Sadly, fairness is something we must fight for

By Owen Menkens, CANEGROWERS Chairman

Happy New Year! I hope readers had a peaceful and relaxing break over the Christmas period and are feeling motivated for all those New Year’s resolutions as we head into 2024.

It’s shaping up to be a big year on the agricultural advocacy front, with local government elections looming in March and the state election just 41 weeks away.

At CANEGROWERS, we remain committed, as we have been for almost one hundred years, to advocating the best outcomes for growers, industry, and the regional communities in which we live, work, and raise our families.

Unfortunately, one of our biggest asks in the upcoming local government elections is, if we’re honest, something you should not have to fight for at all – fair treatment. Sugarcane rates in the Burdekin are the highest in the state on a cents in the dollar basis and whilst we have a good relationship with the Council and have worked collaboratively with them over the years to try and smooth rate increases, we cannot escape that fact that sugarcane farmers in general are often expected to pay much higher rates than other residents and small businesses, while often receiving fewer services.

Council rating practices are established to effectively guarantee an income for our local governments and there is no doubt that our councils need to raise the necessary funds to deliver the local services our communities need, but many of our members experience bill shock whenever a rates notice appears.

Farming can be a perilous business, with significant fluctuations in income as we balance tight margins, unfavorable weather, and the boom-and-bust cycle of the world sugar market and whilst sugar prices have been good, they will not remain so and margins will come under more pressure.  

For many years CANEGROWERS has been working with the Queensland Farmers’ Federation to raise these concerns around equity and fairness.  

As a result, at its state council in October 2023, the Local Government Association of Queensland (LGAQ) conceded there was a problem. In fact, a number of councils sought to have the issues of equity and fairness raised at the state government level.

The simple fact is, when it comes to supporting our regional communities, the agricultural sector does some heavy lifting.

Recently, an independent analysis of the sugarcane industry found that for every $1 worth of cane grown in Queensland, the industry generates $6.42 in income for the state economy and supports over 22,000 jobs and 10,000 businesses.

As growers we need local governments to work with the farming sector to expand and increase production, which will in turn boost regional economies.

Growers are part of the community, and as such we are willing to pay our fair share for the services provided by our local governments, but the rate burden borne by growers needs to change.

Councils and rate payers need fairness in the rating practices that local governments use!

In the lead up to council elections in March, CANEGROWERS will continue to fight for fairness and equity in the development of council rate policy.