Katter predicts dead cattle if graziers are turned out of National Parks
for no reason other than to placate the Greens.
Rob Katter on a drought stricken station near Winton
Tuesday 5 November, 2013
Member for Mount Isa, Rob Katter says there will be dead and dying cattle on National Parks if the Queensland Government doesnt grant an extension to graziers.
Minister Dixon will have his own conscience to deal with if he doesnt show some compassion and extend the deadline out to March, in the hope there will be rain by then, Mr Katter said.
Graziers have been told to get stock off the National Parks by 31 December, and Mr Katter said they have told him its just not possible.
Some stock are still too poor to transport and those graziers have told me it would be kinder to kill their cattle rather than freight them back to their stations, where theres no grass anyway.
The other issue is the cost of freight and Ive been told it would cost one family $20,000 in fuel costs alone to muster the cattle and get them trucked back to their station.
Thats the kind of money these graziers just dont have.
Theyve already outlaid substantial money, approximately $30,000 to put water on in the National Parks and Reserves, to keep their cattle alive.
Having to shift them now, in the height of the drought would be the last straw.
Another problem was the fact that saleyards were closing.
Longreach has already closed, and Charters Towers will close shortly. Graziers are running out of options if they cant sell their stock, cant find or afford agistment, and cant bring them back to their stations because theres just bare dirt, not a blade of grass.
Mr Katter said some graziers have said they will be forced to destroy their stock, leaving them for the Government to bury on the National Parks if Minister Dixon sticks to his resolution to have the parks and reserves cleared of stock by the years end.
Its worth remembering that five or ten years ago, these parks were commercially run enterprises.
Grazing wasnt an issue then, and the damage to the National Parks from grazing is not irreparable.
Its worth it to keep stock alive and help out these struggling graziers.