the Parliament since my colleague, the Member for Condamine, Ray Hopper, became the Shadow Minister.

I also note the grass roots, real life experience of the Member for Condamine on issues relating to this portfolio in comparison with the background of the Government’s Minister.  This experience I have witnessed personally in my electorate at the Mudgeeraba Agricultural Show and at a visit to Farm fest last year. 

As a member of the LNP’s Backbench Committee for this portfolio and coming from generations of dairy farmers, I am taking considerable note of the differences in approach to legislative matters and look forward to a greater understanding of my rural constituency of Numinbah Valley, Lower Beechmont, Natural Bridge and being able to represent their concerns in this place.

The stated objective of this Bill is to:

(a) Broaden the ambit of matters an appropriately skilled board may advise on in relation to the Australian Agricultural College Corporation and to implement enhanced corporate governance and accountability arrangements in line with current standards for statutory entities;

And

(b) Amend the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1936 to facilitate accreditation of the veterinary science degree courses offered by the University of Queensland and the James Cook University.

In July 2008, administrative responsibility for the Australian Agricultural College Corporation was transferred in order to expand agribusiness workforce skilling and training to meet industry needs into the future as part of the ‘Fresh Approach’ initiative.

As such, the corporation is accountable to the Minister for Primary Industries, Fisheries and Rural and Regional Queensland.

The AACC operates an agricultural college comprised of five campuses across regional Queensland which includes campuses at Emerald, Mareeba, Burdekin, Dalby and Longreach.

The AACC aims to be the pre-eminent provider of rural skilling and training in Australia, however under this Labor Government the agricultural colleges in Queensland have been left to wither under the watch of a Minister who quite obviously does not understand rural and regional Queensland and the needs of these areas.

In my role as a member of the LNP’s Health Committee I have spent time recently in many areas in Far North Queensland and Far Western Queensland observing and listening to locals concerns about a whole range of issues from health to roads to economic viability of country towns and their individual concerns regarding the way the Bligh Government has eroded and neglected country Queensland.

This Government has continually eroded the Agricultural Colleges by neglecting this most valuable asset.  Young people are not being encouraged into agricultural industries and you cannot run rural Queensland from a desk in Brisbane.

Continual redundancies from the DPI have not been made up by new graduates and the lack of confidence in this Government and the Minister is evidenced by the significant falls in enrolments at all campuses since 2005.

Prior to this time the colleges were active within their local communities with the communities themselves supporting the colleges. 

Now we see more decentralization of services in the rural sector much akin to what is happening within health in rural areas. 

This Government would like to see many country towns as ghost towns, where there are no medical services, very little business activity and eventually all the young people will move to the cities as there are no other learning options other than universities.

From a health perspective I have seen this occurring over many years and whilst universities have their place, you cannot learn nursing out of a book just like you cannot learn agriculture and farming practices from a book.

There is a genuine need to increase the number of enrolments at all campuses and bring back local boards, which this Labor Government has no interest in other than to increase the top heavy bureaucracy running elements of our society from distant white ivory towers.

Combined with the radical changes to the syllabus, reducing courses from approximately 1200 hours to 400 hours and the devaluation of the certificate only serves to make students wary of participating in studies where they will not get the education that they need nor the recognition for their studies that they so rightly deserve.

A mere 10 years ago the Agricultural Colleges had a 97% employment rate.  Graduates work ethic and attitude was highly valued and the colleges themselves created a culture of excellence and a reputation of graduating outstanding future employees.

The continued insult by this Bligh Government to rural and regional constituents is appalling.  These country areas are the backbone of our history in Queensland and yet they continue to be treated like second class citizens by a Government and a Minister who has little or no comprehension of the contribution and the ethos of agricultural industries and those who work in them.

A classic example of this is the Longreach College which provided training for young men and women in pastoral pursuits in the sheep, wool and cattle industries.  This facility is unique and attracts students from all over Queensland and New South Wales.

In 2004 the Dalby Agricultural Colleges had approximately 150 students and in the past 3 years the enrolments have been reduced to low single digit figures.  

This decline coincided with the amalgamation of colleges.  Local communities lost interest with the removal of local boards and this has significantly contributed to the decline in the industry and the interest of new young blood into the sector.

The Government claims that the reduction in student numbers and profitability in recent years was due to drought and competition from the resources boom affecting the appeal of agriculture as a career choice.

This is the same argument that this Government uses when closing down local hospital boards, closing operating theatres and maternity services in rural and regional Queensland. 

They then try and spread the propaganda that these facilities closed because they could not attract nurses and doctors to them. 

Well Mr Speaker, in doesn’t take Einstein to work out that if there is nothing that is attractive in the area, then consequently you will not attract employment to the area and this is the justification for stripping services out of country areas, much in the way that they are doing with the agricultural sector.

The motherhood statement that are made by this Government that the AACC needs to reinvigorate the way it delivers training to students, boost enrolment levels and build a stronger relationship with industry to ensure industry needs are met by AACC courses is hollow.

The Liberal National Party remains unconvinced that this is not just more smoke and mirrors by the Bligh Government to sell off yet another of our valuable Queensland assets without the permission of Queenslanders.

As quoted by ABC Southern Queensland on the 24 June 2009;

“The State Opposition says it is convinced more than ever before that the Government wants to sell-off Queensland's agricultural college.

The State Government is reviewing how the college's five campuses are run. The Primary Industries Minister and senior departmental officials addressed a meeting at the Dalby campus yesterday in southern Queensland.

The LNP Member for Condamine, Ray Hopper, was also at the meeting and says no guarantees were given that all five campuses would not be sold off.

"De-invest to reinvest was used quite often and I'm very worried what they're looking at. This is going to be a short-term fire sale and you know it's unacceptable," he said.

Primary Industries Minister Tim Mulherin says the review is needed because enrolment numbers have fallen over the past few years.”

The Liberal National Party would restore confidence in the agricultural colleges by developing a syllabus that is diverse, adaptable and looks to the future of agriculture in Queensland. 

These courses need to reflect the change in agricultural needs and should respond to industry demand.

Responsibility of the running of these colleges should be at a local board level, which in turn would encourage industry involvement and community involvement ultimately encouraging students to have to confidence to return to the colleges and thereby strengthening investments in the future or agriculture.

This Labor Government who continue to dissect the industry one piece at a time and sell off even more of our assets.  Our most valuable assets are the graduates from these colleges who will shape the future of the industry over many years to come.

Where will students interested in a career in agriculture go to obtain these skills if the current facilities are devolved to such an extent that they are non existent?  Where will students be able to practice their skills and put their theory into practice?

This Government has little regard for the next generation of young farmers who will be producing ‘clean, green’ food, fibre and foliage for the people of Queensland into the future.

Policies are best written and administered by experts in their fields.  Not unlike heaelth, I am sure that previous Ministers for Health were very good as union reps but they knew nothing about health.

Similarly in this portfolio, Madam Deputy Speaker, the sooner this Ministry is run by someone who knows what it is like to cope with drought and flood, and who knows one end of a cow from the other, the better off rural and regional Queensland and the primary industries sector will be!