EXPRESS The
Wednesday, March 29, 2017
Locally owned and proudly independent
A smashing good show
INTENSITY, skill and great teamwork was on display at Firth Park last Saturday, after Mareeba’s Maiden Overs cricket team (pictured) took out the inaugural Lacy Bra Cup. The Ladies T20 cricket competition grand final was action-packed, bolstered by a Tradies vs Under 16s match and finishing with Mareeba Cricket Club’s annual trophy presentation. The fun is set to continue with another Cup already being plannned for later in the year following its stellar success. ˃ Full story in SPORT
PHOTO by Peter Roy.
Farm debt Bill slammed A STATE Government Bill designed to prevent banks foreclosing on Queensland farming properties without first offering mediation has been slammed as a “token” gesture by rural MPs. Katter’s Australian Party MPs Shane Knuth and Robbie Katter were left gobsmacked after their Rural and Regional Adjustment (Development Assistance) Amendment Bill , which would have established a State-funded Rural and Industries Development Bank to help debt-ridden farmers, was denied a vote by both major parties. Instead, Labor and the LNP passed the Farm Business Debt Mediation Bill in the early hours of last Wednesday morning, which, from July 1,
requires financial institutions to offer debt mediation to farmers who are in arrears. However, farmers have the option of declining an offer of mediation, which will be overseen by the Queensland Rural and Industry Development Authority (QRIDA), formerly known as the Queensland Rural Adjustment Authority (QRRA). “The Bill that was passed is a Clayton’s gesture,” Mr Knuth said. “We were so disappointed that Labor and the LNP used their numbers in the house to prevent our Bill from being even voted on.” Mr Knuth, the Member for Dalrymple, said
his party’s Bill was superior in every respect to the one that was passed by parliament, with the Development Bank able to pay a percentage of a farmer’s debt back to their lender. In exchange, the Development Bank would then give the farmer a low-interest loan which could be paid back over several years. “Our Bill is what rural and regional Queensland needs,” he said. “It would relieve the pressure on those farmers through difficult times. “We’re sick and tired of hearing about how we need to let the market decide what’s best.” Mr Knuth said cattle farmers had been doing it
tough for a number of years. “We went through five years of drought and a ban on live exports. This resulted in a lack of markets to sell cattle to and the meatworks then screwed the prices down,” he said. “Landowners were virtually giving cattle away.” Under amendments put into the Debt Mediation Bill by the LNP, a Farm Debt Restructure Office will also be established to help farmers manage their finances. But Mr Katter slammed the move as a “political con job”. CONTINUED Page 3
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