Coalition Gov't Admits They Stopped Land Clearing

G'day Agmates:
Unbelievably on the ABC's 7.30 report on Wednesday night Reporter Kerry O'Brien got Treasurer Peter Costello to admit that it was the Liberal/National Party Coalition Government that has STOPPED FARMERS LAND CLEARING.

For the last 10 years farmers in QLD & NSW have believed that the State Labour Governments in QLD & NSW have been the ones responsible for the Vegetation Management Acts that has taken so much land away from farmers without fair & full compensation.No No - not the case.

Mr Costellos admission on national television makes it clear to all that the National Party (Representing Rural Australians) are actually responsible for this terrible injustice foystered upon their own farmer members and supporters.

This is an outrage. How can Nationals leader Mark Vail and deputy Warren Truss and the other Federal National Party Members ever expect their farming voter base to trust them again.

As former NSW Farmers association president Mal Peters has said "its such a shock, its like discovering that your most trusted mate, is no mate at all, he's actually had his hand in your back pocket for years".

The Nationals have sacrificed their own voter base not only without a whimper, but through a huge deception. Up until now the Nationals have been able to blame the stopping of land clearing and resultant hardships caused to farm businesses on the State Labour Governments, the Greens and environmental groups. Not anymore.

If your as outraged at this disgusting deception as Agmates is, call your local National or Liberal Federal MP and ask how he/she could do this to you? We'd like to hear their reply.

Below is an exert of the interview giving you what was said. To read the full transcript of Kerry O'Briens interview with Treasurer Peter Costello from Wednesday nights 7.30 report click here.


PETER COSTELLO: And the point I'm making, Kerry, is if you'd have been carbon trading in 2003 you would have been carbon trading to a Kyoto cap, which we're going to meet anyway. The important thing is that when we're carbon trading beyond Kyoto, that we are trading in a way which is reducing beyond Kyoto, because we're going to meet Kyoto, beyond Kyoto in relation to -

KERRY O'BRIEN: But Kyoto was a generous agreement for Australia, it was actually allowing you to increase your emissions. Do you agree?

PETER COSTELLO: Let me come back to the point that you made earlier, that because we stopped land clearing, somehow that shouldn't be counted. Actually, stopping land clearing was a good thing.

KERRY O'BRIEN: Yes of course. Of course.

PETER COSTELLO: But reducing carbon -

KERRY O'BRIEN: It was the only thing that allowed Australia to claim that it's meeting its targets.

PETER COSTELLO: Yeah well, it's - that's - but this was all designed to stop land clearing and we stopped land clearing, and it's helped us to meet our Kyoto target. If I may say so, Australia actually did something practical. Britain, by the way, meets its Kyoto target because Maggie Thatcher closed the British coal mines. Not because they stopped carbon trading, because Maggie Thatcher, for other economic reasons better - Australia is actually one of those countries that is on track and is on track because it actually did something quite positive, that is, stopped land clearing. Now, I think the important thing -

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It is now an indisputable fact that the Liberal & National Party Coalition Government
are responsible for the States Labour Governments introducing the draconian Vegetation Management Legislation in NSW & QLD.
These laws imposed upon Farming families have very little to do with biodiversity and almost everything to do with the executive governments stripping Australian farming families of a valuable asset (carbon credits) for their own gain without just & fair compensation. Thats not on in any democracy in the free world.

This is without doubt the greatest attempted "resumption of citizens property by stealth" ever attempted in this country.

Coming up this week - a history making chapter in this incredible story of power, money and Democratic governments abuse of it's vested powers. Subscribe at the top right hand side to get this breaking news story as it happens. You can't afford to miss it!

Cheers,
Your Agmate - Steve
Agmates - 100% Pro Australian Farmers