Sugar millers and growers undertake last minute lobbying to shore up support in Qld Parliament
/ By Craig ZoncaSugar milling companies and cane grower groups are engaged in last ditch lobbying efforts as the clock ticks down to a vote on new legislation in Queensland Parliament.
This has disastrous consequences, not only for the sugar industry in Queensland, but for investment across the board.
A private member's bill from Katter's Australian Party (KAP) MP Shane Knuth, designed to give growers a greater say in how raw sugar is marketed, goes to a vote on Wednesday evening.
It comes after a bitter 20-month long dispute in the State's $2 billion sugar sector that has had growers and millers at loggerheads after a decision from the Singaporean-owned company, Wilmar, to cut ties with the current pool marketing arrangements through Queensland Sugar Limited.
Australian Sugar Milling Council (ASMC) CEO Dominic Nolan said the proposed legislation would "spell doom" for the industry.
"What this legislation does is take away the rights ... of the milling companies and gives them to a third party," he said.
"This has disastrous consequences, not only for the sugar industry in Queensland, but for investment across the board."
This isn't taking the industry back to a regulated industry.
LNP to support KAP sugar bill, with amendments
The ASMC view echoes that of the Palaszczuk Government which has described the proposed legislation as "delusional".
That characterisation was rejected by the Liberal National Party (LNP), which has pledged support for the KAP bill, albeit with amendments.
The LNP's Deb Frecklington said the marketing battle is a "major issue" for the industry.
"This isn't taking the industry back to a regulated industry," she said.
"Within the framework of this legislation ... there is no dictation of a single desk, no dictation of a mandated price, we're certainly not vesting the crop and there's no decision on how much can be grown and how much can be processed."
Mrs Frecklington dismissed the ASMC commissioned legal advice that suggested the proposed legislation would expropriate millers' legal title to raw sugar.
"What we've stated is that the amendments simply preserve the status quo and we address the anti-competitive behaviour," she said.
"This is not about taking property rights off the millers."
What happens to mediation if bill passes?
The Milling Council said if the legislation was to be voted down or deferred, it would leave the door open to continuing formal mediation talks.
"Once the bill comes into place, we've got to deal with the fallout," Mr Nolan said.
"The opportunity for any further commercial discussions is pretty much sunk."
His comments come as negotiations to broker an industry-led solution to the stalemate were left "in tatters" last Friday after the ASMC went public with its offer to grower groups.
Canegrowers chairman Paul Schembri accused the ASMC of "torpedoing" the process and setting unrealistic deadlines for discussions.
A representative for Australia's largest cane growing district, the Burdekin, Russ McNee said if the milling council was genuine in its efforts to find a commercial compromise it would have accepted the growers' latest offer, which would have delivered control of 50 per cent of Australia's raw sugar exports.
"It's obvious the millers aren't prepared to give away the superior negotiating strength they have," Mr McNee said, referring to the ASMC's refusal to offer growers a choice in marketing or the option of arbitration before signing cane supply contracts.
"They're clayton's contracts, the contract you have when you don't have a contract, and it allows them to abandon the contracts they've signed should the remaining 95 per cent of the growers in the Burdekin negotiate a superior contract so, in that respect, they're insignificant.
"The tonage that the 22 growers represent is less than five per cent of total cane produced in the Burdekin.
"It was orchestrated by Wilmar that they made this announcement within a week of the legislation going to the Queensland Parliament but I am sure since then, any politicians who were concerned about the signing of the contract, once they realised the insignificance of it all, are probably not swayed but it was definitely designed to put them in two minds."
But despite the divisions, the facilitator engaged by industry, Mike Logan, said he remained hopeful a commercially-agreed solution could still be found.
Loading..."They were having a very good discussion," he said.
"Neither side is going to get 100 per cent of what they want.
"I think there's more to do, I don't think I've succeeded or failed as yet."
For the KAP legislation to pass, it will need the support of the LNP plus the vote of independent member Billy Gordon.