AgForce Achievements 2000/2001
 

General Issues

Incorporating Resource Management, Successful Enterprises, Rural Communities Committees

  • Vegetation Management

  • Chevron Gas Pipeline landholder interface

  • Mining and petroleum legislation

  • Telecommunications Service inquiry

  • GST Training and implementation

  • Native Title amendments

  • Cultural heritage proposal

  • New water legislation

  • Facilitated better relationships between financial institutions and producers

  • Q Fever vaccination arrangements

  • Weeds and pest management

  • Land valuations

  • Great Artesian Basin funding

  • Greenhouse emissions

  • Wild dogs

  • Transport - volume loading, conditional registration, agricultural machinery movements

  • Fuel subsidies, off-road diesel rebates, diesel alternative fuel grants scheme

  • Taxation, GST, tax reform

  • Withdrawal of rural services

  • Drought policy

  • Genetically modified organisms

  • Rural Youth

  • Rural Adjustment and risk management

  • Education in rural and isolated areas

  • Rural debt

  • National Competition Policy

  • Health and Welfare

  • Rural students access to Austudy

  • Electricity in rural areas

  • Government infrastructure and services

Grains

  • Addressed the impact of cliff faces in wheat pricing

  • Grain Harvest Management Scheme

  • Active support to maintain single desk

  • Working with Grainco to achieve savings in handling and storage costs

  • Initiated taskforce to reduce impact of weather damage

  • Chemical legislation reviews

  • Provided balance in GMO debate

  • Review of Wheat Breeding Campaign - protecting current benefit and grower levies

  • Initiated changes to barley receival standards

  • Achieved certainty in screening regimes through uniformity of 2mm certified screens

  • Lobbied for full registration of zinc phosphide

  • Introduced .3 per cent tolerance on moisture at intake

  • Multi peril crop insurance, quality assurance

  • Plant breeder?s rights, wheat breeding

  • Residue Monitoring (NRA) program

  • Successful implementation of the Wheat Intake Action Plan

  • Sought significant increase in the objectivity of grain quality testing and reliable repeatability of results across all depots

  • Played an integral role in the development of Graincare - a national cost-effective entry level for on-farm quality assurance for grain

  • Participated in the drafting of Agricultural Machinery Performance Guidelines to ensure they did not adversely affect our members

Beef

  • GST on livestock

  • Ticks and State Government policy

  • Live export inquiry submission

  • Chemical residue liaison

  • Processor liaison for producers

  • Animal health including exotic disease preparedness

  • National Identification Livestock Scheme tags

  • Representation on national and regional research bodies

  • Priority setting in research and promotion

  • Liaison with Queensland Rail about transport issues

  • Tighter Bovine Johnes Disease movement controls

  • Stock squad liaison

  • Food safety standards

  • Animal Welfare Code of Practice

Sheep and Wool

  • Wool Industry restructuring - Australian Wool Services

  • Exotic sheep breeds - impact in Queensland

  • Meat grading systems for lamb and mutton

  • Exploration of options for woolgrower representation

  • Preserving resources for Sheep and Wool Institutes

  • Promotion of the wool fibre and sheepmeat products in Toowoomba and Brisbane

  • Published marketing guide for woolgrowers

  • Championed effective use of mutton levies

  • Prevented further increases in transction levy to fund Ovine Johnes Disease programs

  • Encouraged grower participation in WoolPoll 2000

  • Defended position of Charleville abbatoir against closure by State Government for non payment of Queensland Livestock and Meat Authority fees

  • Wool industry representation, expenditure of wool levy funds

  • Wool contamination, Quality Assurance

  • Chemical residues in wool

Industrial Relations

  • Preserve rights of shearing contractor - Section 275

  • Casual loading submission

  • Opposed State wage increases for Stations Hands and Shearing Industry Awards

  • Prevent re-instatement of hand piece allowance

  • Reduced shedhand rates

  • Work Cover submission re rates

  • Union Encouragement clause

  • Reviewed IR process in AgForce

  • Established IR Committee

  • Wrongful dismissal claim/wage claims

  • Feedlot Industry Award

  • Pastoral and shearing awards

  • Withholding tax rates

Training

  • Shearer Training State award recipient

  • Programs in computers, business management, leadership, farm safety, climate, marketing, FutureProfit

  • Liaised with Queensland Rural Industry Training Committee, TAFE and agricultural colleges

  • Submission on Training and Employment legislation

  • Traineeship arrangements including existing worker policy

  • Farmbis State Planning Group

  • Skills recognition initiative

  • Improved access to training funding arrangements.

Communications

  • Raised AgForce profile in the media

  • Facilitated national media coverage of the Winton and Roma farmer protest rallies

  • Re-vamped the monthly member magazine, Envoy

  • Achieved a no-cost equation for members for the publication of Envoy

  • Facilitated media coverage of numerous activities involving AgForce including its Shearing Training program; opposition to a new tick inspection scheme; annual conference; the wild dog program in the South West; tree clearing; and the State fuel subsidy

  • Increased AgForce?s commitment to newspaper columns to five throughout the State

  • Investigated ways of improving the AgForce website

  • Increased coverage of branch meetings