Queensland
Parliamentary Debates [Hansard]
Legislative Assembly
THURSDAY, 18 NOVEMBER 1982
Electronic reproduction of original hardcopy
2430 18 November 1982 Petitions THURSDAY, 18 NOVEMBER 1982
The House met at 11 a.m. ABSENCE OF MR SPEAKER The Clerk informed the House of the unavoidable absence of Mr Speaker, The Chairman of Committees, (Mr Miller, Ithaca) read prayers and took the chair as Acting Speaker,
PAPERS The following papers were laid on the table, and ordered to be printed:—• • Reports— Noise Abatement Authority of Queensland for 1982 Valuer^eneral for the year ended 30 June 1982 Diredor, Department of Children's Services, for the year ended 30 June 1982 Department of Forestry'fbr the year ended 30 June 1982.
PERSONAL EXPLANATIONS Mr R,. J, GIBBS (Wotlston) (11,3 a.m.), by leave: In the House yesterday during the Matters of Public Interest debate, I made a number of remarks relative to the member for Stafford. I wish to make it very clear, and I would hope that the media publish it as a matter of public record, that the comments I made were in no way directed at the people who served in Vidnam. I have the utmost respect for those sent to Vietnam against their own wiU because thdr number happened to be drawn out in a professional lottery dealing with people's lives. I realise that many of those who served paid the supreme sacrifice and that, of those who returned;, many will carry physical afflictions for the rest of their lives-^a fad that I find to be most unacceptable and extremely sad in the light of the fact that Vietnam was described as a dirty, unwinnable war. I hold those men and women who serve in Australia's defence forces in the highest regard and pubUcly acknowledge the fine job they do. I reiterate that my comments yesterday were made with spedfic reference to the member for Stafford, owing to the warmongering views that he has presented to the Parliament on a number of occasions. Mr CASEY (Mackay) (11.4 a.m.), by leave: During the debate on matters of public interest in the House yesterday the member for Stafford made the allegation that the Standing Orders Committee did not achieve better results more quickly because I did not bother to turn up at medings and the meetings did not proceed for lack of a quorum. Let me set the record straight. Only one rneeting of the Standing Orders Committee lacked a quorum, the one called for Wednesday* 9 September 1981. I did not attend that meeting for the very, gopd reason that I was speaking in the Chamber at that time, as you would be well aware, Mr Acting Speaker. A further study of the first report of the Standing Orders Committee—^nd the member for Stafford, along with all other members of the House, would have a oopy*—shows that of the six meetings held, Mr Speaker attended all six, the Premier and I attended five and Dr Ediivards, Mr Gygar's own leader, attended only four. If the honourable ipember for Stafford wants to chastise anybody for non-attendance at meetings of the Standing Orders Committee; he should start with his own leader. It is rather unfortunate that the honourable member makes such wild aUegations in the House. Perhaps he is still floating along with euphoria on cloud nine after th® way he stabbed the honourable members for Windsor and Maiisfidd.
PETITIONS
, •. • -'t •' • The Clerk announced the receipt of the following petitipnsT— Pedestrian Underpass, Bridgewater Street, Moriungside From Mr Burns (214 signatories) praying that the Parliament of (Jueensland will direct the Railway Department to construct a pedestrian underpass at Bridgewater Street, Morningside. Questions upon Notice 18 November 1982 2431
Upgrading of Boreen Point-Tewantin Road From Mr Simpson (1600 signatories) praying that the Parliament of Queensland will take urgent adion to upgrade the Boreen Point-Tewantin Road. Banning of Television and Radio Advertising of Alcoholic Beverages From Mr Hansen (32 signatories) praying that the Parliament of Queensland |will legislate to ban the advertising of alcoholic beverages from television and radio. Petitions received.
QUESTIONS UPON NOTICE Questions submitted on notice by members were answered as follows:— ;
Wages Freeze, Queensland Public Service Mr Wright asked the Premier— Wkh reference to the Eraser/Anthony proposal for a 12-month wage freeze and the stated pubUc opposition by the Premier, the Minister for Commerce and Industry and the Minister for Justice and Attoraey-General— (1) Has the Queensland Government already effectively imposed such a wages freeze on the Public Service in this State? (2) (a) What were the salaries of all classifications I-l to 1-30, inclusive, as at 2 November 1981, (b) what are the salaries of all classifications I-l to 1-30, inclusive, at present and (c) what percentage increases have occurred in each case sincte 2 November 1981, when State public servants in Queensland received a wage increase of 9.5 per cent? (3) Did the percentage increase in the wage rates referred to in (2) vary from only 1.49 per cent to 4,61 per cent? (4) Did Queensland males, between August 1981 and August 1982, receive an increase in wages of 13,7 per cent and Queensland females an increase of 14.4 per cent? (5) As the purchasing power of public servants has been sharply reduced because of the increase in the cost of living of 11.3 per cent, is the Government prepared to direct the Public Service" Board to deal directly with the relevant PubUc Service unions regarding salary increases, to bring Public Service salaries back in line with Queensland community standards? (6) If not, can k be accepted that, while the Government says it is against any Federal wage freeze in the public sector, it has applied its own wages freeze policy?
Answer:— (1) The Queensland Government has not imposed a wages freeze on the Public Service in this State. (2) (a & b) I table the relevant details for the information of the honourable member and I seek the leave of the House to have them incorporated in "Hansard" (Leave granted.) (c) The extent of increases in respect of classifications I-l to 1-30 represents an application of the decisions of the Industrial Commission to grant increases in the basic wage. (3) The basic wage increases applied to Public Service classifications I-l to 1-30 since 2 November 1981, reveal a range of increases from 4.59 per cent to 1,48 per cent, (4) The position with respect to weekly wage rates for Queensland males and females is in terms of material from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, (5) The poUcy of the Government is that major claims such as salary increases are matters for determination by the Industrial Commission. (6) See (1), Whereupon the honourable gentleman laid on the table the following document— 2432 18 November 1982 Questions Upon Notice
• . . • • • • • . • . • , :-. ,
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N oa a ^ {S VO w^ »N« VO O VO .H n vo vo m 1-H vo < •S00, vo f~ r~ 00 00 o\ ov o O N r» en en Spe!i IS ran Fort n o o O o o o o o o o M 8 ro o .-H : f> Ti- p^ Tt o O ON en t~- 00 Tt en Tt t~ vo Ov 00 ON ov m m ,—,-H< t-H Tt ?-H r~ PH "T. vo t-__ 8 "1 vo imu m 60 q, q_ 1,23 7 1, 1 f-l ,-H 1,048 . ..H 1,26 0 Maxi m I ortni g li< P o o o o O o o o O O o P 3 oo Cvl o\ 1—( 53 m ^ in vo r~ 00 ON o ¥H .N ro •* o O -H 1—1 .,-4 »"H P vo 8 8vo vo 8 8 8 8 8 o o o 60 1 vo o v8o vo so vo vo vo vo VO vo 610 5 in oo 1 4 mbo l 1 1 ..H 1—( -1 5 an d 1 1 ( Cod e l-i< 1-^ l-i< >A M l-H l-H 1 h^ > )-!( >-!<' Hi ^ 1—t A Vi Compu i 2 Questions Upon Notice 18 l^^ovember 1982 2433 ON • ON P t~ vo ON Tt rv| m 00 ON -H en m ON VO P Tt oo en t~ -H ON a in vd 00 ON —I 00 PH a 8 Tt &9 01 E P p P P a Ov IT) VO 8 :^ s .6 0 R S S VO m VO P t~ooPONent>>-H.-(fv| ON vo .-it~P-HOvPenvovD 00 vo vo^l^Ov^P^-H^en^t-^-H^wi ON ^ 00 M VO^ v£f !>• oeT p" -H" CT i en" in P rn en m en •^ TJ-'^- ^ ^ Tt IO es m 6 ^ ?> in 3 C a < 1^ 0,-H , o: 'OlCr -'. (C g PPPPPPPPPPPPPO vOTH.-Hppt«.en»-iooioovVDVoo U I t_ en 00 »H •* ov- -H,\o rt Tt-OSen t— «s r- ""pTtONenr^-eSt^enooenONTtpv) •s ^•*Ttir)iovDvot--r--.ooooONPP IH O •fa —" _r -H ' rt" -^ . -H" -H" «* -H"» •V^' :-r «* ' Classification as from 21-6-82 Classification Symbol Per Fortnight Per Annum Min, Max, Min, Max, $ $ $ $ I-l 6001 684,00^ 694.00 17,842 18,KE 1-2 6002 731,30 739.30 19,075 19,285 1-3 6003 777,00 785.00 20,267 20,477 1-4 6004 829,10 • 837.10 21,626 21,836 1-5 6005 875.50 883,50 22,837 23,047 1-6 6006 920.90 ; 928.90 24,021 24,231 1-7 6007 975.40 983.40 25,443 25,653 1-8 6008 1,021,70 1029.70 26,651 26,861 1-9 6009 1,068,00 1,076.00 27,859 28,069 I-IO ^10 1,132.80 1,140.80 29,550 29,760 I-ll 6011 1,171.20 1,179.20 30,551 30,761 1-12 6012 1,218.20 1,226,20 31,778 31,988 1-13 6013 ^. '•,,-. 1,286,40 • • 33,557 1-14 6014 • • 1,335,70 .. 34,843 1-15 6015 ,, ; 1,385,40 ., 36,140 1-16 6101 .. 1,410.50 • • 36,794 M7 6012 1,434.20 37,413 1-18 6103 • • • 1,4^8.70 • • 38,574 1-19 6104 1,521,70 .. 39,696 1-20 6105 . •• . 1,564,60 • • 40,815 1-21 6106 1,609,60 • • 41,989 1-22 6107 1,652,30 • • 43,103 1-23 6108 -•• 1,706,90 • • 44,527 : 1-24 6109 '.. 1,761,70 .. ~. 45,957 1-25 6110 1,815,40 • . 47,358 1-26^111 • - ,, - 1,870,10 • • • 48,785 1-27 6112 • • 1.924,50 • • 50,204 1-28 6113 1,978.20 • • 51,607 1-29 6114 2,033.20 ,, 53,042 1-30 6115 2,087,60 54,462 •• •{ Questions Upon Notice 18 November 1982 2435 2, Special Subsidy Assistance or Grants for Town Water-supply Schemes Mr Wright asked the Deputy Premier and Treasurer— (1) What local authorities in Queensland have received special subsidy assistance or grants over and above the 20 per cent normally applicable for water-supply schemes? (2) On what basis did Mt Isa and the Banana Shire receive such financial assistance? (3) How much was given to each authority in (2) by way of grant or State Government contribution to their town water-supply budget? (4) As a precedent has apparently been set, will the Government give a commitment that it will immediately approve an increased subsidy allocation to allow Karumba's $2,8m town water-supply scheme to proceed, without local primary producers and export eamers being required to make unconditional cash contributions of $600,000 towards the scherile? (5) Until this scheme comes into operation, will the Government agree to subsidise the emergency transport of drinkable water from the Norman River to Karumba, which is without the provision of such a basic town service, in view of similar assistance which has already been given to Mt Morgan? (6) With reference to Mt Morgan, what assistance has been given during the last two years by way of (a) grants, (b) subsidy and (c) approved loans? (7) Despite previous promises, is it true that no request has ever been made to the federal Government fdr Federal assistance to overcome the Mt Morgan Shire Council's desperate water situation? Answer:— (1) Charters Towers City Council, Mt Isa City Council, Isis Shire Council, (2 & 3) Mt Isa City Council received additional assistance of $2.6m from the State Government, and $1.475m from the Commonwealth Government in recognition of the special circumstances applying to the Mius Dam project. These considerations included the effect of inordinately high debt servicing charges on ratepayers, the importance of the local industry to the national economy, and the substantial contribution to the capital costs from the industry on which the town is based. Banana Shire Council received no special Government assistance in respect of the Biloela water supply. However, the electricity supply industry is contributing substantially to the town infrastructure in recognition of the impact on community facilities of the Callide Power Station development. (4) As far as the Karumba problem is concerned, the Government has considered this on a number of occasions and has in fact offered the tOwn a level of assistance that is well above that available under the normal subsidy scheme. The principles adopted in this case were similar to those used in the Mt Isa circumstances. The rate of subsidy offered to the Carpentaria Shire Council was 50 per cent, whereas the scheme provided for 33i per cent. On top of that a special grant of $100,000 was offeired. Thus the Government contribution to the cost estimated in 1980 at $3m would have been $l,6m or, 53 per cent, with the council contributing $800,000 or 27 per cent,. the maximum within its assessed rateable capacity, leaving the local industry to contribute $600,000 or 20 per cent— equivalent tp its estimated usage. Furthermore, an offer, was made to thp industry yhereby its contribution could have been negotiated on a basis which offered offsetting advantages to the con tributors but this was not taken up, (5) The special subsidy oif 75 per cent towards the cost of purchase of conveyance of water to the Mt Morgan Shire Council in respect of the emergency situation applying to the town water supply was granted in accordance with the conditions of the CommonWealth/State agreement for Natural Disaster Drought Relief Assistance, For a local authority to be eligible for this level of assistance for a town water- supply scheme— 1. the existing water-supply facilities must be adequate under normal con ditions, and emergent circumstances must be shown to exist as a direct consequence of the present extreme drought; 2436 18 November 1982 Questions Upon Notice 2, the proposed remedial action must be the most practical and economical way of supplementing the town water supply. The Carpentaria Shire Council would not be eligible fpr assistance on this basis in respect of the Karumba water supply. While the Government is sympathetic in situations such as pertain at Karumba and this is evidenced by the liberal nature of the arrangements I have outlined, there is a limit to how far this sympathy can be extended in individual situations without creating a totally inequitable comparison with other centres which have been subsidised strictly in terms of the approved. Government scheme. (6) For purposes of Government assistance to Mt Morgan in respect of the town water supply, no distinction has been made between grants and subsidies. i. As at 31 August 1982— •^ • $ . Total subsidy 114,181 Approved loan ., 206,511 (7) The special sujjsidy being paid to Mt Morgan Shire Council is being funded partly by the State Government and partly by the Commonweahh Govern ment under agreed arrangements. 3. Dam Sites, Balonne/Condamine River System Mr Neal asked the Minister for Water Resources and Aboriginal and Island Affairs— (1) What investigations have been carried out with regard to further dams on the Balonne/Condamine river system? (2) What particular sites are under consideration and what are the estimated volumes that could be held ait each site? I An^er:— , (1 & 2) The Queensland Water Resources Commission is carrying out further preliminary investigations for two dam sites on the Balonne/Condamine River system. The sites are at 323 km on the Balonne River (Barrackdale) and at 518.2 km on the Condamine River (Yulabilla). The field investigations, comprising a seismic survey, some foundatioji drilling, geological mapping and materials reconnaissance are in progress at present on the site at Barrackdale, Some preliminary drilling has been carried out at Yulabilla, but more is required. Preliminary engineering studies will follow completion of the field investigations. Those for the Barrackdale site are expected to be completed by the end of 1983, The site at Barrackdale has a capacity of up to 600 000 ML and the Yulabilla site 200000 ML, A site is also being investigated on the Maranoa River at 258.5 km. A range pf dam capacities, up to 200 000 ML is being appraised, 4, State Aid to Independent Schools Mr Greenwood asked the Minister for Education— (1) What forms of Queens|land Government aid to independent schools were provided by the Gair Labour Government in 1957 and, if any aid was forthcoming, was such aid by grant or subsidy for either capital works, running expenses, interest payments, fees contributions, per capita grants or otherwise, and on what conditions and at what level was such aid, if any^ granted? (2) Will he compare these forms pf aid and the levels at which they operated under a State ALP Government witli the forms of aid and the levels at which the National-Liberal Queensland Government provides aid to independent schools in 1982? (3) What forms of aid are funded by the Comoi^wealth Government and given to independent schools in 1982? ., ^ , . ^ .^ (4) Is the assessment by the "Telegraph" newspaper of 28 October, that the proposed Federal ALP policy would reduce Federal aid to independent, schools by $50in per annum in running expenses substantially accurate in the light of the recent policy announcement by the ALP education spokesmaUi lohn Dawfeins?- Questions Upon Notice 18 November 1982 2437 Answer:— (1) Two forms of State Government aid were available to non-Government schools in Queensland in 1956-57, These were:— (a) Endowment to grammar schools, (This was not paid to other non-Government schools) In 1955-56, the Gair Government paid £54,200 as endowments. Provision for these endowments was made in the Grammar Schools Act 1860. The endowments were paid as a proportion of fees. In addition, the Act made provision for capital grants when new grammar schools were founded. (b) Scholarship fees and allowances Award of a State scholarship entitled the holder to tuition at any State high school. State technical school, grammar school or other secondary' school aipproved by the Governor in Council. The assistance took two forms:— (i) Tuition fees: As from 1 January 1956, the following amounts were paid to approved secondary schools for each scholarship holder: £18 per annum (scholarship holder—Grades 9 and 10) £20 per annum (extension scholarship holder—Grades 11 ahd 12) In 1956, the number of scholarship holders at grammar schools was 1 824, so the amount paid in tuition fees was approximately £36,000. In the same year, the number of holders attending approved secondary schools apart from State high schools and grammar schools was 7 088, making a total payment in tuition fees of approximately £141,000. (ii) Scholarship allowances: The following allowances were p^id to scholar ship holders: In cases where a student could live at home—£16 (Grades 9 and 10) and £20 (Grades 11 and 12), In cases where a student lived away from home—£65 (Grades 9 and 10) £82 (Grade 11) and £104 (Grade 12), These allowances were means tested. In addition to these two forms of Government aid, there were some other forms of assistance of an incidental nature. For instance, scholarship holders were provided with free railway passes to and from the nearest secondary school and it is probable that other services, such as medical, dental and guidance services, were also made available to non-Government schools, ' • '' (2) The nature and levels of State Government assistance presently provided to non-Govemment schools in Queensland are such that no simple direct comparison of the type requested can be made. It is clear, however, that the range of this assistance and the levels at which it is provided are much greater than those in 1957. Full details of the assistance presently provided by the State Government to non-Government schools are contained in two information statements prepared by the Department of Education. They are No. 56: Financial Assistance and No. 58: Assistance to Schools. I table copies of those statements. Whereupon the honourable gentleman laid the statements on the tMe. Mr Bums: Why don't you table the answer? Mr ELLIOTT: The honourable member may not be interested in my answer, but that does not mean that the honourable member who asked the question is not interested. Mr ACTING SPEAKER: Qrder! I remind the, honourable member for LyttpBithat question-time is not the time to hold a discussion across the Chamber. Other honourable members are trying to hear the answers to the questions. Mr BURNS: I rise to a point of order. I point out, Mr Acting Speaker, that questiountime has been misused blatantly by Ministers with long answers to questions that could be tabled, not giving honourable time to question them further. Mr ACTING SPEAKER: Order! The honourable member for Lytton has been a member for long enough to know that Ministers are entitled to answer questions in the manner they wisfli to. 2438 18 November 1982 Questions Upon Notice Mr Burns: The system stinks, Mr ACTING SPEAKER: Order! The honourable member will withdraw that remark. Mr BURNS: Out of deference to the Chair and under the rules of the House, I withdraw it. Answer (contd):— (3) This information is included in infonnation statements 56 and 58^ (4) I understand that the claims made in the article in the "Telegraph" of 28 October 1982 concerning the proposed education policy of the Federal Australian Labor Party were subsequently denied by the party's education spokesman, Mr John Dawkins. Only the Commonwealth Schools Commission would be in a position to analyse the effect of the proposed policy on non-Government schools. Mr ACTING SPEAKER: Order! Before calling the next honourable member, I point out that the acoustics in this Chamber are quite different from those in the temporary Chamber in the Parliamentary Annexe, Audible conversations, which would not have been heard in the temporary Chamber, are distinctly audible in this Chamber, so I can fully understand honourable niembers not being able to hear answers to questions, I seek the co-operation of all honourable members. They should leave the Chamber if they wish to haye a conversation. Members want to hear answers to their questions, 5, New Hospital, Goondiwindi Mr McKechnie asked the Minister for Health—^ What is the latest infomiation jn. regard to the development of Stage I of the proposed new hospital at Goondiwindi? Answer:— : > The Goondiwindi Hospitals Board has been granted apprpval for the invitation of tenders for Stages I and II pf the redevelopment of the Goondiwindi Hospital. I am informed that tenders close at the board's office on 13 December 1982. 6. Housing Commission Assistance to Station Hands and Farm,,Employees to Purchase Houses in Country Towns Mr McKechnie asked the Minister for Works and Housing— (1) As some station hands and farm employees often live all their working lives in houses on station and farm properties and have riever Owned their own home, what action can be taken by the Queensland Housing Comniission to helj) them purchase their own homes in country towns when they wish to move to town to live? (2) What assistance can be provided to a 55-year-old married couple who wish to build a new home to the value of $30,000, if they ovra land to the value of $6,000 and their children have left home? (3) What interest would the couple pay if they are to live by themselves and if the, household income is preseptjy^ (a) $180, (b) $190, (c) $200, (d) $210, (e) $220, (f) $230 or (g) $240 per week? '' , , :^ (4) What would be the total monthly repayments, both principal and interest, on the above wage levels, and also when the couple reach peiision age, without any outside income? Answer:-^ (1) Station hands and farm employees moving to a town can apply for home- ovmership finance at the local court-house, (2) There is no age restriction under either home-ownership scheme. However, it must be appreciated that the age and financial circumstances of the applicant must be considered in each case. Questions Upon Notice 18 November 1982 2439 In the case quoted, a loan of $30,000 could be made available provided the applicant could pay at least $125 per month and meet other commitments. (3 & 4) Presuming a loan is for $30,000, the weekly incomes quoted would be the monthly payment required. Repayment occurs when the monthly payment exceeds the amount required to pay the commercial rate of interest (at present 14i per cent) on the amount borrowed. If mcome is reduced, the monthly payment reduces accord ingly. This would occur when a borrower ceased to be a wage earner and received a benefit from the Department of Social Security, 7 Employment of Teachers Mr McKechnie asked the Minister for Education— (1) As both employers and employees are often facing difficult financial conditions because of the drought and high interest rates and the consequent need to supplement family incomes, will his department give favourable consideration towards employing more martied women who are registered teachers, as well as new graduates of teachers colleges during 1983? (2) Will preference be given to employing registered teachers living in Queensland over and above those from interstate? (3) Will his department absorb all suitable applicants who live in Queensland during 1983? (4) What are the prospects for interstate teachers who wish to apply for teaching positions in Queensland during 1983? • (5) How do twth Queensland and interstate applicants apply for teaching positions in Queensland, if such applicants wish tp apply now for positions in 1983? Answer:—' (1) The Department of Education appoints teachers in accordance with approved guide-lines, which include selection mteria such as marital status, year of graduation as a teacher and preparedness to serve in locations where vacancies exist, (2) Preference is given to employing suitable teachers who live in Queensland and who are prepared to serve in Ipc^itions where vacancies exist, (3) It is likely that applicants living in Queensland will be able to be employed as teachers during 1983, provided they are prepared to serve in locations where vacancies exist. However, the final number of vacancies is dependent on resignations received from existing teachers, (4) Some interstate applicants will need to be appointed to positions in certain subject areas where shortages exist in high schools, for example in mathematics/science and manual arts, (5) Applications for appointment as a teacher may be made to the head office of the Department of Education, or to the Regional Directors of Education in the nine regions throughout Queensland, Advertisements have been placed recently in Queens land and interstate newspapers inviting teachers interested in teaching in (Queensland to advise the Department of Education. Glue-sniffing Detector Mr Bertoni asked the Minister for Health— (1) Is he aware of a recent AAP report concerning the invention of a glue-sniffing detector in Britain at a cost of $1800? (2) In view of the many instances of brain damage and other bad effects of glue-snifling on our youth in many areas, will he consider urgent action to investigate this report with a view to purchasing such a machine should it prove effective? (3) Will he also consider legislation designed to use this machine and stop the shocking increase of glue-sniffing? 2440 18 November 1982 Questions Upon Notice Answer:— (1) Yes, (2) Action will be taken to obtain information concerning the device referred to by the honourable member, (3) On 6 February 1982, the Poisons Regulations of 1973 were amended to require glues which had been shown to be used by youths for glue-sniffing to be stored on retail premises so that they were not accessible to the public. That requirement had the effect of removing problem glues from self-selection areas where, in many in many instances, they were stolen. They are still available to genuine users on request. 9. Mary Kathleen Township Mr Bertoni asked the Minister for Mines and Energy— (1) Is he aware of an article in "The Courier-Mail" of 8 November concerning proposals by Mr Sam Manolopoulous for the use of Mary Kathleen tovynsh^ip?, (2) Will he give urgent consideration to this proposal with a view to saving Mary Kathleen township from being demolished? Answer:— (1) Yes, . (2) Before Mary Kathleen Uranium made the decision on 22 October to dispose completely of the township of Mary Kathleen, the company had been prepared to accept any viable proposal for maintenance of that townshipi as an entity. I understand that from the company's investigations neither the proposal made by Mr Manolopoulos nor any of the other proposals was considered to be viable. The viability of this township could only be achieved by the attraction of adequate funding from commercial activity or by public funding. It should be pointed out in this regard that it has been costing the company $3m per year to service the town and provide' the necessary community support, and it is estimated that $7m would need to be spent over the next few years to upgrade essential facilities, 1. ; ^_ • '^ 10. Ex Gratia Payments to Officers of Queensland Police Force Mr Hopper asked the Minister for Local Government, Main Roads and Police— With j-ef erence to the Honourable tbe Premier's announcement of ex gratia payments to ofiicers of the Queensland Police Force equivalent to the amounts they wouli have received under workers' compensation entitlements, and as this is a privilege rather than an entitlement^^ • ' . Will he give consideration to introducing legislation making this an award entitlement and not a privilege, and, if not, what is the reason? Answer:— Administrative arrangements have recently been approved whereby members of the Police Force who sustain permanent injury as a result of injuries received in the course of duty will be paid compensation in relation to that injury, based on the provisions of the Workers' Compensation Act. In view of these arrangements, together with other industrial and administrative benefits to which such officers are entitled, there is considered to be no requirement for the introduction of legislation in this regard. 11. Inala Community House Mr Hopper asked the Minister for Justice and Attorney-General— With reference to his answer to my question of 21 October in which he stated that action was being taken to obtain the annual balance sheet and current list of directors and/or the board of Inala Community House— Has this action been successful and the required information obtained from Inala Community House? Questions Upon Notice 18 November 1982 2441 Answer:— The annual return of Inala Community House as at 30 June 1982 has not yet been lodged. The delay is said to be due to the absence on annual leave of the administrator of Inala Community House. Further action is being taken to procure the lodgment of this return at an early date. When it comes to hand, I will advise the honourable member accordingly. 12. Registration of Heron Island Pty Ltd Mr HOoper asked the Deputy Premier and Treasurer— With reference to the recent Cabinet decision to grant a special 30-year lease to P & O-owned Heron Island Pty Ltd over part of Wilson Island despite the risk to bird colonies on the island— (1) Did Heron Island Pty Ltd, the company granted this latest Government favour, obts^in ^ registry in Darwin on 14 August 1980 which continued until 28 July? (2) What was the reason for this action by the company and are such tactics normally regarded in stock-broking circles as a rather crafty ploy tb avoid paying Queensland stamp duty on share transactions? (3) Is this a case where the Government has granted a privileged contract to an overseas-cpntrolled company which, in return,, has just manipulated its operations to dodge making its proper contribution to Queensland revenue? Answer:Tr- (1 to 3) I am not aware of any specific transactions involving the Heron Island Pty Ltd register with implications for Queensland stamp duty, 13, Processor Market Milk Entitlements Mr Booth asked the Minister for Primary Industries— Witb reference to processor market milk entitlements— Has the market milk entitlement of any of the processors been reduced and, if so, which processors are affected, and what are the reasons? Answer:— Yes, Processors' entitlements have been reduced because of the normal annual distribution of growth., ''' Processors affected by a reduction of the entitlement are: Metropolitan Milk Producers Co-operative Association, Logan and Albert Co-operative Daiiy Association Limked, South Coast Co-operative Dairy Association Limited and Suncbast Milk Prodiicfeft C^o-operative Association Limited. Three other processors were temporarily affected because of a formula which was used and which will be recalculated. The three processors are: Caboolture CJo-operative Association Limited, Soiithbrook Co-operative Dairy Association Limited and Warwick Co-operative Dairy Association Limited. At a meeting of processors held at the Queensland Milk Board premises on Friday, 12 November 1982, this information was conveyed to the three processors con cerned and to the industry. The overall reason for a reduction in a processor's market milk entitlement, due to a growth distribution, is the Government's policy of a more equitable distribution of market milk, 14. Allocation of Funds under Farm Water Supplies Assistance Act Mr Booth asked the Minister for Water Resources and Aboriginal and Island Affairs— With reference to the Farm Water Supplies Assistance Act, in particular the allocation of funds- Is the allocation of funds for 1982-83 already fully committed and, if so, in view of the prevailing dry conditions, is there any possibility of obtaining an emergency allocation of funds? 2442 18 November 1982 Questions Upon Notice Answer:— The demands for loans under this fund have been quite high and to date approxiniately $lm has been advanced to landholders against the overaU fund availability of $1.65m approved in the Budget, In addition, applications for finance requiring an additional $l,7m have been approved, and it is expected' that half of this amount will need to be paid before the end of June 1983, Because of this situation, recent applicants have been advised that any finance approved may not be available until after 30 June 1983, An approach is also being made to the Treasury to see whether funds can be made available in the current year. 15. Sprint Races, Gympie Turf Oub Meetings Mr Stephan asked the Minister for Local Government, Main Roads and Police— (1) Is be aware that nominations for any sprint race in Gympie, have been limited by the Queensland Turf Club to eight horses per race? (2) As nominations for any one sprint race meeting at Gympie usually attract 30 or md^e entries and as only two sprint races, one race with two diyisidns, are allowed each meeting, thus leaving many horses in an area where interest is very keen without a start, will he approach the QTC with a view to giving consideration to increasing the number of horses per race and also to allow the Gympie Turf Club to apply for, and receive sympathetic consideration to be able to program, more than two sprint races at each meeting? > i fi Answer:— (1 & 2) I have indicated to Gympie representatives of sprint racing interests that I intend to discuss this entire matter with the Queensland -Turf Oub, so far as.it affects not only Gympie but also other areas of the State, I will, of course, advise the honourable member ot the outcome of those discussions,' I see no problems at all. 16. Boundary Change, Gympie City Council/Widgee Shire Council Areas Mr Stephan asked the Minister for Local Governnient, Main RoadS and Pplice— With reference to the discussions concerning the boundaries between the local government authority areas of Gympie City Council and Widgee Shire Councjl, to the statement made by him, while performing the official ppeniiig of the grandstand on the Shpwgrpund/Racecourse Trust Grounds on 30 October, namely, that there will be no change of boundaries between the two,local authority areas, and to a statement in the newspaper "The Gympie Times" of 11 November attributed to the mayor of Gympie when reporting on a deputation from the city cpuncil to the Minister, namely, "I believe it was significant—despite recent statements—that the Minister did.not say there would be no boundary alterations nor did he say that the application would be refused"- (1> What is the present situation concerning the boundary change discussions presently taking place? (2) Has the Minister taken any positive action in an endeavour to overcome this dispute? Answer:— (1 & 2) I have arranged for senior officers of the Department of LocaKGovernment to visit Gympie for the purpose of assessing the potential availability of essential services, particularly water supply, to areas in and adjacent to the city which are likely to be developed in the foreseeable future. Following this assessment, the whole question of future development in the area will be further considered. Questions Upon Notice 18 November 1982 2443 17. Covered Unloading Area and Railway Siding for Gympie Fruitgrowers Co-op Association Mr Stephan asked the Minister for Transport— With reference to the proposed covered unloading area and extension to the railway siding used by the Gytapie Fruitgrowers Co-op Association as discussed by a deputation from the GFCA with him early this year— (1) Have the plans for this work been finalised? (2) Will the work, due for completion early in 1983, be completed on time? Answer:-!— (1) iThe capital works program for 1982-83 has just been finalised and therefore the detailed plaiming for this work has not been undertaken. (2) This work will be completed during 1982-83, in accordance with the undertaking given by me to the hfijnourable member and to the Gympie Fruitgrowers Co-op Associatiion. ' • I i ; • ' ! 18. . I Landholdings of Mr Sebastiao Maia Mr Mclpean asked the Minister for Tourism, National Parks, Sport and The Arts— ' (1) how much land in Queensland is held by Mr Sebastiao Maia of Brazil? (2) How much of Mr Maia's land is held in the Lawn Hill holding, north-west of Mt Isa? (3) What are the terms, specifically, the length of his lease, the annual rental and any special conditions, of Mr Maia's lease on the Lawn Hill holdings? (4) How much has Mr Maia expended on imjprovements on the Lawn Hill holding since receiving the lease? (5) How much of the improvements are located within the area of the proposed Lawn Hill national park? (6) Did Mr Maia have permits to construct a major earth construction dam across Lawn Hill Creek, which resulted in the death of hundreds of trees? (7) How much of Lawn Hill holding has Mr Maia offered to relinquish to become a part of the proposed Lawn Hill national park? (8) When was the first national park proposal made for Lawn Hill? (9).Did the Land Administration Commission in,Octpber 1980 endorse a National Parks and Wildlife Service proposal for about 100 000 hectares on Lawn Hill Station? (10) What is the stock-carrying capacity of the land proposed to be included in the Lawn Hill national park; compared with the remainder of Mr Maia's land? Answer:— (1, to 4) These parts of thp, honourable i .member's question deal with matters under the control of my colleague the Honourable the Minister for Lands and Forestry, from whom I suggest the honourable member seek the information, ' (5) Nil, (6) See (1 to 4), ; (7) This matter is still under negotiation with Maia, (8) Various proposals have been made over the past 10 years, (9 & I'O) See (1 to 4), ' Mr McLean: Mr Acting Speaker, I redirect parts (1), (2), (3), (4), (6), (9) and (10) of the question to the Minister for Lands and Forestry, 19. Value of Queensland's Exports and Imports Mr McLean asked the Minister for Commerce and Industry— What are the trade figures for the last two years, both export and import, between Queensland and the following countries: (a) Japan, (b) South Korea, (c) China, (d) Taiwan, (e) Singapore, (f) Hong Kong and (g) New Zealand? 2444 18 November 1982 Questions Upon Notice Answer:— The Australian Bureau of Statistics figures for trade between the countries mentioned and Queensland over the last two years are as follows:— ' ' 1980-81 1981-82 1, Exports Imports Exports Imports $ million $ million $ million $ million Japan 1,585-8 448-4 1,535-3 592-0 South Korea 188-2 14-0 189-9 26-3 China 133-9 7-2 119-1 10-5 Taiwan 55-4 35-0 126-1 45-7 Singapore 60-9 106-9 52-7 115-1 Hong Kong 16-2 23-3 18-7 28-2 New Zealand 120-2 42-5 115-2 56-0 The figures for the year 1981-82 are preliminary only, 20, Register of Road Accidents Mr Katter asked the Minister for Transport— (1) Is there a comprehensive listing of all serious accidents and their causes in Queensland? (2) If causes or suspected causes are not listed because of legal complications, will he investigate ways of giving legal protection to police, and their reports,, as well as some comprehensive register which will actually monitor accidents in such a way as tp' (determine the causes of road accidents and thus indicate areas for Government action to eliminate these causes? Answer:— (1 & 2) I am informed by my acting commissioner that provision is already made on the Queensland Police traffic accident report form for the recording of contributing circumstances in relation to motor vehicle accidents. These reports are processed by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Queensland Office, and are retained by the Department of Transport. Although this information is valuable in determining the cause of motor vehicle accidents, I should point out that the specific cause is often the basis of very extensive legal argument. In addition to this information, separate police reports are often furnished detailing interviews with witnesses, subsequent investigations and details of any charges which may arise. The contributing circumstances recorded on the Queensland Police traffic accident report form are not compiled as part of the annual bulletin of the Australian Bureau of Statistics because of their subjective nature. The maintenance of the register detailing accident causes would be extremely time-conSuniing and would involve a number of additional staff, ' To obtain specific information in relation to accident causes, the Queensland Road Safety Council Research Committee, under the chairmanship of Dr B, A. Smithurst, Reader in Social and Preventive Medicine at the University of Queensland, has undertaken research projects to investigate specific problem areas. The honourable member will be aware that at the present time an extensive research project looking specifically at accident causation is being conducted jointly by the Queensland Road Safety Council and the Royal Automobile Club of Queensland. Questions Upon. Notice 18 November 1982 2445 Experience has shown that in-depth research projects are the most effective way of obtaining the information suggested by the honourable member in preference to the subjective information that may be obtained without full and proper investigation. 21, Homework for Primary Schoolchildren Mr Katter asked the Minister for Education— (1) Is he aware that many children of seven, eight and nine years of age are regularly taking home between two and four hours of homework per night? (2) Does he agree that few people in society today have to take their work home with them and start work again whilst other adults are relaxing? (3) Do slower children require four to five hours tp work their way through home work that would take their brighter counterparts less than one hour? (4) Further, with continuous assessment, do the children of more upwardly mobile families receive more support and assistance from parents than children whose parents have poor educational standards? (5) In the light of these considerations, will he agree to ban homework below Year 7. Answer:— (1 to 5) The provision for Home Study is contained in regulation 19 of the Education Regulations of 1971, which reads as fpllowsr— "A teacher may require a pupil to undertake home study which may occupy such amount of time as a principal may decide is reasonable in the circumstances." I do not consider that the circumstances outlined by the honourable member are reasonable, and I suggest that^ particular instances of unreasonableness should be taken up by parents with the principal Of the school. In my experience, most teachers are very Sensitive to individual differences, such as those raised by the honourable member; nevertheless, it is a fact of life that some children will complete tasks faster than others or will have access to superior home resources. It would be a retrograde step to abolish homework in the classes below Year 7, because when homework is properly planned and supervised the children are learning , desirable study habits which are essential to their future success in school and beyond. 22. Transport Concessions to Meat-processing Companies Mr Katter asked the Minister fpr Tran^ort— (1) Are concessions presently being offered to meat-processing companies available to cattle producers? (2) Will he review these offers since they will force large numbers of livestock handlers to the wall and thus cause the cost charged by those remaining to increase considerably? (3) Are cattle being carted at a loss by the Railway Department and, if so, will additional contracts increase these losses? Answer:— (1) Contract rates offered to meat-processing companies have been available to cattle producers since September 1979. (2) Extension of the scheme to embrace meatworks, in addition to producers, was a result of discussions with industry representatives. Last week I met with representatives of the Livestock Carriers Association and undertook to raise the matter in Cabinet when I have all the relevant information. (3) I am informed by the Commissioner for Railways that a recent study into the financial results; of ha,uling livestock revealed that this commodity failed to meet avoidable working expenses by a small margin. 2446 18 November 1982 Questions Upon Notice Because of the substantial proportion of fixed costs inherent in railway operations an increase in traffic volume will reduce unit costs and it is not anticipated that these additional contracts will increase losses. As the honourable member is aware, P A Australia are currently carrying out an investigation into several aspects of railways operation, including some elements of railway costing, I anticipate that their recommendations will be of assistance in determining future Government policy in areas such as matters raised by the honourable member, 23, Safer and Cheaper Motor Cars Mr Lester asked the Minister for Transport— Will efforts be, made to encourage Australian car manufacturers to make safer cars at a cheap price? Answer:—• i By incorporating Australia Design Rules into existing legislation, motor vehicle manufacturers are required to includ,e various safety features in their motor vehicles. Australian Design Rules already cover safety door latches and hinges, seat-belts and seat-belt ancorage points, directional turn signals, safety glass, the location and visibility of instruments, head restraints and numerous other safety features. As current legislation provides for the adherence to design rules, motor vehicle manu facturers are encouraged to consider the safety of vehicles manufactured. Design requirements also lead to the mass production of various components and this in turn r^Ults in the various safety components being produced as economically as possible. 24, ' Beef Trade witli Japan Mr Lester asked the Minister for Primary Industries^ How does the suggested renewed interest in Australian beef by Japan affect the : longterm future of Queensland? , Answer:—> The new quotas for beef importations were announced by the Japanese Govern ment two days ago. This quota announcement was 65 000 tonnes compared to 55000 tonnes at the same time last year. However, this increase reflects the lower demand last year rather than any renewed interest at the present time. Effectively the Japanese Government is honouring commitments niade under earlier muUilatesral trade negotiations. Although I am advised that there is no special new interest in Australian beef, the announcement does indicate some stability in the market and this certainly augurs well for the Queensland beef industry, • 25, Queensland Racing Mr Lester asked the Minister for Local Government, Main Roads and Police— (1) With reference to his recent visit to the racing facilities of Capella, Emerald and Moranbah, and bearing in mind the excellent facilities available there, is this sort of progress widespread in Queensland? (2) What have been his general achievements since becoming the Minister in charge of racing and what plans does he have for the future of Queensland racing? Answer:— (1) Yes, (2) I can advise that, siiice I assumed the portfolio of racing, all three codes in the racing industry have benefited by Government initiatives to convert repayable loans to interest-free interminable loans, to make funds available for capital works by way of interest-free and non-repayable grants and to distribute TAB profit by reimbursing all clubs 65 per cent of prize-money paid indexed by 10 per cent year by year, I can assure the honourable member that I am determined that these and Questions Upon Notice 18 November 1982 2447 other benefits as a result of the Government's confidence in the future of the racing industry will continue to flow to all clubs of all codes to ensure that the unprecedented boom the racing industry is enjoying will have a lasting and ongoing influence, 26. Subsidy on Fodder Purchases Mr Randell asked the Minister for Primary Industries— (1) What assistance is available to dairy farmers in drought-declared areas, in regard to fodder purchase assistance? (2) Is assistance available from the CommonweaUh Government, and is a 50 per cent subsidy available on fodder purchases? (3) Is the Queensland Government only going to pay 40 per cent subsidy? (4) Is any subsidy available from his department? (5) Is there a conflict between Government departments, and what are the clear guide-lines in this matter? Answer:— (1) Under the fully funded Commonwealth Fodder Subsidy Scheme administered by the State, dairy farmers in drought-declared areas are eligible to,apply for a subsidy on the cost of fodder, (2) Assistance under the Commonwealth Fodder Subsidy Scheme is for a subsidy of up to 50 per cent on the cost of the fodder. However, the Commonwealth has imposed an upper limit of $8 of subsidy per cattle beast per month.. (3) Under the jointly funded Commonwealth/State Freight Subsidy Scheme, dairy farmers on drought-declared properties can apply for a 75 per cent freight rebate oa the proportion of fodder used for maintenance of dairy cattle'. The proportion of a ration eligible for freight rebate is calculated for each farmer in consultation with dairy husbandry officers of my department. This figure is usually about 40 per cent; so a simple example is that, if a dairy farmer in a drought area buys 10 tonnes of hay, he is eligible for a 75 per cent freight rebate on 4 tonnes of this hay. (4) The subsidy available from my department is as I have just outlined in (3), Incidentally, this freight subsidy, is a long-standing assistance measure available for dairy farmers, (5) There is no conflict between Government departiherits, but a clear distinction needs to be made between the fully funded Commonwealth cost. of fodder subsidy scheme announced on 1 September 1982, and the well-established jointly funded freight subsidy scheme. Both schemes are designed to assist with that proportion of fodder and the cost of getting it to the property which is essential for maintenance or survival. It is nOt intended to subsidise fodder and freight on fodder which is used for i>roduction above maintenance, 27. Replacement of Grovely State School Building Mr Milliner, asked the Minister for Works and Housing— With reference to his answer to my question during his departmental estimates on 9 November when he indicated that documentation regarding the replacement of the building at the Grovely State School that was destroyed by fire woujd be completed early in 1983, and in view of the grave concern about accommodation conditions expressed by parents of children who attend Grovely State School— (1) When will cpnstnuctipn pf a new building at the Grovely State School commence? (2) What is the estimated construction time of the project? (3) Will he release plans and details of the project and, if notj what is the reason? Answer:— (1) Documentation for stage 1 will be completed in January 1983, but its approvai will depend on funds available at that time after essential class-rooms are provided for the 1983 school year. 2448 18 November 1982 Questions Upon Notice (2) The estimated construction time of stage 1 is 26 weeks after the tender is let. However that could be affected by a number of factors such as weather conditions, (3) Documentation has not been completed, 28, Aircraft, Police Air Wing Mr Milliner asked the Minister for Local Gpvernment, Main Roads and Polipe>- (1) How many aircraft are presently in the Police Air Wing? (2) What is the make, model and registration of each aircraft? ' (3) How many personnel are employed in the Air Wing and in what capacity are they employed? (4) Are any of the aircraft presently having extensive maintenance carried out and, if so, which aircraft is receiving maintenance? (5) What is the anticipated cost of this maintenance? (6) Which two aircraft mentioned in his Press release are to be traded in on the Super King Air? Answer:— (1)'TWO. (2) One Cessna (Toncjuest Model C441, Registration VH-KDJ; one Super King Air Mpdel B200, registration VH-SGT. (3) Seven members comprisingr-* One chief pilpt and trainjnjg officer; One senior pilot and administration officer; and five pilots. , ,, (4 to 6) Cessna Model , 402, registration VH-CEM, and Cessna Model 421C, registration VH-DKT, were traded in on the Super King Air, Prior to trading, the only major maintenance conducted was a standard three yearly inspection on VH-CEM, the cost of which has, not been finalised. 29, Appointment of Mr Seeney to Public Service Board Mr Milliner asked the Premier— (1) Has the Commissioner of Stamp Duties, Mr Seeney, ever been appointed to Public Service Board? (2) If so, when was this appointment made? (3) If Mr Seeney was appointed to the Public Service Board, did he take up that appointment and, if not, what were the reasons for his not taking up the appointment to the board? (4) What was the name and the background of the person who finally filled this position on the Public Service Board? (5) If Mr Seeney was appointed to the PubUc Service Board, what was his Public Service classification and salary prior to his appointment to the board? (6) What is the salary and classification now being paid to Mr Seeney, if he is still Commissioner of Stamp Duties? Answer:— (1 to 6) Mr N. C, Seeney, Commissioner of Stamp Duties, was appointed a com missioner of the Public Service Board on 15 May 1982, but as he did not wish to proceed with such appointment it was cancelled, Mr Seeney was reappointed as Commissioner of Stamp Duties and is currently paid salary at the rate of $1,978,20 per fortnight in accordance with Public Service classification level 1-28. An appointment to fill the consequential vacancy for a commissioner on the Public Service Board will be made in due course. Questions Upon Notice 18 November 1982 2449 30 Transfer of Assignment of Mr and Mrs A. Gerbanas from Babinda Mill Area To Invicta Mill Area Mr Menzel asked the Minister for Water Resources and Aboriginal and Island Affairs— (1) What was the full agreement covering the A. and A. Gerbanas transfer to the Burdekin area from Babinda? (2) What was Mr Gerbanas's Babinda cane farm valued at? (3) What was the purchase value of the Burdekin property that Mr Gerbanas received? (4) When will full settlement take place? (5) What area of assignment was transferred to the Burdekin and thus lost to BaUnda? (6) Did Mr Gerbanas receive special treatment from the Agricultural Bank, not given to other applicants, when he transferred to the Burdekin? (7) How much did Mr Gerbanas receive from the Agricultural Bank to transfer to the Burdekin? (8) Why is there apparent secrecy regarding the whole transaction? Answer:— (1) The conditions applicable to the offer of land at Millaroo to Mr and Mrs A. Gerbanas of Babinda included the following— (a) that the Central Sugar Cane Prices Board agree to the rezoning of their assignment from the Babinda mill area to the Invicta mill area; (b) that they purchase the area offered at Millaroo at a value for land and improvements to be determined; and (c) that they agree to sell their farm at Babinda in an unassigned state to the Queensland Water Resources Commission at a value to be determined as an offset against the amount payable for the area to be purchased at Millaroo. (2 to 4) As I have previously advised the honourable member, the offer to Mr and Mrs Gerbanas involves a net payment by them of $50,000, with payment of the sum to be made in 10 equal annual instalments with interest at Agricultural Bank interest rates or 12 per cent, whichever is the lesser. (5) I am informed that the Central Sugar Cane Prices Board granted Mr and Mrs Gerbanas an assignment of 49 ha to Invicta mill. (6 & 7) I am not aware of any special assistance granted to Mr and Mrs Gerbanas by the Agricultural Bank. (8) The prices for the land at Millaroo and Babinda are matters for resolution between the commission and Mr and Mrs Gerbanas. 31- Lakeside Boundaries for Sewerage Trenches, Tinaroo Mr Menzel asked the Minister for Water Resources and Aboriginal and Island Affairs— (1) Has a decision been made in regard to the distance of the front lakeside boundaries for sewerage trenches on lakeside estate subdivisions at Tinaroo? (2) If so, what is the decision and, if not, when will a decision be made? Answer:— (1) The Queensland Water Resources Commission has recently determined a policy to apply to the Tinaroo Waters Estate in the Atherton Shire and will be discussing the application of this policy to other developments with both the Eacham and.Atherton Shire Councils. (2) The determination made for the Tinaroo Waters Estate calls for septic tanks and trenches to be sited a minimum of 60 metres horizontally, or 3 metres vertically, whichever is the greater horizontal distance, from the full supply level of the storage. 2450 18 November 1982 Questions Upon Notice 32. Cook Highway Mr Tenni asked the Minister for Tourism, National Parks, Sport and The Arts— As the Cook Highway drive between Cairns and Mossman is one of the most scenic drives in Australia and also the main highway to the Daintree/Cape Tribulation National Park, will he make available a sum of money—approximately $20,000 per year—to the Douglas Shire Council to allow for the clearing and levelling of the foreshore and allow for grass slashing which will enable tourists to view the scenery whilst driving along the highway towards the national park? Answer:— During my last visit to the honourable member's electorate, this subject was discussed while I was at Mossman. I raised the question of clearing road shoulders of the Cook Highway between Cairns and Mossman some time ago with my colleague the Honourable the Minister for Local Goyernment, Main Roads and, Police. For road safety purposes, grass slashing is carried out by the Main Roads Department on a regular basis and with the co-operation of that department this activity is to be extended to include some wider slashing to thus improve the view for motorists. I intend to approach my colleague in the near future to ascertain whether he can assist alsp in respecjt of the roads between Mossman and Cape Tribvlation, as funds are not available for this purpose in my department. Also, in certain portions of the highway, where there may be areas of mutual interest to our respective depart ments and the relevant local authorities, it may l?e possible for some other type of assistance to be provided along the lines sought by the honourable member. 33. Tuckshop and Covered Area, Mossman State School Mr Tenni asked the Minister for Works and Housing— When will the tuckshop and covered area at the Mossman primary' school be constructed? Answer:-^ EKjcumentation for this work has been completed and it is anticipated that tenders will be invited on Saturday, 27 November 1982. 34. Additional Staff, Mossman Hospital Mr Tenni asked the Minister for Health- Will a second doctor, and a second female office assistant be appointed to the Mossman Hospital? Answer:—- I am advised that staff allocations for the current financial year will be released in the near future and the request by the Mossman Hospitals Board for an additional medical officer will be considered at that time. In recent times clerical demands on hospitals had been reduced owing to the Workers Compensation Board having introduced a bulk payment to the Health Depart ment for workers' compensation cases treated at State hospitals. The board's application for an additional clerical assistant has therefore been refused. 35. Manufacture of Diesel-electric Locomotives for Newlands Mine Traffic ; Mr Underwood asked the Minister for Commerce and Industry— (1) Are thirteen diesel-electric locomotives for Newlands mine traffic being manufactured by Goninians in New South Wales and assembled by GEA in Townsville? (2) Will all components previously manufactured in (^ensland by C3yde and Commonwealth Engineering be made in Queensland for these locomotives? (3) Are they to be made like a mechano set in NSW and assembled in (Queensland? (4) If the answers to (1), (2) and (3) are "Yes", what effect does the letting of this order to a NSW company have on employment in (Jueensland? Questions upon Notice 18 November 1982 2451 Answer:-^ As the matter raised by the honourable member falls within the ambit of the Railway Department, he may care to direct his question to the Honourable the Minister for Transport. Mr Underwood: I do so accordingly. 36. Development of Tourist Resort, Florence Bay, Magnetic Island Mr Underwood asked the Minister for Lands and Forestry— (1) What area of land is to be made available for the development of a tourist resort at Florence Bay, Magnetic Island? (2) Who is the present lessee of Portion 26, Parish of Magnetic, County of Elphinstone, situated at Florence Bay? (3) Was a change of legislation or Cabinet decision necessary to revdce this lease and, if so, when did this occur? (4) How much land will the Scout Association of Australia retain at Florence Bay? (5) What form of land tenure will be made available to the Florence Bay resort developer and will this prevent public access to the beach and foreshore area? Answer:^ (1) An area of about 88 ha is being looked at. (2) The Boy Scouts Association, ' incorporated by royal charter, Queensland Branch. (3) The lease has not been revoked. Negotiations with the lessee are in train. Necessary formalities will be observed. (4) This will depend on the outcome of negotiations. It is quite possible that the dissociation will retain no land in Florence Bay, and this would be voluntarily negotiated. (5) The matters of land tenure and public access to the beach and foreshore will be fully considered. Expressions of interest by proposed developers will be called for. A stage has not yet been reached where decisions can he made. The proposed development will envisage and need support by the public. 37- Total Concept Homes; Eagle Lands Dr LoekwQod asked the Minister for Justice and Attorney-General— (1) Was Total Concept Homes a registered business name or a cpmpany registered under Queensland laws as at 4 March, 23, April, 4 June and 19 August at which dates it conducted certain business, or at any date since, and who were its proprietors as of 4 March, 23 April, 4 June and 19 August? (2) Was Eagle Lands a registered business name or a company registered under Queensland laws as at 4 August, 10 August, 21 September or at any date since, and who were its proprietors? Answer.— (1) The records in the Office of the Commissioner for Corporate Affairs show that Total Concept Homes was nPt registered as a business name or as a company in Queensland as at 4 March 1982 or at any time since that date. (2) The records in the commissioner's office show that Eaglelands Pty Ltd was registered as a proprietary company, limited by shares on 26 May 1982 and is still so registered, and that since 22 June 1982, the directors of this iCpmpany have been Anthony Stevens and Marsey Florence Lillian Griffiths. 2452 18 November 1982 Questions Upon Notice Allegations that certain people have been trading as Total Concept Homes, Eagle- lands and T. C. Enterprises Pty Ltd are under investigation by the Office of the Commissioner for Corporate Affairs. When I receive a final report on the investigation I will advise the honourable member further. 3S. Overseas Travel by Persons on Bail Dr Lockwood asked the Minister for Justice and Attorney-General— (1) Can persons released on bail pending appearance in court to answer criminal charges obtain a new Australian passport or exercise the privilege of an existing Australian or other national passport by travelling overseas, particularly to New Zealand? (2) What checks are made by our courts on a person's nationality or possession of passports before granting bail? (3) Is any Queensland or Australian law breached by travelling overseas without declaring to Department of Immigration officials that the traveller has been released on bail? Answer:— (1) The granting of passports is a matter for the Commonwealth. Section 7B of the Passports Act 1938 precludes the granting of a passport where the person concerned is reasonably believed to be required to remain in Australia or to refrain from obtaining an Australian passport by virtue of an order of a court made in respect of a condition imposed on the grant of bail. (2) The granting of bail is regulated by the Bail Act 1980, and the circumstances which a court is required to take into consideration are set out in section 16 of that Act. The important factors are the circumstances of the case, the background of the person charged and the likelihood, he will answer bail. In granting bail, the court will take into account any opposition to bail by the prosecution and, if the court considers the grant of bail is an acceptable risk, it may impose conditions. Such conditions may include the surrender of a passport and restrictions on movement. (3) There is presently no declaration which is required tp be made by a person seeking a passport with regard to any restrictions placed upon his movement or restrictions upon his obtaining a passport. Any requirement that such a declaration be made is a matter for the Commonwealth. 39. Caboolture Bypass, D'Aguilar Highway Mr Frawley asked the Minister for Local Government, Main Roads and Police— (1) Has an amended plan been submitted to the Main Roads Department by the Caboolture Shire Council for a deviation of the D'Aguilar Highway bypassing the town (rf Caboolture? (2) If so, when is it expected that a decision will be made to resume the necessary land? Answer:— (1) The Caboolture Shire Council has recentiy requested the Main Roads Depart ment to consider a further possible Une for the Caboolture bypass. Investigation into all current proposals is proceeding. (2) As I have previously indicated, this is a long-term project, which requires a great deal of investigation and I do not anticipate any resumption action for some time Mr ACTING SPEAKER: Order! Before calling the next member I infoirm the Minister iot Local Government, Main Roads and Police that the Chair would' like him to answer questions from his usual place in the Chamber, Questions Upon Notice 18 November 1982 2453 41, Stamp Duty on Documentation of Superannuation Funds Mr Frawley asked the Deputy Premier and Treasurer— (1) Has he received a submission from the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia regarding stamp duty on amendments to the documentation of super annuation funds? (2) If so, what action does he propose to take? Answa-:—; ; • (1 & 2) Yes. A submission from the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia regarding stamp duty on documentation amending superarmuation fund trust deeds has been received. The matter has been thoroughly investigated and new administrative arrangements involving appropriate concessions have been deter mined for the assessment of these documents. The Stamp Duties Office will implement these arrangements as from Friday, 19 November 1982. ^j. Proposed Uranium Enrichment Plant Mr Vaughan asked the Minister for Mines and Energy— With reference to recent Press reports about the investigations by the Uranium Enrichment Group of Australia of sites in the Caboolture and Beaudesert areas for the likdy establishment of a uranium enrichment plant and in view of the concern that such reports have generated among the people living in those areas^- (1) Is the uranium enrichment group not proposing, at this time, to proceed with the construction of an enrichment plant in Australia? (2) Is the group not even proposing to proceed with a detailed feasibility study in relation to the construction of such a plant? (3) Will any decision to proceed with the construction of such a plant be subject to thorough study including a detailed environmental impact statement? (4) Has the group indicated that the establishment of such a plant will not proceed unless it was clear from due democratic process that a majority of the Australian community accepted such establishment? (5) In order to establish the attitude of the people of Queensland towards such a irfant in this State, will the Government be prepared to hold a referendum before any decisicm is made? Answer:— (l)Yes. (2) The group is to carry out a market study as a preliminary to a detailed feasibility study, (3) Yes, (4) I am not aware that the Uranium Enrichment Group of Australia made any such statement, and I think that the honourable member should be aware that the ultimate decision does not rest with it. In its report to the Commonwealth Government, UEGA recommended that sites near Adelaide and Brisbane be further evaluated in order to test the various site specific requirements of the chosen (centrifuge) technology. Other possible sites in Western Australia and the Northern Territory had been considered. Other State Governments chose not to participate. Clearly, the group's options must exclude any State controlled by the Labor Party, which has stated its opposition to the uranium industry. (5) No. If Queensland is chosen as the preferred site of an enrichment industry, the decision will be made by the Government after careful consideration of all the relevant facts. Mr McLean: I hope that it goes in your electorate. Mr I. J. GIBBS: It certainly would not go in the honourable member's electorate. 2454 18 November 1982 Questions Upon Notice 42. Revenue from Mining Leases and Authorities to Prospect Mr Vaughan asked the Minister for Mines and Energy^— With reference to the answer he gave to my question on 19 Octobfeir^ wherein he said- that rents on tenements under the control of the Mines Department have in fact increased by $480,378 in 1981-82— (1) What was that increase attributed to? (2) What rents, deposits, etcetera, are required to be paid by the holders of (a) a mining lease and (b) an authority to prospect for minerals, coal and petrdeum? (3) When were these rents, deposits, etcetera, last increased? (4) What were the rents, deposits, etcetera prior to the last increase? Answer:-^ (1) The increase can be attributed essentially to higher rentals payable on new mining leases and renewed mining leases. (2) The rents, deposits, etc., required to be paid by the holders of mining leases and authorities to prospect are^ (a) Mining Leases—Rental^$15 per hectare per annum. Survey Fee—as prescribed by the regulations from time to time depending on the size of the application. Security Deposit^the sum of money nominated by the Minister pursuant to section 29 of the Mining Act or bond in such amount. (This- amount is refundable upon termination of the mining tease, subject to compliance by the lessee with the terms and conditions.) (b) Authorities to Prospect—Minerals and coal—^Rental—$40 per subblock per annum. Deposit—$2,000. (This amount is refundable upon termination of the authority to prospect, subject to compliance by the holder with the terms and conditions.) Petroleum—Rental^$5 per block per annum. Deposit—$4,000, (This amount is refundable upon termination of the authority to prospect, subjesct to complianee by the holder with the terms and conditions.) (3) Rentals were last increased as from 1 January 1982. Deposits were not increased. (4) Prior to the increase stated in (3), rentals were as foUows-rr- Mining leases—$10 per hectare per annum. Authorities to prospect-^Minerals and coal—$30 per subblock per annum. Petroleum—$4 per block, per annum. 43. Consumers' Security Deposits held by Electricity Boards Mr Vaughan asked the Minister for Mines and Energy— (1) For 1981-82, what amount of money representing consumers' security deposits was held by the respective electricity boards? (2) Is this money invested by the boards and if so, how, and at what rate of interest? (3) What rate of interest does the consumer receive on money lodged with the boards as a security deposit? Answer:—• (1) As at 30 June 1982, the amount of consumers' security deposits held by the respective electricity boards was as follows:^ $ SEQEB . 16,2^18,000 SWQEB .. 2,091,000 WBBEB ,, .. 558,000 CEB 1,458,000 MEB 396,000 NQEB .. 1,424,000 FNQEB 836,000 Total .. $23,011,000 Questions Upwi Notice 18 November, 1982 2455 (2) Yes. It is invMted—^ (a) on the short-term money market at the prevailing rate of interest payable on short-term investments; (b) with the commission, as a fixed rate investment, at the semi-governmental rate of interest available at the time of investment. (3) Bank interest, namely, 3f per cent per annum. 44. Traffic Lights, Raymond Road/Old Cleveland Road Intersection; Finucane Road Mr Goleby asked the Minister for Local Government, Main Roads and Police— With reference to the completion of the four-lane road to Capalaba, and to the commencement of the next sfage of Old Cleveland Road in Redland Shire— (1) When will traffic lights be installed at the Raymond Street intersection? (2) Because of the dangerous location of the pedestrian crossing in the vicinity of the adjacent strip shopping centre and the high accident rate, including fatalities, involving pedestrians on this crossing, will he consider the relocation of this crossing when the traffic lights are installed? (3) What is the projected timetable for the reconstruction to four lanes of Finucane Road thus linking Capalaba and Cleveland? Answer:— (1) It is anticipated that traffic signals will be installed at the Raymond Street intersection by Christmas 1982. (2) There will be provision for pedestrians at the traffic signals at Raymond Street, and the existing pedestrian crossing in the adjacent shopping centre will be removed. (3) Subject to the availability of funds, work will progress continuously on providing four lanes between Capalaba and Cleveland. Present planning provides for comjrietion in 1987, '*5. Sale of Alcohol at Sporting Events Mr BOTbidge asked the Minister for Tourism, National Parks, Sport and The Arts— (1) Is he aware of action taken interstate to restrict alcohol sales at sporting fixtures? (2) Does he consider the crowd behaviour at Queensland sporting events warrants similar action? (3) Is this matter kept under review? Answer:— (1) Yes, I understand that sales of alcohol at sporting events are restricted to licensed booth areas and that liquor must be consumed in these defined areas, (2) As far as I am aware, there have been no serious alcohol-caused problems with crowd behaviour at Queensland sporting events, I am sure that all sports- loving Australians deplore the disgraceful exhibitions at the Perth cricket test, which was caused basically by over-indulgence in alcohol. <3) The administration of the Liquor Act is the responsibiUty of my colleague the Honourable the Minister for Justice and Attorney-General, from whom the honourable member might care to seek further information. . Mr ACTING SPEAKER: Order! The Queensland Parliament welcomes the children '"'"^ gallery to this Pariiament, Because the noise from the gallery is drifting dpwn into the Uiamber, I would ask them to keep their voices at a very low level; in fact, I would ask them not to speak at all. 2456 18 November 1982 Questions Upon Notice 46, New Broadbeach Police Headquarters Mr Borbidge asked the Minister for Works and Housing— (1) At what stage is construction of the new Broadbeach police headquarters? (2) When is work due to be completed? Answer:— (1) Work is progressing satisfactorily, with the project approximately 2 per cent complete. (2) The present contract completion date is November 1983. 47. Highway Patrol Vehicles, Gold Coast Police District Mr Borbidge asked the Minister for Local Governinent, Main Roads and Police— With reference to the new police Highway Patrol^— (1) How many of the new vehicles are to be allocated to the Gold Coast police district? (2) Where will they be based? Answer:— (1 & 2) Highwav Patrol vehicles comprising four motor cycles and one V8 sedan will operate from the Burleigh Heads Police Station. One motpr cycle will also operate from Coomera Police Station as a highway patrol. 48. Heron Island Pty Ltd Lease of Wilson Island Mr Wilson asked the Minister for Tourism, National Par^s, Sport and The Arts— With reference to the statement by Leon Wruckj chairman of the P & O group's Heron Island Pty Ltd subsidiary, in "The Courier-Mail" of 12 November that it was generally not known that his company had the lease of the whole of the tiny, 2.37 ha island for some time but had agreed to give up half of it to allow a national park to be declared there— ; (1) When was this company given a lease of Wilson Island, what were the terms of the lease, the rental, and what restrictions were placed on its use? (2) When was the first appUcation for a lease lodged by P & O on its subsidiary? (3) Was any appUcation by the group rejected? (4) Will he table the environmental impact statement of this tourist proposal on this tiny island? (5) As he was quoted in September as saying that P & O could keep applying for a lease on the island but they had been told, there would be no developnient so the company was wasting its time, will he give reasons for his change of attitude, or were he and his department overridden again? Answer:— (1 to 5) These are matters for my colleague the Honourable the Minister for Lands and Forestry, to whom I suggest the honourable member direct his question. For my part, I would add, however, that provision exists for the two national park officers who will be stationed in permanent kcCommodation on Heron Island to monitor all activities by all visitors to Wilson Island. Should they detect any such activity which, in their view, is detrimental to the island, and report accordingly to the Minister for Lands, there will be a special clause in the lease in terms of which the Mimster could ask the lessees to show cause why the lease should not be-withdrawn. Mr Bums: I redirect the question to the Minister for Lands and Fwestryv Supply (Estimates) 18 November 1982 2457 At 12 noon, In accordance with the provisions of Standing Order No. 307, the House went into Committee of Supply. SUPPLY Resumption of Committee—^Estimates—Eleventh and Twelfth Allotted Days Mr Powell (Isis) in the chair Estimates-in-Chief, 1982-83 Lands and Forestry Department of Lands Hon. W, H, GLASSON (Gregory—Minister for Lands and Forestry) (12,1 p.m,): I move— "That $18,110,780 be granted for 'Department of Lands'," It gives me great pleasure to rise today and speak on the Estimates of the Land Admin istration Commission, including the Stock Routes and Rural Lands Protection Board, the Brisbane Forest Park and the Forestry Department, I was appointed to this portfolio on 23 December 1980. It is one which I accepted with some trepidation notwithstanding my rural background, because land, although the foundation-stone of any stable society, is much sought after and consequently requires careful and considered judgment in its administration. That administration becomes all the more difficult, as the primary and secondary industries of this great State develop and as population increases. The greater the increase in population, the more intense is the pressure to obtain land for rural pursuits, residential, business, sporting and other activities. My experience over the past two years has been a challenging one indeed. Development brings with it many changes in the sociological and economic sphere which, if we are to keep pace, must be reflected in our thinking and in our administration. In the last couple of years the administration of the Land Act has been the subject of change to meet these needs. The progressive thinking first appeared in amendments made to the Land Act in 1981 when perpetual lease selections and auction perpetual leases were, as a tenure, placed on a phasing-out process which brought with it a surge in the freeholding of land and placed considerable strain on the resources of the Department of Lands and the Department of Mapping and Surveying, Nevertheless, change in demand and pressures have their ensuing benefits. New deed forms in modern-day language and format have been promulgated, and positions rendered redundant by loss or reduction of work-load have been used in substitution for new positions where work-load has increased. The innovation of the new deed form, together with the placement of officers on special duties, saw a total of 6 197 deeds of grant issued compared with 2 792 in the previous year. Other legislative changes were directed again towards modern business concepts and cost effectiveness. The provisions of the Land Act concerning the administration of special leases have been changed so as to improve procedures on purchase and determination of rent on some tenures have, in the first instance, become my responsibility rather than that of the Land Court, The drive towards the better administration of the Crovm lands of this State is continuing. The Land Act, which is the primary Act concerned with the administration of Crown land, is administered by the Land Administration Commission, The members of this Com mission, however, have the responsibiUty of the administration of related schemes set up under other Acts, They also participate in membership of advisory bodies, such as the Beach Protection Authority, Rural Fires Board, Agricultural Bank, Rural Reconstruction Board, Rabbit Control Authority and the Stock Routes and Rural Lands Protection Board. The commission, by virtue of its charter under the Land Aot, is weU versed in land settlement, subdivision and development of land for residential and other uses and the pro vision of land for recreational and tourist purposes. Its knowledge and expertise befits it well to administer or to advise in any dealing concerning the development of land, A new initiative in the role of maintaining a vigorous rural industry in Queensland was introduced as the Young Farmer Establishment Schenie on 1 January 1982, 51592-83 2458 18 November 1982 Supply (Estimates) The scheme is designed to assist young people aged between 21 and 40 years to purchase a rural property of their own by prpviding finance on concessional rates of interest over the first eight years of the loan repayment period. The scheme was introduced by Government in recognition of the difficuhy being experienced by young people with limited finance in purchasing rural properties. The scheme wiU have available for lending purposes a total of $16m spread over a seven year period. In the initial six months, $l,5m was allocated for the purpose, of which $1,234,800 was placed on loan to eight applicants for the purchase of properties for the production of cattle, sheep, small crops, grain and for the purpose of mixed farming. In order to avail himself of the benefits of the scheme, an applicant is required to demonstrate that he is unable to obtain finance through normal means and is unlikely to be able to acquire a property in the foreseeable future. He must also have accumulated sufficient assets to offer a reasonable equity in the property being purchased and have sufficient experience or qualifications to conduct the particular rural industry. In this financial year, $4,500,0(X) will be available, I can forecast, with confidence, that it will be expended in placing competent and deserving young people on the land. 1 am proud of the achievements of the scheme to date. Another scheme of an analogous nature, the Dairy Industry Adjustment Scheme, which began about 10 years ago, has continued its role in consolidating and securing the viability of dairy farms. Assistance by way of repayable advances embraces land purchase, improvements to structures, and purchase of plant, equipment and livestock. Advances are also made to co-operative dairy associations for factory improvements. Since its inception, the Land Administration Commission has advanced approximately $31,800,000 to both farm and factory. The commission acts as a "bank" for the Milk Entitlements Committee in the payment of amounts determined by the committee as compensation for surrendered milk entitlements. The commission is also responsible for the making of repayable advances to dairy factories or supply groups to enable them to purchase their approved allocation from each pool of surrendered entitlements. The amount paid for surrender of milk entitiements over a period of four years to 31 June was $4,755,696, This scheme owes a great deal of its success to the co-operation and assistance it has received from Dr G, I, Alexander, Director-General of the Department of Primary Industries, and I am pleased to record my appreciation of that assistance. The rural recession of a decade ago foUovifed by rising costs of production haye brought about a change in land settlement in the pastoral and grazing areas from one of new settlement to that of farm buildup. During the year, 148 000 ha were utilised for buildup- additional area purposes in the districts of BouUa, Clermont and Cloncurry, The trend towards security of tenure by either conversion to freehold or perpetual lease has continued. Of the 114 grazing selections due to expire in the year, 77 were converted to grazing homestead perpetual lease, while in the same period, 25 pastoral lessees were offered new leases as grazing selections. Values for conversion of tenure to freehold were determined on 367 hpldings, of which 228 were accepted. The commission's administration of the Land Development/Fitzroy Basin Scheme, commonly known as the brigalow scheme, is now mainly confined to the overseeing of conditions and maintenance of existing improvements, with the collection of loan funds and the dealing with proposals to subdivide and sell. There is still considerable interest in the scheme from a wide spectrum of people involved in land administration, as it represents one of the major land settlement and development schemes in our history. The development of land for residential, commercial and other urban uses has by no means been dormant. This area of the administration has been under constant pressure to supply land in the many growth areas of the State, particularly along the coast and in the central mining towns. In an effort to meet the needs of the people and to provide sites for other commumty needs, the Development Branch, which has the function of co-ordinating and planning the development of land for these purposes, has been reorganised and new positions created in the administrative, planning and economic functions of its responsibility. In the last financial year, 364 sites were offered for sale at 21 locations throughout the State, Supply (Estimates) 18 November 1982 2459 In an endeavour to meet the increasing demand, it is proposed to complete the development of 849 allotments at 13 locations and to develop and offer for sale a further 478 new allotments at 34 different locations. The total expenditure involved is expected to be of the order of $15m. In addition to normal funding. Treasury in the last year aUocated $6.5m for develop ment of land in the towns of Biloela, Blackwater, Clermont, ColUnsville and Gladstone, The sale of such lands will commence in the new year and it is expected that most of these sites will have been placed on the market before the end of this financial year. The input of funds for these special projects accounts substantially for the increase in the number of allotments that will be available for purchase. Procedures for sale of allotments has, since the panic buying of last year, been reviewed with the aim of stabilising prices. Further measures are under consideration which, if put into practice, wiU ensure that the bona fide buyer in growth areas obtains preference. Every endeavour will be made within the limits of funds available to provide as much of the land needs of the population as is possible, although I realise that there will be areas which will regard themselves as forgotten and ill-treated. This, however, is a fact of life and must occur wherever priorities have to be allocated. Another area of considerable interest, but mainly to the rural sector of our community, is the operation of the Stock Routes and Rural Lands Protection Board, Prior to discussing the report of the board, I wish to express my personal sadness in the death of Mr Robert Wicks, QBE, who died at his home on 11 October 1982, The late Mr Wicks was a man of energy and drive. He gave the State the best of his ability as a member of the Committee of Inquiry into Animal and Vegetable Pests in Queensland and in the formation of the new board, of which he was chairman until his death. The onerous task of chairman of the board has now been placed upon Mr D, W, Cory, of Warwick, who was appointed on 19 October 1982. The staff of the board, in Uaison and combination with the staff of the Alan Fletcher Research Station, have been working towards the control, containment and eradication of vermin and noxious plants in the State, including new initiatives such as the estabUshment of a station at Inglewood for research into vertebrate pests. At the annual general meeting of the Vertebrate Pest Committee in Canberra in March 1982, the entry, movement and keeping of non-indigenous vertebrate pest species in Australia was discussed and recom mendations made which, if adopted, will have major implications in assisting the control of vertebrate pests in Queensland, The numerous matters which require consideration in setting up the board as a single pest authority for the State as recommended by the Committee of Inquiry into Animal and Vegetable Pests in Queensland have been rationalised and resolved, A move in this direction will materialise shortly when the administration of the Harrisia Cactus Control Scheme will be transferred to the Stock Routes and Rural Lands Protection Branch with a view to its administration along with others being placed in the board by legislation. The future of the dingo barrier fence has been determined and approval has been given to an immediate start being made on the reconstruction and realignment of the main barrier fence. The reconstruction and realignment will be carried out over a three-year period and wiU commence at Moombidary on the New South Wales border. It will include the reconstruction of the fence from Moombidary to Hammond Downs, including the reaUgnment through the BuUoo Channels and new fencing, where required, between Hammond Downs and the western boundary of the Booringa Shire, Repairs and further minor realignments will take place between the western boundary of the Booringa Shire through the Bungil, Bendemere, Murilla, ChinchiUa, Jondaryan and Wambo Shires, Further repairs and reconstruction will be undertaken in the shires of lara, Inglewood, Glengallan and Waggamba, possibly a spur in the Stanthorpe Shire and top netting of the Darting Downs-Moreton Rabbit Board fence, where required, %1 fn^soB*"^ ^°^ ^^^ operation of the Stock Routes and Pests Destruction Fund totalling til ^^* ^^^^^'^ ^^ means of rates upon the rateable value of rural lands, travelling stock charges, watering charges, agistment fees, seizure fees and sales of poisons and cnemicals. In addition, an amount of $652,000 was provided from consolidated revenue, expenditure from the fund amounted to $2,794,436, including an amount of $1,459,879 reimbursed to local authorities. 2460 18 November 1982 Supply (Estimates) The barrier fences revenue totaUing $257,343 was derived by rates levied on rural lands Within the vermin districts and from miscellaneous items. Expenditure totalling $254,387 was incurred in maintenance, payments of Treasury loans and general operating costs. Research into weed pests is the function of the Alan Fletcher Research Station, which is a facility set up to identify, survey, define and report on major weed problems outside of crop situations and to develop control measures for them, The scope of research undertaken by the station's scientific and technical staff continues to expand. In terms of biological control, there has been an increase in both the scope of individual projects and the number of projects being: undertaken. Further expansion in biological control projects is expected to flow from research which will be made at a field station set up in the early part of this year in Texas, USA, Initial studies will be made at this station of organisms attacking Queensland weeds which are native to that area with initial emphasis on groundsel bush and noogoora burr. Research into the biological control of parthenium weed, probably one of the most threatening pests in our State at the present time, is continuing in South America and a program is also being developed for research into the biological control of giant sensitive plant, which is a serious pest of the cane land of North Queensland. Approval has also been given for the establishment of a new faciUty in North Queensland which will enable localised research into weed problems common in that area. Plans and specifications for the buildings involved are being drawn up by the Department of Works, The station has formulated herbicides specifically designed for Queensland conditions and circumstances. These formulations are marketed through the Stock Routes and Rural Lands Protection Board at prices cheaper than herbicides developed commercially. The station provides a useful service to the community in advising and disseminating material on noxious weeds and their eradication. The Rabbit Control Authority has continued its concerted rabbit eradication programs in the south-eastern sector of the rabbit control area and mainly within the shires of Stanthorpe, Inglewood and Waggamba which, because of the nature of the country and climate, contain the greatest rabbit populations. During the winter months of the year 1981, rabbit populations increased in most areas, particularly in the Inglewood and Stanthorpe Shires. However, with the release of myxoma virus in the field in key rabbit localities during the 1981-82 summer months and the aid of weather conditions favourable to a build-up in vectors which caused widespread outbreaks of myxomatosis, rabbit populations suffered large reductions. Such infestations are currently at about their lowest level since reductions were first achieved by myxomatosis in the early '50s. Rabbit numbers are presently within controllable proportions. Funding of the authority's operations in relation to the rabbit control area has become increasingly difficult over recent years through continually rising costs and owing to the limit imposed by law on the rate in the dollar restricting the total amount of Rabbit Act levy that may be raised. In the current financial year, the authority proposes to expend the sum of $694,552, compared with $581,377 expended last year. As members are no doubt aware, new legislation is presently being drafted which will set up the new single pest authority for the State, and the concept being developed by the Stock Routes and Rural Lands Protection Board with regard to future funding, if accepted by the State Treasury and the Government, will provide for a single jprecept payment by local authorities each year, either by one or two instalments, to cover all stock route improvement and maintenance and vegetable and animal pest control contribu tions assessed on the basis of units of benefit to each particular shire, with the Government contribution being by way of subsidy paid into the trust fund. This single precept will therefore include in one package precepts and/or rates which local authorities are presently required to collect and/or pay under the Stock Routes and Rural Lands Protection Act, the Barrier Fences Act and the Rabbit Act, and the philosophy behind the concept is that the level of expenditure to benefit any particular shire in any one year will at least be equal to the funds collected in that shire during that year. On present indications, it is hoped that the new legislation wiU be introduced into Parliament in the first session in 1983 and, if passed, it would be effective for the financial year commencing 1 July 1983, Supply (Estimates) 18 November 1982 2461 Since the proclamation of the Brisbane Forest Park five years ago, the enormous potential for forest recreation and education, foreseen by the Government at that time, is becoming a reality. This achievement is due to the dedication of the Government to the concept. Indicative of the tremendous interest in recreation is the fact that there are over one million visitations to the park every year. Visitors for many years have enjoyed the facilities built by the Department of Forestry, the National Parks and WildUfe Service and the Brisbane City Council. However, since 1977 the authority has expanded the number of faciUties and has developed three picnic areas—Bellbird Grove, Ironbark Gully and Jolly's Lookout—and a bush camping area at Manorina. A milestone in the park's short history will occur on 3 December 1982 with the opening of the Sir Etouglas Tooth Centre, which is the new headquarters and information centre for the park. This building is a credit to its planners, and blends magnificently with the forest environment. It will be the hub of activity for the park, A very positive factor of providing a recreational service for the people of Queensland is that it creates employment as well as enjoyment. Park management is, by necessity, employment intensive. Not only does the authority employ staff directly, but indirectly through contractors and the purchase of materials and products from local manufacturers. The authority utilises the Department of Forestry and National Parks and WildUfe Senice to construct and maintain recreation facilities within the park. In this way the Department of Forestry can maintain a level of staffing which, in case of emergency, can form a viable fire-fighting unit to protect the Brisbane district from wild fire. Similarly, the National Parks and Wildlife Service is able to more efficiently undertake its responsibilities. The use of existing departmental infrastructures avoids unnecessary duplica tions and affords a co-ordinated and efficient means of maintenance of the park. In the administration of the Acquisition of Land Act, in the last financial year, the commission, at the request of other Government departments and constructing authorities, expended a total sum of $7,735,526.42 on land purchase and acquisition for various public purposes. Although the vesting of lands in the Crown is made by proclamation issued under that Act, the vast majority of such lands are taken by agreement following settlement of purchase prices. The number of proclamations issued for the year was 647, compared with 730 in the previous year. Purposes for which lands were taken included the Queensland Cultural Centre, the Children's Court complex between Coronation Drive and Quay Street, Brisbane, mining and its ancilliary purposes, the Burdekin Rural Training School Board, and primary, secondary and tertiary education. Many other functions administered by the commission, too numerous to mention here, are detailed in the report. Those matters, which may in this context appear to be minor issues, are of major concern to the communities and persons involved. Their fair and equitable administration is of as much concern to me as any other function under my administration. The commission's scientific and administrative staff have, by attending and participating in coherences and seminars, kept themselves informed of the administration of.land in other States, of scientific, sociological and ecological changes and of the changing demands of society upon the Government, The report of the commission has been designed this year to serve as an information oooklet on the functions of the department as well as to give an account of the year's activities. I commend it to those who wish to seek out such functions. I shall now deal with the (derations of the Forestry Department for the same period. In a world that i^ becoming increasingly aware of its environment and its finite resources, the, Department of Forestry is an extremely important undertaking of the Government in that it produces and markets to industry a natural resource that is not my vital to. our economy but also, with sound management, indefinitely renewable, fhe department provides direct employment for some 1750 wage and salaiy employees, fflany of them in rural communities throughout the State, and also contributes support indireotly to the decentralisation of the State through associated timber harvesting and processmg industries. 2462 18 November 1982 Supply (Estimates) An amount of $14,773,350 has been provided this year from consoUdated revenue to cover salaries and contingencies of the department, as outlined on page 50 of the printed Estimates for 1982-83. A State loan fund allocation of $17,200,000 has been made towards the cost of various forestry works programs. Of this total amount, $17,115,000 has been directed to the Forestry Department Fund and $85,000 to the construction of recreational facilities on State forests. The Forestry Development Fund is used for the department's reforestation program and associated works and, as indicated on page 113 of the Estimates, a total of $22,295,535 is available in the fund this year. These moneys are to be provided from the following sources:— $ State loan funds 17,115,000 Aboriginal advancement grant 110,500 Loan under Commonwealth Softwood Agreement Act 70,000 Special Projects Fund 5,000,000 Balance from 1981-82 35 Total ,, 22,295,535 An amount of $19,406,044 is provided in the Forestry and Lumbering Fund. That is the expected level of departmental receipts for the year from various earning sources. $7,495,840 wiU be expended from this fund on activities associated with the department's timber sales and marketing activities, on the maintenance of the associated reading system in the forests, and on maintenance of capital improvements and mechanical plant. Plant maintenance costs will, however, be recouped through plant hire charges on the various operations of the department in the normal way, and they are expected to total $4,560,000. An amount of $6,275,770 will be remitted to the Treasury from the fund as interest and redemption of loans already made for capital works within the Forestry Development Fund menioned above. Those Vote allocations are listed on page 113 of the Estimates. The department's main responsibilities relate to the effident management and protection of the Crown forest estate. The estate comprises native timber stands on State forests, timber reserves and other Crown lands and also extensive plantations that have been established on various State forests to provide for the State's needs in wood products in the future, A very valuable forest estate worth hundreds of miUions of doUars exists or has been created on State forests and requires to be maintained, managed and adequately protected in the same way as any other asset. The department also provides many anciUary services to the community by way of helping to conserve the environment, providing access in rural areas, establishing and maintaining forest recreational facUities and providing numerous extension services to the public and to industry. The department operates within the framework of four Acts, namely, the Forestry Act, the SawmiUs Licensing Act, the Timber Users' Protection Act and the Diseases in Timber Act, which set down many of its responsibilities. State forests are areas permanently dedicated to the production of timber and associated products, but having due regard also to matters of grazing, soil conservation, water quality, the environment generally, recreation and other supplementary forest values, Sound forest management thus contributes significantly to the quality of hie whUe also producing an essential commodity on a continuing basis. An area of 3 829 067 ha is now dedicated as State forest in Queensland, and since 1957 the Government has increased the area of State forest by 1802 345 ha. That increase has been achieved by dedication of Crown lands considered best suited to timber production and by repurchase of suitable areas of previously alienated land. The management of these State forests for timber production involves three board functions— Protection of the forest crop from destructive wild fires; Supply (Estimates) 18 November 1982 2463 Harvesting of the timber resource on a continuing basis recognising sustained yield principles; and Establishment and care of the replacement tree crop. Thus in State forests, except for those relatively limited areas destined for conversion to plantations, the essential nature of the already existing native forest is maintained and will continue to provide habitat for fauna and protection for flora that are increasingly subject to threat from many other forms of land use. As the clearing of privately owned forests continues as a result of development, this role of State forests becomes increasingly important. All State forests are fauna sanctuaries and, as such, they play an important role in this aspect of conservation and very effectively supplement and complement national parks and other protected areas in this regard. The native forests within Queensland's State forests have supported a valuable timber industry over many years and, under the sound management practised by the department, can and wUl continue to do so in the future in conjunction with their environmental and nature conservation role. With decUning timber production from private lands, the need for these State forests wiU be even more important in the future, and I am sure that honourable members wiU agree that the secure reservation as State forest of all land best suited to timber production is a matter of high priority. As I have already mentioned, one of the many advantages of timber is that, with care, it is a renewable natural resource. Forests are responsive to cultural treatments. Funds expended on this type of work are thus capable of yielding a sound return to the com munity in terms of timber and the maintenance of forest values generally. Last year, an area of 8 947 ha of native forest of various types was given silvicultural treatment to improve its producivity. This includes work in drier cypress pine and hard wood forest types, and enrichment planting was also carried out in some areas of coastal wet sclerophyll forest where natural regeneration problems exist. This work will be continued to the extent that funds are available in the current year. The department's responsibility to provide the raw material for industry can be met in two ways: Firstly, by managing the native forests as I have outlined above; and Secondly, by estabUshing plantations to meet any shortfall which exists between expected demand and the supply available from both Crown and private native timber resources. In Queensland our native forest resources are not sufficient to meet our needs and therefore a vigorous plantation establishment policy has been pursued. Because of the high productivity obtainable by planting softwood species, the plantation program has been based mainly on this type of timber, primarily the native hoop pine and the introduced slash and Caribbean pines. Hoop pine is planted in the south-eastern area of Queensland, where it occurred naturally. This valuable species has now largely disappeared in natural stands and does not regenerate well naturally. It is only through the establishment of plantations that this unique native species will continue to be available in quantity in the future. Hoop pine is highly successful in plantations, but the areas of suitable land for this purpose are limited. Nevertheless, it has been re-estabUshed on those suitable areas which are available to the department, and these plantations will ensure the survival of one of Australia's foremost timber species. It has been necessary also to supplement these plantings of hoop pine with introduced species which will grow weU on poorer soils. These introduced pines are planted mainly on the coastal lowlands between Caboolture and Rockhampton, and also near CardweU. The main species planted suitable to Queensland conditions of soil and climate are Caribbean and slash pines, which are natives of Central America and the United States of America. The areas able to be planted to these species range from treeless swamps through the wallum, with its stunted banksias and tea-tree, to some better-drained sites that carry, in the main, only species of low value for sawmilling or other purposes. It is vital, however, for the department, having once committed itself to a planting program in an area, to be able to maintain a sufficient resource of planting land to enable the program to be carried through to completion so that a commercially viable processing industry is able to be developed dependent on the plantations. This need to retain an adequate bank of suitable land is not always sufficiently understood. 2464 18 November 1982 Supply (Estimates) In its planting program, the department has endeavoured to locate its plantations close to the major markets within the State and also has given priority to development of a sufficiently large and compact resource to enable the estabUshment of a large-scale integrated wood-using industry in the Gympie/Maryborough region. To supplement the expected long-term level of production from our native forests a target of some 200 000 ha is presently recognised for the softwood planting program of the department and almost 140 000 ha has been established to date. The softwood planting program is the major and most visible activity of the Forestry Department, and honourable members will be interested in the following figures:— The area of effective softwood plantations is now 137 100 ha. In the year ended 31 March 1982, a total of 6 311 ha was planted, of which 5 635 ha was exotic pine and 676 ha hoop pine. Even though a large part of the planted area is still too young to yield commercial timber, the yield from the plantations last year was 223 347 cubic metres of sawlog and 79 826 cubic metres of pulpwood. It is especiaUy important to recognise that although the plantations comprise only 3.5 per cent of the area of State forests, they already contribute about 35 per cent of the total cut of timber from Crown lands. This proportion is expected to increase rapidly from now on as the older plantations begin to mature. These plantations also provide considerable rural employment in the forest, and for transport and milling, and they contribute increasingly to decentralisation in the State as major processing industries develop in the various regional centres close to them. In recent years, new facilities of various types for processing plantation timbers have already been established at Caboolture, Gympie, Bundaberg, Yeppoon and Proserpine. These and similar undertakings, with their associated employment, will become of increasing significance as the yields from the plantations continues to increase. Recognising the forecasts of an impending world-wide shortage of timber, it is imperative that we continue the planting program to its completion in order to ensure that Queensland's needs are adequately provided for in the future. It is, therefore, appropriate to draw honourable members' attention to the Government's provision this year of a Special Project Fund grant of $5,000,000 to supplement the loan funds available this year for forestry work. Nevertheless, some minor reductions in the work programs of the department have unfortunately been necessary. It is hoped that this situation will be short Hved, however, and that the position will improve as economic conditions improve. The department is very concerned with the environment in its forests and in fact has been so for many years before conservation became a fashionable catchcry. Its officers can be proud of the role that they are playing in practical environmental management. Regrettably, there has been some extremely biased and short-sighted criticism of certain of the forestry programs by particular environmental interest groups, I am firmly convinced, however, of the soundness of these programs and of the need to continue them on a secure footing. It is unfortunate that despite the department's long history of practical conservation of the State's forest assets, the objectives and importance of forestry are still not widely recognised and understood. It is really only now that the many values of forests are coming to be appreciated by the public. As part of a continuing program to promote this awareness and understanding, the department is working in conjunction with the timber industry and the Department of Education to produce resource material to introduce a balanced appreciation of forests, trees and timber into the school curriculum. As part also of its continuing activities to improve its forest management procedures, the department has recently introduced comprehensive environmental guide-lines to be followed in logging operations in the forests. These guide-Unes are progressively being extended to timber harvesting operations throughout the State to improve field logging practices and so reduce any environmental impact of these operations on the forests m both the short and long term. With the awakening interest of people generally in the environment has come a rapidly increasing demand for use of the forests for an almost limitless range of recreational pursuits to which managed forests are particularly weU suited. To cater for this, a program Supply (Estimates) 18 November 1982 2465 for the establishment and development of State forest parks and forest drives has been pursued by the department in numerous areas throughout the State, These facilities are widely used and appreciated, and the program will be continued to the extent that funds can be made available. As I have indicated previously, a special allocation has been provided again this year for this work, although it is difficult to keep up with the rapidly growing demand. Last year about 700 0(X) people used the forest drives and visited forests where picnicking and week-end camping are catered for. This is a 200 per cent increase in usage in the last three years and indicates the enjoyment the public receives by visiting well-managed forests. This figure does not include the even larger number of visitors who informally used other areas of State forests for bush-walking, horse-riding, jogging, traU-bike riding and other extensive activities. The value of this multiple-use approach to the management of our forests cannot be over-emphasised and makes a most important contribution to the community well-being and way of life. Turning now to the timber marketing activities of the department—the timber industry is an extremely important one to the State, providing direct employment as it does to more than 12000 Queenslanders in many rural areas. Unfortunately the low level of building activity interstate and in many overseas countries has had a very serious effect on the local industry, despite a relatively more stable economic climate in Queensland, Low-cost imports from southern States, New Zealand and North America have disrupted the orderly marketing of locally produced timber in the short term and have caused domestic production to be curtailed. This in turn is reflected in the estimates of timber revenue receipts of the depart ment for this year. It also unfortunately has a depressing effect on the funds becoming available to the Timber Research and Development Advisory CouncUs (TRADAC) which derive their funds from additional stumpage on Crown log timber. The two councils fulfil a useful role in promoting the correct use of timber and providing technical advice to potential users. I commend the annual reports of the councUs to honourable members as providing an indication of the broad scope of their activities. On the expenditure side-^the department is responsible for providing major access to timber stands in the forests as well as for the management of timber sales. This work involves a substantial expenditure on access roads, the marking and measuring of trees for removal and simUar tasks. As a by-product of timber harvesting, the State forests have extensive reading systems established and these roads provide major and weU-used supplementary community access in many local authority areas as weU as access to otherwise largely inaccessible areas of the forest for recreational pursuits. The community value of these supplementary benefits from timber production is often overlooked, unfortunately. The department also has a responsibility to continuously assess the timber resources of the State to provide the data on which future planning is based. There is a continuing further commitment to provide valuation assessments of the timber on Crown lands being converted to freehold title. Since this freeholding policy was introduced by the Government, the forests on some 10,5 million hectares of land have had to be valued in this way. Provision is made this year to continue the West Indian drywood termite control and eradication program, which was commenced in 1979, The insect poses a serious threat to timber structures and this justifies the expenditure which is being incurred to locate and trea.t infestations. The available evidence suggests that there are good prospects for eventually achieving its complete eradication, although the work will need to continue for some years. In the current year, the fumigation of several further buildings wiU be undertaken in Brisbane and Maryborough, This year also the Department of Forestry wiU continue in its role of managing agent for the Commonwealth Government for the Dongmen forestry aid projea in southern China, This project is provided for in the Estimates and is proposed to be continued for three years. Staff of the department are also participating in various other overseas aid projects in Sabah, Nepal and Fiji. In addition to providing expertise to these countries, these projects provide useful and broadening experience to officers of the department. In conclusion, I would like to record my appreciation of the services of the permanent heads of the departments that come under my control and of the co-operation and assistance given me and my staff by the permanent heads of other Government departments. The annual reports of the Land Administration Commission, Stock Routes and Rural Lands Protection Board and Department of Forestry have been tabled. 2466 18 November 1982 Supply (Estimates) The TEMPORARY CHAIRMAN (Mr Powell): Order! I inform honourable members that, on the Vote proposed, I wiU allow a full discussion on all of the Minister's departmental Estimates (Cto^nsoUdated Revenue, Trust and Special Funds, and Loan Fund Account), For the information of honourable membeirs, I point out that the administrative acts of the department are open to debate, but the necessity for legislation and matters involving legislation cannot be discussed in Committee of Supply, Mr HANSEN (Maryborough) (12,51 p,m,): The importance of the departments the Estimates for which we are debating can be best judged by a comment in the report of the Land Administration Commission that 80 per cent of the State's land is directly or indirectly administered by that commission. Added to that area is the land administered by the Forestry Department. So the Minister has a great deal of responsibiUty for what is happening in the State, He is responsible for stock routes, and I have explained that to my coUeague the honourable member for Port Curtis, I am sure that other members who follow me wiU discuss more fully the subjects of the dingo barrier fence, noxious weeds and pests and research into those, I wish to draw attention to the questionnaire that was circulated relative to the effect of the "1080" dingo-baiting program. The highest response came from areas of voluntary baiting. My attention has also been drawn to the increase of 60 per cent in the past 12 months in bounty payments on dingo scalps, I do not know whether more people are chasing dingoes or whether the dogs are more prevalent, I also note that bounty was paid on 38 per cent female dogs and 50 per cent male dogs, which shows that the female of the species is the more cunning, I refer to Notice of Motion No, 9 on the Business Paper, standing in the name of the member for Murrumba (Mr Kruger), which calls for the setting up of a public register of land-ownership and a repeal of the AUens Acquisition of Lands Act of 1965. I know that Cabinet has agreed to the establishment of such a register, and it seems that only one member of Cabinet does not agree with it. It may be a test of Cabinet unity, but I wonder how far the Minister has progressed with that project or whether it has simply fallen by the wayside because of the Premier's opposition to it. The Premier contends that the Foreign Investment Review Board monitors such land speculation. However, it concerns itself only with transactions over $350,000. A study of the figures issued by that board discloses that last year Queensland lost ax times as much land to foreign ownership as it did in the previous year. Considerable concern was expressed because 28 per cent of the Australian land that passed into foreign hands was land in this State. So the establishment of a register of foreign ownership is a matter of urgency, I am sure that matter wiU be dealt with not only by my colleagues on this side of the Chamber but also by members on the other side of tbe Chamber, because both the coalition parties have expressed concern about Queensland land faUing into foreign hands. The next matter I want to touch on is land sales through the Urban Crown Land Development Fund, The Estimates show that the appropriation for, 1981-82 was $9.6m but only $6.6m was expended. That means that there was a $3m carry-over from last year, I notice that the amount required for this year is $7.5m for estate preparation and $7.852m for special development projects, a total of $15.352m. On page 35 of the Treasurer's Financial Statement reference is made to the expenditure of $10m in the 1982-83 financial year on the Urban Crown Land Development Fund's capital works program, but the Estimates state that $15.352m has been allocated, and I would like an explanation of where the extra $5.35m wUl come from. I understand that an increase in revenue is anticipated as the land is marketed. I might say here that concern has been expressed about land being passed oyer to entrepreneurs, and I refer again to the Minister's recent announcement about the granting of a 30-year lease of a part of WUson Island to Heron Island Pty Ltd and the granting of approval to erect buUdings on the island, including a shop. That indicates that there wUl be at least one permanent resident. Is that an attempt by the Minister responsible for national parks to use the presence of someone on the island to carry out his responsibility in that part of the island reserved for the exclusive use of the roseate tern and other sea birds that nest there regularly? The erection of buUdings, particularly a shop, would suggest that although there might be only one permanent resident the island will be used as a tourist resort and wiU be invaded by thousands of visitors. I use the word Supply (Estimates) 18 November 1982 2467 "invaded" advisedly, because although the island might not sink from the weight of visitors there would certainly not be much room left for the birds. It is obvious that there will be thousands of visitors in the future compared to the few who call there now. As the island is part of the Capricornia section of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park I would expect the Government to show more concern for the protection of the island against widespread tourist usage. The lease negotiations were conducted in secret. People who tried to find out what was happening and who asked for permits to visit the island were told to apply to Heron Island Pty Ltd for permission to camp on the island. The cloak of secrecy over what was happening on Wilson Island does not promote any confidence in ministerial assurances that ministerial approval has to be obtained before any improvements can be carried out on the island. [Sitting suspended from 1 to 2.15 p.m.] Mr HANSEN: Before the luncheon recess I was speaking about the problems associated with the granting to Heron Island Pty Ltd of a lease over half of Wilson Island, which has a total area of 4.9 ha, I do not know whether that is at high tide or low tide. That small area wiU be invaded by visitors. By comparison, the number of camping permits in Black Down National Park, which has an area of 28 800 ha, has been reduced from 1000 to 200. That represents one person to each 144 ha, I have not calculated the percentage of a hectare that wUl be available for each person on Wilson Island. I urge both Ministers involved and the Co-ordinator-General's Department, which is controlled by the Premier, to look closely at that matter, because I question the wisdom of allowing on Wilson Island a lease under which permanent fixtures can be erected and used by tourists. I represent part of Queensland's largest State forest, which is in the Gympie/ Maryborough region, I pay a tribute to forestry workers in earUer times for protecting the State's forests and improving them, I commend the present officers who have encouraged the use of such areas for recreation, I noted the Minister's comments on that matter. It is forward planning of that type that has allowed the continual taking of timber from Fraser Island for over 100 years. The ALP supports the continued logging of timber on Fraser Island as long as it is supervised by the Forestry Department, That supervision has been strict over the years, I remember going to Fraser Island as a boy and seeing unloaded logs in the creeks. One of my uncles operated a lighter at that time. The logs had been taken there by people who were anxious to earn a shilUng, but the logs had not been crowned by the ranger on removal from the stump. Therefore, they were not sent to the mUl, It seems to have been an awful waste, but the lesson was learnt. It was a warning against trying to flout the policy. The value of timber as a renewable asset cannot be underestimated. The forestry industry has met the chaUenge from plastics. You, Mr Akers, as an architect, would appreciate the changes that have taken place in the use of timber for buUding construction. The use of timber has been adapted to meet modern needs. The introduction of laminated beams has added beauty to some buildings. Some timber has a strength that is equal to the strength of steel. It is avaUable at a price comparable with that of steel, and in some cases the use of timber is cheaper. Greater utilisation has been made of sawmill waste. Timber of unusual size and length has been finger-jointed and laminated. With the co-operation of the Timber Board and other bodies, the Forestry Department has accepted the changes facing the timber industry and moved with the times. At present, there is not very much joy in the sawmilling industry. The Minister has released a state ment about the royalties and subsidies paid in other States and countries. The origin of competitive imports can be gleaned from that statement. Because of the depression in the building industry that has been caused by high interest rates and lack of consumer interest, the timber industry is depressed. It is small comfort to know that the timber industry in North America is facing a similar situation. However, Canada and the USA are offloading their exports onto the Australian market at what can only be described as dumped prices. 2468 18 November 1982 Sujiply (Estimates) Yesterday, in answer to a question asked by the member for Cooroora (Mr Simpson) the Minister stated that 60 000 cubic metres of spruce pine and Douglas fir were imported into Queensland from the West Coast of North America, 25 000 cubic metres of radiata pine and Douglas fif were imported from New Zealand, and 45 000 cubic metres of meranti and mahogany were imported from Asia and the PhUippines. Queensland has always imported a considerable amount of that type of timber from the Philippines. I do not know whether it is being imported in an increasing volume. The Minister mentioned in his introductory speech that Queensland is becoming self-sufficient in timber. In answer to the question asked by the member for Cooroora, the Minister said that a total softwood planta tion estate of about 200 000 ha would be required to supplement the continuing level of production from the native forests. As at March 1982, only 137 000 ha of forest had been established. Most members applauded the action taken by the Commonwealth Government in imposing a 19 per cent duty on New Zealand imports. Industries in that country are receiving a great deal of export assistance. I wonder how much of that has been negated by the High Court judgment. The Minister referred to the importance of the timber industry, which directly employs 12 000 people. Many hundreds of other persons would be associated with support industries providing transport, fuel and engine and machinery maintenance. Even more people might have been employed in support industries during the days of the bullock teams and the cross-cut saws, but they contributed very little to the industry. They were men of independence; they lived very frugally under rough conditions. The situation has changed considerably since those days. If a chain was broken, a person would obtain a split link and join the chain. He would not go to a mechanic. Sometimes he might have had to go to a blacksmith to have a wagon wheel repaired. In the main, he did not depend very much on other people to support him in his occupation. I have mentioned the Maryborough and Gympie forestry resources, which are the largest in South-east Queensland. I note that it was the hoop pine and the cedar in that district that first brought the settlers in the wake of Andrew Petrie. Since the establishment of the Tuan and Toolara forests, which were begun by Labor Governments, the State of Queensland has invested considerable funds in the development of softwood plantations in the Gympie/MaryboroUgh area. The viabiUty of the project has been based on the establishment of a paper and pulp miU in the area. It is pleasing to see the Government stand by the undertaking that was given to establish such a plant in the Gympie area. I pay a tribute to the local authorities that were involved, the councils of Gympie, Maryborough, Widgee, Tiaro and Woocoo, for their spirit of co-operation and their united approach to the establishment of a pulp miU in their area, A delay of 18 months wiU occur while a Finnish firm undertakes a survey, I understand that there are insufficient resources to sustain more than one mill in the area. I would hope that, if that claim is true, the matter can be resolved at the end of 18 months, because problems will arise if the trees that are growing in the area are left too long before thinnings take place. I pay a tribute to the Forestry Department for the development that it is undertaking. It is adapting machines to take the place of men. In some areas it has even employed women. Perhaps in some areas there is just as much scope for the employment Of women as there is for men. The appropriation for reforestation has been maintained at $18.395m, AUowance has been made for inflation. That will allow approximately the same amount of work to be carried out this year as last year. The sum of $1.8m has been allowed for the purchase of machinery and $1.3m for the purchase of road-building machinery. The Forestry Department has built roads and formed fire-breaks in areas in which it operates, (Time expired,) Mr BERTONI (Mt Isa) (2.27 p.m.): It gives me great pleasure to speak to these Estimates. Firstiy, I express my appreciation to the Minister, the former Chief Commissioner of Lands (Mr Len Lawrence), the present Chief Commissioner (Mr Doug Hunter) and their staff for the co-operation and understanding that I have received from them over the years. Supply (Estimates) 18 November 1982 2469 One of the most acceptable achievements of the Government is its legislation dealing with the boundaries that Queensland shares with New South Wales, South Australia and the Northern Territory, That legislation is designed to cut through a great deal of the red tape that exists in relation to deflning Queensland's land boundaries, i Difficulty arises from the many and varying definitions of boundaries. The BiU should make it easier to define the boundaries. Some of the situations that the Bill will sort out are concerned with authorities to prospect, mining leases, pastoral leases, deeds of grant, electoral boundaries, local authority boundaries and court district boundaries. It will make possible the declaration, once and for aU, of boundaries of Queensland that wUI be permanently fixed by survey and marked on the ground, Marks on the ground are the best basis for ruUngs by courts in respect of boundaries. Although there will not be any alteration to the existing Queensland boundaries, the Bill wiU put an end to a great deal of confusion that exists in determining State boundaries. The legislation has been needed for a long time, and the Minister and his department are to be commended for having brought it forward. Good planning and a desire to simplify matters do not extend to the published ALP policy on land matters. I say that because I have had the opportunity to examine at length ALP policies on land and the environment. And what nasty, dangerous poUcies they are, too! Although the ALP's poUcies contain some good points, most of those good points are a straight-out re-declaration of the policies of this Government, Cloaked under the new red banner of ALP poUcies, they are, once again, designed to con the general public into believing that the ALP is coming up with some goodies. The pubUc should be made aware of that, because, as usual, the whole of the poUcy statement smacks of bureaucratic control. The members of the ALP cannot resist the creation of more and more controls. They do not believe in the private enterprise philosophy, as this Government genuinely does. It is true that they have made a number of statements recently in an attempt to convince the pubUc that they support private enterprise; but one would have to be very simple to believe that the members of the ALP, with their socialistic attitudes, would be working in the best interests of private enterprise. Better stiD, the choice of red for the cover of the ALP's poUcy document indicates to me firmly where the poUcies have come from—^probably from some little room in the Kremlin in Moscow, It must be remembered that that poUcy document, which even many of the ALP's own back-benchers did not have, was issued in the halcyon days of the former Leader of the Opposition. Therefore, everyone seems to have gone very quiet about it, mainly, I suspect, because some of the examples of sociaUsm revealed in it are perhaps too glaringly anti-Australian for even the most socialistic members of the ALP to accept. Some of the policies set out in that document are quite good; but, as I said earlier, they were taken from poUcies of the present coaUtion Governnient, many of which are already being implemented or for which legislation is currently being prepared. Let me turn now to some of the more specific points raised in the Lands section of that 31-page doctrinaire document on socialism. Under the heading "Preamble", one finds— "Labor believes that the natural resources of land and water should be UtiUsed in the long-term interests of successive generations of AustraUans," What an enUghtening statement! Very profound stuff! The ALP needs to say such things because its record does not show a great regard; for "long-term interests of successive generations Australians", Because of its faction-riddled machine, ranging from Marxist influence to what is described as moderate Left, the ALP is stUl a sociaUst organisation that is principally concerned with introducing more and more controls and more and more taxes ^nd is totaUy dedicated to the creation of an aU-powerful Canberra- government. Even today, of course, one sees the wasteful dupUcation left behind by the former Federal Labor Government. I suggest that the ultimate objective of members of the ALP is the eUmination of State Governments, which are a thorn in the side of their existence. What they want is an all-powerful presidium along Moscow lines, probably headed by a former head of the secret police, sinular to the one now in power in Russia following the death of Brezhnev. Incidentally, I am not one of those who mourn the passing of Brezhnev, 2470 18 November 1982 Supply (Estimates) He was responsible for thousands of deaths in Afghanistan, the present subjugation of the Poles and the Czechs and the many concentration camps in Eastern Europe, No, I cannot find it in my heart to mourn his passing. I do not believe that the phrase "long-term interests of Australians'' means what it says. What it really means is "in the long-term interests of some Australians"— in fact, those chosen by the ALP. The whole policy document relates to the decisions of the ALP and the rights and the wrongs of those decisions. For example, under the heading "Land Resources", it says, very glibly— "A Labor Government wiU classify land according to its optimum usage potential, with consideration of criteria such as climatic conditions, natural vegetative cover, soU tyi)e and susceptibility to erosion, economic viability of primary production, and the effects of subdivision and urban development. In order to implement these aims, land surveys will be undertaken," How is that for pure bureaucratic socialism! Being interpreted, it means that an ALP Government wiU be telUng the farmer what he should do with his own land. It wiU be teUing him about climatic conditions, with which he is living aU the time, and whether what he is producing wiU be economically viable—as if he does not know!—and so on. Implementation of that policy will mean an army of biased, expensive bureaucrats in the Public Service or some other party-organised body designed to report back with the answers the Government wants. On that basis, it wUl dictate what wUl be done. What happens if it does not like what is going on? Will it take the land from the farmers? Suppose the farmer's prediction of cUmatic conditions disagrees with the Government's. What is the next step? The situation is fraught with danger. It all amounts to a first step towards the collective farms that were established in Russia between 1917 and the early 1920s. In this instance, the land will be controlled through a bloodless revolution, with the ALP conning the unsuspecting public into voting for a Labor Government on the basis of fine words. More clues to the intentions of the ALP are to be found in another section of the policy document— "Outlaw excessive aggregations of freehold rural land by individuals or by companies or their subsidiaries," "Outlaw" is the key word. What does that mean? Create new laws to suit the ALP's own purposes? Interfere with the democratic judicial system by making sure that the courts arrive at the verdicts it wants? Does it mean that an ALP Government will create its own socialistic laws and get rid of aU members of the judiciary who wUl not give in to its dictates, sending them to its own little Siberia? Another passage in the document says— "Investigate all existing agreements entered into by the present Government in relation to foreign ownership of freehold land with a view to minimising wherever practical, such foreign ownership,,,, ,,, immediately renegotiate any agreements already entered into which conflict with this policy," That would be a real encouragement for any overseas investment and would prove to be economic disaster. Whatever honourable members opposite say, overseas investment is a fact of Ufe for Australia as well as for every other country in the world. That policy obviously was drafted by one of the ALP's strongly socialist heavies—probably by some misguided, ideaUstic and impractical brain from the cloistered and totally unrealistic university fellow-traveller ranks. These dreadful policies must be analysed and exposed for what they are, that is, policies designed to bring about the total socialisation, control and subjugation of those on the land. Those people wUl be facing the enemy of total socialism and will receive the same treatment as was meted out in Russia and Communist China, Anyone who believes in freedom will be wiped out, as will his right to choose what to do with his land. Freedom and the right of choice are principles that the ALP does not support, so it will wipe them out by legislation. It is easy to see why the ALP is pressing for a land register. Supply (Estimates) 18 November 1982 2471 Mr Hooper; You're 10 goose steps to the right of Ghenghis Khan, Mr BERTONI: I ask the member for Archerfield to listen to what I am saying. The ALP wants a land register for reasons very different from those of Sir Robert Sparkes. It wants to know exactly who owns what. It wants to make a "hit-list" of those who do not Une up with what it wants. It wants the Government to supply information in far greater detail than is proposed by the National Party. In my opinion, that is one of the main reasons why the Premier is resisting the idea of a land register. Mr Hooper interjected. Mr BERTONI: Honourable members opposite do not seem to be interested in their own policies. I am reading from the policies of the ALP, The ALP does not show the people its land policies or talk about them. Government members have to get copies through the back door. The Premier is weU aware what the ALP is up to. He has read its policies and knows exactly what its aims are. He sees the obvious dangers. If honourable members opposite were to gain the information they want, they could start planning the acquisition of rural land right now. They could even begin organising the sites of their Government-owned collective farms. They could even draw up their socialist-controlled leases, as is revealed in this statement— "InUiate an improved system of land settlement with emphasis being on the lease of living areas of land to family units. Grant the lessee, at the expiration of his lease, a priority to retain, under a new lease, a living area," Isn't that good of the Labor Party, It wants to ensure that no-one owns the land and to decide who gets a lease. Presumably that will be based on whether the person is a member of the Labor Party. Even if the person is a member of the party and is granted a lease, the party's despicable policy means that the party will teU him what it wants done with the land that the State wiU have taken off those who owned it in the first place, I now quote the Labor Party's policy on land baUots— "The Australian Labor Party would open land ballots to all persons who can provide evidence of adequate experience or training and financial backing or guarantee, provided that no person be allowed to enter a ballot so as to acquire more than a living area," So not only wiU a person get only a "living area", whatever that term might mean, but also he will have to give "evidence of adequate experience or training". If all he is to get is a "Uving area", anyway. Why does the party have that provision? Will he have to show training in setting up a front garden, care and maintenance of party-prescribed plants, demonstrate an abUity to carry out minor repairs, how to back a people's car into a garage, how to operate a party-controUed TV set or radio or demonstrate to the satisfaction of the local commissar that he is a fit and honourable person to occupy such a "living area"? Obviously the Labor Party wants people set up in nice, neat blocks so that it can control them. That is what the ALP poUcy is all about, Mr Hooper: You make Charles Porter look like a radical, Mr BERTONI: Obviously the member for Archerfield does not like listening to his party's poUcy; it worries him, I will tell that to the people in my electorate. As the honourable member wiU not come out in the open and say exactiy what his party policy contains, obviously he is frightened of it. The Labor Party wants country areas cut up into little, square Uving blocks, I am also concerned for my own electorate which depends much on mining for the livelihood of those who live in Mt Isa and the surrounding districts. Included in the Labor Party's scurrilous poUcy I find under the heading of "Effects of Mining and Land Usage" a number of criteria capped by the words: "Where existing mining operations are not based on these criteria, the mining agreements wUl be renegotiated." That may sound very interesting and, possibly innocent, but when taken in conjunction with other aspects of the document those words mean that the ALP wUl be the final arbitrators on the matter. What will happen if MIM Ltd does not agree with the all-powerful Labor Party barons? Does the Labor Party's policy mean that that company's land can be taken away and placed under the Commissar for Mines? Would it be the thin edge of the wedge to take over 2472 18 November 1982 Supply (Estimates) such mining ventures in the best interests of the State? Honourable members should not dismiss that possibiUty, After all, the coal-mines and iron and steel industries in Great Britain were taken over by a Labour Government in that country. The pubUc must be warned about these policies so they fully realise just what they wiU be letting themselves in for should they be conned by the Labor Party's policies. The supression of freedom is the main danger, Mr INNES (Sherwood) (2.44 p.m.): The debate on these Estimates is an itnportant one because the State is at a crucial stage in time in terms of some of the policies that should govern the usage of land in the State. As the agency that carries out the Government's policies for the time being in relation to the control of land, the Miiiister's department is involved in a veiy^ essential way; The Tree settlers of this country came here for land. Land is as centrally important to the whole fabric of our society today as it was the motivating force that induced people to sometimes take months in small boats to come here some 100 to 200 years ago. Land and its use are primary concerns of any society, and from time to time the policies on land have to be reviewed. The Government has to consider what is happening to land. The report of the Land Administration Commission ihirrors in a small way some of the battles that occur, or some of the countervailing forces that go on, in deciding land matters. In fact, we have' had such policies throughout our history. The member Mt Isa adverted to some of them. They were policies, not just of Labor Governments, which related to the breaking up of land into as many living areas, shaU we say, as was possible for settling people who were interested in grazing or other farming pursuits and even for things like the sad experiment with soldier settlement. People have always had an interest in land, and the community has an interest in persons being able to utilise land in a variety of ways. There is reference in the report of the Land Administration Commission to the Young Farmer Establishment Scheme. That scheme, and the public support for a register of the ownership of land in this State emanated from the same feeling. It is a traditional and time- honoured feeling that somehow land should be made avaUable on reasonable terms to as many people as possible for productive use although, of course, other areas of land were used for other purposes. The decision to set up the Young Farmer Establishment Scheme follows many other land-use decisions that haVe been taken in this State, the type of decisions that caused larger aggregations of leasehold land to be broken down from time to time so that more people could take advantage of a productive parcel of land, Mr Goleby: Many of them were cut into blocks that were too smaU, Mr INNES: There were problems of adjustment, as the honourable member for Red- lands points out, but those features have run through the history of the control of land in this State, The Crown has always occupied a very central position. It was not for the first person who came along to grab as much land as he could. From the earliest point in our history the Crown intruded to try to parcel out the land to ensure that the aggregations were not too great, and that therefore too many people were not prevented from ownmg land, because it was recognised that the ownership of land brings with it the greatest likelihood that the land will be used and husbanded beneficially. There are some aspects of these Estimates which I wish to highUght, The reports of the Land Administration Commission and the Forestry Department cover a very extensive area, and one cannot deal with it all in 20 minutes. Because of my own local interest I mention with respect and applaud the great work done by the Alan Fletcher Research Station in my electorate, Mr Hooper: Whereabouts is that? Mr INNES: Magazine Street, Sherwood, about 500 metres from my home. The work done there is to preserve as much land as possible for productive purposes rather than merely for the growing of exotic weeds. The imaginative work done is extraordinMily tune- consuming and tedious ui many cases, but the results are essentially practical and beneficial to this State, Supiriy (Estimates) 18 November 1982 2473 The Young Farmer EstabUshment Scheme is, I believe, justified, although working out any such scheme is an absolute nightmare. On present indications, with eight young farmers receiving the benefit of about $l,2m, and with some $15m or $16m to be spent in aU over seven years, it wiU stiU be only a small number of persons over the years who wUl Mr Hooper: AU with a good strong National Party background, do you agree? Mr INNES: As long as they have a farming background, that is the main thing, irrespective of their party. The caU made in the last 48 hours that leasehold land that is relinquished or otherwise becomes available should be ballotted for is another symptom of the same sort of sentiments to which I have referred—which are understandable and which the Government has to allow for. The various functions of the commission are set out m its report. They really would allow the widest possible interpretation, so the question will be for arty Government for the time being to indicate where the emphasis shall be, I raise a matter of some concern to those of us who are not in totally rural areas. That is not to downgrade the importance of the rural contribution, I am concerned— and it is a matter that must be loojced at fronj time to tjme—about, the sorts of poUcies that might be developed in relation to certain areas of Crown land. In the annual report, there is a special section on tourist industry and commercial enterprises, Shute Harbour, that superbly beautiful and astonishingly attractive area, is depicted in the photograph that goes with that section. The section refers to the many inquiries to identify suitable sites along the coastline and on the islands for release as demand becomes apparent. It is here that I sound a note of caution. More than a year ago the Minister for Tourism, National Parks, Sport and The Arts indicated that the Queensland Tourist and Travel Corporation would look to and identify areas of land that might be available for tourist resort development. The broad thrust of the endeavour is unexceptional but is seems to me that the real danger is that there might be countervailing matters of public interest which must be taken into account, the danger of which is not properly ventilated and assessed. At a seminar on the Gold Coast this year, which was sponsored by the Urban Development Institute, we were treated to an expert from Hawaii in landscape archit ecture. His expertise was the design of resort areas. He demonstrated how the most unlikely areas, given the right imagination and capital, could be converted into magnificent tourist resorts. I have no qualms about that. The Lakefield National Park has a vast area. It seems to me that the development of appropriate resorts is the only way to allow reasonable access to and exploitation of that great resource. The danger in looking up and down the coast and on the islands is that people are likely to be attracted by the jewels, those things that are clearly of prime attraction, not the sort of things that the investors in Hawau are looking for, that is, an area of low land cost value which they can then improve. They wUl be attracted by the natural God-given areas, which are in themselves supremely attractive, that can be given away or made available on astonishingly favourable terms in the interests of so-called develop ment. The developer should put his money where his thoughts are. There are—and we see them in this State—people with grandiose ideas who have little to back them up. They jangle gold bangles on their wrists, usuaUy wear their shirts open down to the waist, talk in miUions of doUars and expect us to give them the wherewithal to make millions of doUars. The carpet-baggers wiU always be attracted by things lUce development. If those people are to seek areas, they should be in an area in which there IS no countervailing interest. There is an intrinsic worth in the beautifiti areas. If we make them avaUable we wiU be overwhelmed by average Queenslanders who would want their Uttte bit of heaven. The focus is on promontories and headlands. Sometimes one hears of people who are trying to get areas of Crown recreational reserves when, nearby ireehold land is readily available. That is not on. The countervaUing interest must be recognised. 2474 18 November 1982 Supply (EstimatM) I suppose what I am saying is that some structure should be set up to look at the other side of the coin, to look at whether, in the medium term, those areas are of such intrinsic worth that they wiU be kept either for the public of the locality for aU time or released in a controlled fashion, perhaps by the Land Administration Commission, for individuals to buy, rather than be parcelled off to somebody else who sells them to finance their own schemes, I am concerned about the situation that is emerging in relation to North Stradbroke Island, Mr Booth: I thought you would never get to it, Mr INNES: I wiU get to it, I am predictably persistent. There were questions last week and there wUl be questions next week As a person who happens to think that so far as the Brisbane area or the south-east comer is concerned it is a matter of importance to the whole region, I find U just a little odd and offensive to see an advertisement under the heading "Construction of a road bridge to North Stradbroke Island Queensland, AustraUa" that states— "Proposals are invited by the Queensland Government for the construction of a road bridge between the Queensland mainland and North Stradbroke Island, in retum for considerations which may include transactions in Crown land on the Island suitable for development". That is an important enough matter to refer to the Parliament, particularly Govern ment members. It is a very important local or regional matter. The land that is involved cannot be characterised as land of little use or Uttle value. We are not dealing with the prospect of transferring land which is considered of no value or which is unwanted by other persons. Notwithstanding the fact that there is no bridge to North Stradbroke Island, the sale of land on that island has attracted the most astonishing support. The reasons for that are obvious. It is the same support that was found for unserviced blocks of land at Teewah near Cooloola and other blocks of land that were released up and down the coast, Queensland's coastUne will always remain attractive to a population such as ours that Uves in a tropical cUmate. Land with access to Moreton Bay has just as much attraction as land overlooking the ocean. Some people who wish to build a holiday home would find that a block of land on the protected side of the island is more attractive than a block of land that is exposed to south-easterlies and salt spray. It cannot be said that any of the land that might be exchanged for buUding a bridge is unwanted by people living in the south-east corner of the State. If the bridge is of such unquestionable pubUc value, one would have expected an overwhelming expression of public support. That has not been forthcoming from the people who would most immediately and directly benefit by it. In my opinion, that is not the sort of land that should be up for grabs. If there is a significant tract of land on North Stradbroke Island, who will get it? Obviously, the proposal is that it wUl be giyen to the contractor who builds the bridge. The exchange of land will be the justification for the building of the bridge. At present, there is not such an island population that would justify the construction of the bridge. A very large piece of land wiU need to be exchanged to justify the sorts of values involved. According to "The Courier-Mail", as long ago as 1977 the present Minister for Local Government said that it would cost over $30m to build the bridge. Of course, he was in favour of its construction. He has an opinion. No doubt the member for Redlands has an opinion, too, I respect their opinions. Their opinions come down on the side of development. If the land is to be subdivided, and the Land Administration Commission carried out the subdivision, I am sure that it would find plenty of willing buyers from the Queensland community on whose behalf it owns that land. There is no need to flog it off to South Korean or other interests. If the land is to be subdivided, Queenslanders should have access to it. Why is it that these desirable tracts of Crown land become the preserve of the multimillionaires or the modern carpet-baggers with their Gucci shoes and gold bangles, who want to take it, subdivide it and seU it at a profit? The buyers of that land will not be Mr and Mrs Average Queenslander. The situation that obtained 10 to 20 years ago, when an average couple could think of putting their money down on a block of land on the Gold Coast, at Labrador, or even on one of the islands, with the idea of building there away from it aU, does not obtain now. By the time Supply (Estimates) 18 November 1982 2475 the costs of the bridge and other developments are added to the cost of the land, the development wUl be high-quality development, premium land, and it wiU be taken up by those who retire on what the Leader of the Opposition would regard as a high level of Public Service and parliamentary superannuation, Mr Hooper: Why do you always knock my leader? Mr INNES: I am simply concurring with the comments that I predict he wUl make. Two separate issues are involved. The justification of the bridge is one thing; the transfer of Crown land is quite another thing. The two are not necessarUy related, and need not be related. If the island was unattractive, if the land in question was of no intrinsic worth and was not considered desirable by anyone, and if what was proposed was the conversion of uninteresting, unwanted land into desirable land by the injection of large sums of money, the argument would be quite different. If the situation was that development on the mainland was so great and so congested that there was nowhere to go, another argument could arise. Maybe in a hundred years such an overwhelming argument could be put forward. However, at present, aU that is happening is that development is accelerated and the development is considered necessary to justify the bridge. It is, in effect, retrospective justification. The only likely beneficiary is a very limited segment of the community. Some guide-lines should be laid down and a method of approach adopted to allow for a community response. Last week I asked a question to ascertain what Queenslanders had demonstrated their support for the building of the bridge, I asked what Queenslanders or what groups of Queenslanders had done that. The answer might not have been complete, and I intend to follow it up with a further question. The answer I was given was that 40 Queensland companies had demonstrated an interest in response to the advertisement. That was not the question I asked. Obviously, Queensland companies that are interested in construction wiU respond to the advertisement. What I asked was what Queenslanders, what ordinary people or groups of people, what communities, had expressed a desire to see the Crown land that potentially is involved used for residential purposes and to see the bridge built, Mr Goleby: Go and talk to the people on Russell Island and you wUl get your answer, Mr INNES: How many people are there on Russell Island? Mr Goleby: There are 12 000 blocks there, Mr INNES: 12000 blocks! Now we are talking! The speculative factor is involved. The honourable member is referring to owners of blocks, not to communities and residents, I thought we were taUring about communities and residents. Speculation is respectable and healthy, provided it compUes with the ground rules that are reasonably set. Crown land is held for certain purposes and according to certain intentions as set out in the legislation, I am saying that the public interest and the community interest could well have been ignored, I understand that no commitment has been made. (Time expired.) Mr CASEY (Mackay) (3,8 p,m,): A debate on the Estimates of the Lands Department is always interesting. An extraordinary aspect of recent events in this Parliament is that it is very difficult to obtain a department's annual report until virtually the day prior to the presentation of the Estimates of that department. Unquestionably, a department's annual report is the only appropriate source of information from which members can ascertain what is being done by the Government, The particular aspect on which I want to speak initiaUy is the Young Farmer Establish ment Scheme. In my term in this Assembly, I cannot recall anything that was launched with as much ballyhoo, particularly on the part of the National Party Ministers and National Party back-benchers. We were told what a great scheme it would be and how it would put virtually hundreds of young people on the land. We were told that young people would have an opportunity to obtain their own property in these very difficult times of rising prices for farm and pastoral properties. They were really going to benefit from that scheme. 2476 18 November 1982 Supply (Estimates) Just as I can remember nothing that was launched with as mUch ballyhoo, I can remember nothing else that has gone as flat as the Yoiing Farmer Establishment Scheme. The ambitions and desires of those young pebple in (Queensland who believed that they were going to get an opportunity to get on the land have not been realised. The Minister mentioned today that, as at 30 June last, only eight applications had been approved under the scheme. $l,5m was spent in the first six months of the scheme and $4.5m wUl supposedly be spent this year. I think it is envisaged that $l6m will be spent over seven years. So there wUl be a tapering-off period later. The ages of the people concerned range from 21 to 40 years, which is fairly broad. Only one in seven appUcations was approved by the department. I am surprised about the number of applications that were received. It was a very low figure. We were told that there would be hundreds upon hundreds of young people Mr Prest: Thousands, Mr CASEY: As the member for Port Curtis says, thousands of young people making application to get onto the land, I personally beUeve that a tremendous number of young people in Queensland wish to establish themselves on the land. However, we find that the number of applications being approved is very small because the scheme is very costly. The scheme has become very costly because of the policies that have been followed by this National Party-dominated,, Government, through its Lands Department, for the last 20 years. The Government has converted much of the leasehold land in Queensland to freehold land. Consequently, costs have put the Young Farmer Establishment Scheme out of the reach of most young people. Previously, young people were able to benefit from the land development schemes in this State, and I shall talk a little more about those shortly. There is no question that the Labor Party policy on land settlement that was followed in this State for a long time was the best policy. Sure, I would be the first to admit that the living areas of the '20s and '30s would not be the living areas of the '70s or the '80s; but, then again, the overaU schemes should have been designed to aUow for increased productivity, and they have been so designed in some areas, I could be wrong, but I would hazard a guess that the Minister and many of his friends in the Aramac area got their start on the land under a Labor Party scheme. Large holdings came back iiito the system and were subdivided, and more people were able to acquire properties. They brought their famUies with them, and this resulted in increased populations in the townships. Townships in Western Queensland flourished. The real reason why Western Queensland is dying today; is that people are not able to get onto the land. Many banks have closed their branches in the towns in the West, which is indicative of the times. For as long as there is a bank that is wiUing to advance money, farmers can keep going; but people certainly are not moving into those westera towns any longer. The old ballot scheme was a low-cost scheme. A person who put improvements on his property over a period benefited from those improvements, I might add that no new major land development scheme has been initiated in this State in the past 20 years—not one. As a sideUght, might I also add that the benefit of Labor's poUcy on the leaseholding of rural lands can be seen during a drought such as Queensland is now experiencing. Under that system, aU that was necessary to prop up the graziers was for the Government, through the Lands Department, to take the decision to waive or lower the rentals. What happens how? Under the freeholding system, when property owners are heavily indebted to the banks, the situation is similar to that which existed late in the last century. In dry weather such as this, many are almost at the stage where they have to walk off the land because they cannot even meet the interest payments on the price they paid for their freehold land. Under this Government's policy, the land was freeholded at an extremely low figure—if I have the time, I wiU give the Committee an example of that—and sold for six-figure and seven-figure sums, Thcwe who purchased it borrowed the money to do so, and, in times, of drought such as this, they are unable to meet their interest payments. Liberal and National Party Governments are in office both in Queensland and federally. Their supporters are nicely looked after by drought-protection schemes. It is money that is being put straight back into the banks. That need not have been so. supply (Estimates) 18 November 1982 ^477 A debt has been created because of the poUcies of those Governments. In order to keep those people on the land, the Governments themselves are now meeting the interest payments, at a cost to the ordinary person in the communUy; whereas under Labor's scheme a' Government could simply waive rentals. It was much easier and was done at no cost to the public, The land was stiU there. It did not deteriorate; it did not disappear. Earlier I mentioned that there had been no new major land development schemes in Queensland in the last 20 years. That is true. If the State is to progress, we must continue to put people on the land and encourage closer settlement in aU areas of the State, Closer-settlement schemes open up the country. That is the history of our State from the time of its discovery, even when it was part of New South Wales, Land development schemes have helped to open up the State by putting people into the more remote areas of Queensland as weU as into coastal areas. Even in my Ufe-time, I can recall various schemes being implemented. The Taroom/Wandoan area was developed through the initiatives of the Labor Party in Queensland, Mr Lee: There were some bad developments there, Mr CASEY: There would have been nothing there other than prickly pear if it had not been for the initiatives taken by Labor back in the 1930s, In exactly the same way, the Dawson Valley was opened up. Many members in this Chamber, representing the National Party—members who have been here since I have been here—got their start because of Labor's schemes. What about the Clare/Dalbeg/ Millaroo area, developed for soldier settlement after Worid War II? Certainly the settlers had problems there for a while, but they are going very well now. There is no question about that. Various other soldier settlement schemes were developed. The Atherton Tablelands was opened up for closer settlement, AU were major land development schemes initiated by the Labor Party in this State, The brigalow development scheme was the last major land development scheme in Queensland, That commenced more than 20 years ago, in the early 1960s, Mr Glasson: There is no land bank. We haven't got the land, Mr CASEY: I invite the Minister to look at some of the reports published over the years within his own department. Plenty of areas in Queensland can still be opened up for closer settlement, I wUl mention one. In the early 1960s, a report was done on the Suttor River area, north of the No, 3 area in the brigalow development scheme. It is the area where the Suttor River runs back into the northern highlands area and up into the Burdekin scheme, I urge the Minister to go and have a look at that excellent report which sets out the way in which the major downs areas of the northern part of the Central Highlands can be split up for closer settlement. Now that railway lines have been provided, for the mineral development of that area, that sort of thing could be done vesry easily. Those railway lines could transport grain from those areas to the port of Mackay where a grain terminal is now being developed. For more than 20 years that report has been sitting in thp Minister's department, so he should go and have a look at it. The Minister has said there is nothing there; I do not beUeve he has looked and, if he has, he has not looked properly. After he has done that he could get some of his departmental officers to look for more schemes. The Minister cannot simply sit back and say thai there are no schemes that can be followed up. I ask the Minister what his department will do with the Burdekin scheme— simply make multimillionaires out of the Cox family? That scheme provides a wonderful opportunity to put at least 160 new farmers on the land in that area. The Minister should look at his department's own reports and show a little concern for the people of the State and the generations to come, and not so mucb for the bank balances of some of those who sU in this Chamber. At the northern end of the Atherton Tableland, the Minister will find that the Tinaroo Dam scheme is not operating at full capacity. That provides ample opportunity for future development. The Minister has said that his department has no such reports, but I have given him a few areas to consider, Mr Blake: They have been made millionaires on taxpayers' money, Mr CASEY: That is right. 2478 18 November 1982 Supply (Estimates) I issue the warning to the Government that in the very near future the rain forests of the State will cause it some very real problems, Mr Lee: Why? Mr CASEY: I tell the honourable member that not only conservationists but also many people like me—and I am not an avid conservationist—are exhibiting growing concern that the beauty of the State's rain forests will be lost forever to the pec^le of Queensland and to future generations. The Government holds that land only as custodians for future generations. Mr Glasson: Whom are you talking to now? Mr CASEY: I am speaking to the Minister because he is the one who is responsible, and if he stays in his present position of Minister for Lands and Forestry for much longer he is the one who will have to face the issues. The rain forests of the State cover a relatively small area but they contain some of the most valuable timbers in the State. Mr Tenni interjected, Mr CASEY: I hear the bleatings of the honourable member for Barron River. Obviously he is concerned that the timber industry in his electorate remains viable. I know the Labor members from North Queensland are also very concerned about that. But what has happened over the years to the valuable timbers in the rain forests? They have been cut out and have not been replaced. I have searched through the annual reports of the Forestry Department to see if anything is being properly done about reforestation of some of the State's indigenous timbers. But what is the Government doing? It is replacing them with exotic varieties such as Carribean pines and hoop pines. That is aU that is being planted in Queensland, The Government says it has undertaken a vigorous campaign to terminate the controUed harvest of rain-forest timbers, but all it has done is publish a paper titled "Timber Production from North Queensland Rain Forests" I admit that secondary growth is coming through, but some of the timbers that come through in that secondary growth stage are not good timbers in any respect. The State needs a proper reforestation scheme for some of the State's special timbers such as silky oak, maple, walnut, cedar and black bean. If the State does not embark on a proper scheme, in the future it wiU not be able to refurbish buildings such as this one without importing the timber. The Government has to ensure that the rain forests are preserved and that the State grows much more timber. People no longer buy themselves a solid walnut or maple table; all that can be purchased these days is furniture made from chipboard with a veneer of timber on the outside. Anybody who lives in the wet areas of the north of the State knows that if such a piece of furniture gets wet, it has to be thrown out. The Government has to make sure that at least a stock of that timber is avaUable for future use in veneers. I plead with the Government to get on with the job. I now want to refer to that section of the annual report relating to the Stock Routes and Rural Lands Protection Board. Mr Lee: What sort of timber is this? Mr CASEY: I feel sure that the member for Yeronga will be very interested in what I have to say now. He might even be involved. I found some very interesting information in that section of the report which will be of concern to aU Queenslanders who are worried about the amount of pesticides being scattered around the countryside these days. In March this year the Minister approved an increase in the strength of "1080" solution, which has been used over a number of years now in the dingo-baiting campaign. In May this year the Minister approved the holding of trials of a Western Australian factory- manufactured bait of a type different to those presently in use in Queensland. The bait was distributed to 10 property owners in the Injune/Taroom area, which is getting pretty close to the property of the honourable member for Yeronga. Mr Lee: Right next to my property. Supply (Estimates) 18 November 1982 2479 Mr CASEY: The honourable member might have been a bit lucky. The Minister for Water Resources and Aboriginal and Island Affairs certainly has a property in the area, I give the honourable member credit for not being involved. The land-owners to whom the bait was distributed found that after three days of the baU being laid their cattle began dying. We have always been told that the bait is canine selective—that only dogs wiU ever touch it. But cattle started faUing over and dying. By the end of June eight of the 10 property owners had submitted claims to the Government. At that stage the whole incident was kept very quiet because it looked as if there would be a few legal actions. The Government paid $250 a head for 42 cattle that were claimed to have died, and I understand that another claim has been submitted for a similar number. Some of the graziers in that area are pretty slippery at getting onto whatever is going, as the saying goes, and $250 a head is much better than drought relief. No-one is even sure at this stage whether the cattle died from eating "1080", I understand that a body count has not been made, and that the property owners have only done a muster count. They have claimed that the ones that are missing have died from the effects of "1080" Mr Lee interjected, Mr CASEY: It is typical of some of the bush-rangers around the countryside; the money is better than drought relief. We have always been told that "1080" is canine selective, but I want to know what happened to the cattle that ate or licked some of the bait and did not die but did retain some of the poison. How many of them have gone through the abattoirs? How many have gone through you and me? How many of them have been eaten by the ordinary people in the community? We have been told all along that "1080" is canine selective and cannot hurt anybody, but this Government has admitted, through its purse, that the pesticide is no longer canine selective. It is a dangerous pesticide, and people want to know what is going on. (Time expired.) Mr KATTER (Flinders) (3.24 p.m.): Some time ago I saw an advertisement in the newspaper for a very nice little facsimilie of what was allegedly the first watch ever made, a little sundial made by monks in an abbey in England, Written on the side of that sundial was "salus factori", which is Latin for "well being to he who works". That is not exactly "the soil to he who tUls it", but it is very close to that famous rallying cry of so many revolutions which have rent the world. When I refer to: what is going on today in South America, the PhUippines and South East Asia, I am referring to "the soil to he who tills it." Once the soil does not belong to him who tills it, the man who lives on and works the soil, the nation will be thrown into the chaos of rebeUion and revolution, which is the normal run of the mUl situation in South American countries. I refer briefly to the land situation in Queensland and my own experience in Cloncurry, Unfortunately, only large stations owned by absentee landlords can be found in any direction from Cloncurry, I can remember, as a boy, seeing the very pale-faced English Lords who owned most of the Cloncurry Shire, I saw also the leather-faced, tough men who had settled the Gulf country and worked those stations. I thought that there was something terribly wrong when the English Lords could, for hundreds of years, own that land while the people who worked so hard in terrible isolation and danger could not own anything. When I was a little older I wanted to do something in the nature of small farming along the Cloncurry River. In retrospect, it was probably a foolish exercise. There was no way that I could buy any land. I said, "This land is worth five shillings an acre and I am willing to pay £5 an acre for it." I was told, "Yes, but if we sell any part of our land, when our leases come up, the Government will say, 'You cut off parts of your land and sold it, so you do not want that land.'" I was told by the local land agent that, in any event, the Government would not agree to the cutting off of 50 or 100 acres. My family Uved in Cloncurry for 100 years before me but I could not buy a lousy 50 acres of land at 20 times the ruling price. Is that free enterprise? Is that private enterprise? Is that giving the soU to him who tills it? Remember that I saw the pasty-faced English Lords supervising their wage slaves who had settled the Gulf country. 2480 18 November 1982 Supply (Estimates) In that area, statistically, each year three people will die and another three will be left permanently incapacitated from faUing off horses or other accidents while doing the normal work involved in the beef cattle industry, Mr Booth interjected, Mr KATTER: It might turn the honourable member off. Those statistics would turn anybody off, I have not previously mentioned them because I do not want people to be scared off and not go into a wonderful and productive industry, I certainly do not want to cast aspersions on the very great people upon whose backs that industry is carried. Those people meet that type of danger' and work in the worst possible isolation. I tried to get a heUcdpter provided at Croydon. If a person falls off a horse during the wet season and he is badly injured he simply has to lie there and die because there is no way of getting him out. I was told by the Minister that the Government allowed the money to be used for a purpose that certainly did not result in a helicopter being provided in the Gulf country. Those people cannot buy even 50 acres of land along the Qoncurry River at 20 times the market price. What possible chance have they of ever getting on the land? No agistment is available in the Qoncurry region because the huge runs will not permit it, I will not go into the reasons whyl I strohgly recommend to anybody Who doubts that statement that he investigate the matter. He will find that it is totally impossible to get any agistment in the Qoncurry or Mt Isa areas. The people there cannot agist their cattle and they cannot buy land. They will continue to be wage slaves of the southern and foreign absentee owners. Opposition members have a knee-jerk reaction about foreigners. Quite frankly I see very little, if any, difference between a person from Melbourne or Sydney who has absolutely no interest in the beef industry and a person from overseas owning a run in the Gulf country, I have been told, "Yes, but these big runs in the Gulf country need large capital and corporate activities to make them work," I can recall visiting a station at which I saw 60 dead calves in a paddock. That was not in 1975 when the beef crash occurred; it was not when the beef industry was in the doldrums in the early '60s or the late '70s; that was in the 1973-74 financial year when cattle prices were at their highest level in real terms in the last 50 or 60 years. When I saw the 60 dead calves in the paddock, I said to the manager, "How did that occur? That is unreal" It goes against the beliefs of any person who has been brought up with a true sense of values. The station manager said to me, "They sent them to me, I had to send the mothers away. What else could I do with them? I do not have the abiUty to hand-feed those calves. If I give them to anybody, you know what they will say." That is an example of the efficiency of the big company runs. I wish to refer to an incident that took place whUst I was a member of this Assembly. Had I known that it was about to take place, I can assure honourable members that I would have done something about it. Unfortunately, I found out about it well after the event. I had very little sympathy for those persons who came to me and cried after it happened. They should have had the guts to stand up in the first place. They stalked around and they thought they could do something by manipulation behind the scenes. They were paid in just coin, A very large station in the Gulf country was involved. For a number of reasons, I will not name it. One-third of that station has never been used. People from a neighbour ing town have trapping rights on the station. They can go in and take the cattle from the station. The owners of the station are totally uninterested in that piece of land. One would have thought that at least one-third of that station could have been subdivided and made available to other persons. That is the least that could have been done. Two small pieces of the property were taken off and provided as additional areas. The huge station was returned almost in toto to one of the biggest landholders in Australia, and probably in the world, I wish to refer to another large station near a city in Queensland, A third of that had never been used. It was fenced off in such a way that none of the cattle could get out because the country at the end of it could not be controlled. Some people were making a very handsome livmg by utilising the country at the end of it. When the lease ran out, we went to the Government, but what happened? Mr Neal interjected. Supply (Estimates) 18 November 1982 2481 Mr KATTER: The honourable member for Balonne is holding up a sign. He is wrong in what he is suggesting. I am very sad that the honourable member finds this matter humorous. The fact that he would regard the return of one-third of the station to a large absentee landlord as humorous strikes me as rather peculiar. After the crash in the beef industry when there were massive purchases by meat-prosess- ing interests in this State, the member for Balonne, who is acting facetiously at the moment, the member for Warrego, and I asked the Government to intervene to purchase some of the large aggregations that were coming onto the Queensland market so that they could be divided up into areas, from which owners could make a living, and then placed on the market. I do not know what happened in the electorates of Warrego or Balonne. People who had been on properties for two, three or four generations would know at least a modicum of what needed to be done. No-one listened to them. The Government went ahead with the Young Farmer Establishment Scheme. I suppose that it is better than nothing. Three years have past and eight people are on the land who may not have been on the land but for that scheme. In my electorate, the Gluyas properties north of Hughenden to which I have referred were available in the niarket-place. I am informed by very reliable sources that they were available on the market for $6m and that they were very cheap at that price. There are very few buyers in that price range. These places are extremely cheap in aggregation, I cannot go into the reasons and technicalities as to why it is very difficult for a vendor to subdivide his property. He has enormous problems with cattle brands, and he faces other technical problems that I do not have time to mention. The properties are available at $6m. They are supposed to contain 60 000 head of cattle, I would say fairly confidently that they contain 40000 or 50000 head. Most certainly, 20 000 head have been moved off those properties at $200 a head. So that makes $4m for the cattle. And the land? Some people will argue about what it is worth. Undoubtedly, at the present moment land at Hughenden is worth $12 an acre. Sales at well in excess of $15 an acre have occurred. So maybe the aggregate figure for the land is $10m. That means that land and cattle worth $14m were sitting there for the Queensland Government. In one hit it could have put 10 families onto the stations. That would have been two more famiUes than the number put on the land under the Young Farmer Establishment Scheme, which has taken I do not know how many miUions of dollars out of the public purse. The settlement of the 10 families, as I suggest, would have been self-financing, and no loan moneys would have had to be taken from the public purse; nor would there be subsidised interest rates. However, the proposal that I have just mentioned was not implemented. Bunker Hunt bought huge areas north of JuUa Creek and north of Cloncurry, and Sebastiao Maia bought huge areas below JuUa Creek and in the Gulf country, I would be one of Sebastiao Maia's strongest critics, but in fairness to him I emphasise one point that represents the difference between what the Government is trying to achieve and what it is not trying to achieve. He was given approximately 100000 acres, and there is no doubt that 50000 acres should not be removed from him, I do not conduct a vendetta against the Maia family; they are very pleasant people to talk to. However, the point that I emphasise is that the land was not made available to any Australian or Queenslander. It might be claimed that the Government had to look after the people who were selling out. As a member of another very old grazing family in Queensland, Doug Logan, has said, "There is a littie bit too much of looking after and worrying about the people who are leaving, and not enough worrying about and looking after the people who are staying." I would be the first to admit that probably I am one of those soft-hearted people who might be inclined to bend the rules. However, in this instance, one has to be a little hard hearted and not bend the rules. The Maia family have a good deal of land, two of the boys are living on the stations and It would appear that both have applied for naturalisation. So here is a situation or owner-occupation. 2482 18 November 1982 Supply (Estimates) However, the situation at Julia Creek is different, in that 60 000 acres was the maximum that anyone else could buy. An exception was made for one person, I regret to say that I was given an assurance by .the Minister that if the meatworks was not built the land would be removed from him and his area would be reduced to 50000 or 60 000 acres. He was always entitled to that and I have nothing against that. On the contrary, since he is an owner-occupier, I am in favour of it. He is the type of person that we Want there. However, the point I want to stress is that the area of absentee occupation that previously was at Cloncurry has moved to Julia Creek, I wUl be making every effort in this place to ensure that the absentee landlordism does not move any further and actually retreats in the other direction, I am watching with a great deal of interest the events surrounding a certain station in the Gulf country, I do not intend to name it, I wiU be watching to see whether some of the leases wiU be taken off and made avaUable by way of ballot. People will claim that "Talawanta" has not been a success. An unfortunate incident occurred with the holder of the first ballot. The scheme could not be more successful than it is at the moment with the present holder. He is a fellow with four or five children, he has experience, and he is able to run the place capably. Whatever someone in Brisbane hears about "Talawanta", anyone in the Gulf country who puts his ear to the ground will reaUse that it has been a marvellous success. Its example needs to be followed in other areas, I wonder whether if the land bank course had been foUowed with the Gluyas properties 10 people would have been helped already, which is two more than the eight who have been helped through the Young Farmer EstabUshment Scheme, It must be remembered that I am talking about a single shire. What could have been done throughout the whole State in relation to putting people who want to go on the land back on the land would have been immense, I would stress the point that most of the ballot blocks are really isolated to the Gulf and the Far West areas. I suspect that many of the people who want to go onto the land are not fair dinkum at aU, and the sheep wiU very quickly be separated from the goats. The goats will not be prepared to go tP the Gulf or the Far West areas and cop it in the middle of nowhere. Those who genuinely want to make an effort wUl be only too happy to go to those isolated areas. There are many other matters that I would like tP discuss, but I cannot leave the subject of land tenure without comparing the situation in two countries. One is the United States of America, in which land tenure, stUl very much to this day, is granted on the basis of the Lincoln Homestead Act, Everyone was given an area 1 mile by 1 mile on three bases: occupation, cultivation and production. The other is Russia, in which there is absentee landlordism throughout the whole country. There the Government owns the land. In Australia, unfortunately, corporations own it; but I think that we have stiU been pretty successful in holding many of them out, I shall compare the two great laboratory experiments in land tenure. In the United States of America, almost half of the land surface is covered by desert. The Arizona Desert is much worse than any land in Queensland, In that country, one person with his hand at the plough releases 12 men for work in industry. In Russia, one person at the plough releases one man for work in industry. In China, in which even more land is Government-owned, 12 people at the plough release one man for work in industry. So much for the efficiencies of the relative experiments. That is why I said that the soil belongs to him who tiUs it. As a Government, we cannot stand idly by and watch the big sharks eat the little fish, or the big get bigger and the small get smaller. We must play an active role in the market-place to ensure that Justice is done. It is said that we believe in free enterprise. We do believe in free enterprise, but there are matters, such as the control of the beef industry and how the meat-processmg interests control the market-place, that do not really make it a free enterprise system. However, I do not have time to go into that matter now. I stress that it would be a sad day if I had to reflect on the Lands Department, which has achieved many things in the past, and which I hppe wUl achieve many great things m the future under the present Minister, in the same way as I reflect, upon the fact that the Department of Primary Industries in North Queensland has four veterinarians. Some people Supply (Estimates) 18 November 1982 2483 will ask, "Where are the veterinarians?" The logical answer is, "Where the animals are," The veterinarians are in the Hiuringowa Shire, in which there are 10 (XK) head of cattle and no sheep. In the Dalrymple Shire, and stretching right across Queensland to Mt Isa, there are 2,5 million head of cattle and 1,5 million head of sheep. There were two veterinarians in that area but they have both been removed. As I say, aU four veterinarians are located in TownsvUle, There are not many cattle or sheep in Townsville, but it has a very nice climate. Of course, if farmers have trouble with their cattle or sheep, it is very difficult for them to get a veterinarian to travel 600 or 700 miles to look at the problem. Unfortunately, there have been similar noises from the Alan Fletcher Research Station, The people there do not want to go to Charters Towers. Heaven forbid that I would send them to a place such as Hughenden; but I am not sending them to Hughenden, I have just asked that they be moved an hour and fifteen minutes drive from the dolce vita of the coast. It just so happens that Charters Towers happens to be the centre of the problem with parthenium weed, chinee bush and rubber vine, and it is handy to the West where the prickly acacia presents a horrific problem, (Time expired.) Mr SCASSOLA (Mt Gravatt) (3.44 p.m.): I have much pleasure in participating in this debate on the Estimates of the Minister for Lands and Forestry. I noted in the Land Administration Commission report a segment on the Brisbane Forest Park. Nobody inside or outside this Chamber would doubt the success of that park, which takes in part of the forest area in the western suburbs of Brisbane and some areas adjacent to Brisbane city proper. It has been an extremely successful undertaking. It has given recreational facilities and use of land to people in Brisbane and the surrounding areas. Some time ago I suggested that the concept of Brisbane Forest Park be applied to an area on the southside of Brisbane known as Toohey Forest. I use that name loosely, because it takes in some Crown land and a substantial area of land owned by the Brisbane City Council. It includes the Mt Gravatt reserve, which the Brisbane City Council holds in trust. I loosely call that whole area Toohey Forest. Mr Moore: How many hectares are involved? Mr SCASSOLA: It is the largest substantial remaining area of bushland on the south- side of Brisbane. It is ideally situated for the use of people on the southside. Some time ago I suggested to the Minister that attempts might be made to have the Brisbane Forest Park concept applied to it, because I believed that it would be successful, I am happy to say that the Minister thought the proposition was reasonable and made approaches to the Brisbane City Council—obviously because it owns some of the land. It was disappointing for me to leam, through information that the Minister gave me in answer to a question some time ago, that the Brisbane City Council had not acceded to the proposition. Frankly, I find it somewhat extraordinary that the Brisbane City Council should not see the value of applying the concept to Toohey Forest. The Brisbane Qty Council has been a partner, as it were, in Brisbane Forest Park on the western side of Brisbane, which is an undertaking, as I have said, that has been very successful indeed. I am at a loss to understand why the council did not accede to the suggestion that the concept be applied to Toohey Forest. I have not suggested—^^and, indeed, I am sure that the Minister has not suggested— that the Brisbane Forest Park Trust be transposed in toto, but that the concept of such a trust be appUed to it. Obviously the personnel of the Brisbane Forest Park Trust include councillors and aldermen of cities and shires—^the Ipswich City Council, for example-adjacent to Brisbane. Probably those people would not want to serve on a similar tmst for Toohey Forest; they do not really have any relevance to it. However, the Brisbane City Council is obviously relevant. Many other persons who currently serve on that trust would be ef tremendous value. Since the Brisbane Forest Park Trust has been in existence, it has built up considerable expertise that could be applied for the benefit of people on Brisbane's southside. The same concept could be appUed with some modifications. Obviously the council would play an important part. The Brisbane Forest Park is designed to provide planned and co-ordinated, nature-based recreational opportunities for the people of Brisbane and visitors. The important point is that the trust could establish, in effect, a management program for the park. The concept could be modified to incorporate people who have an interest in the 2484 18 November 1982 Supply (Estimates) area. For example, it would not be unreasonable for the Griffith University or the Brisbane GoUege, of Advanced .Education to have representatiyes, on it. It is important that the area be utilised for the benefit of the people on the southside of Brisbane and that a manage ment program be undertaken as soon as possible. One of the matters of considerable concern to me and to residents in my electorate is the destruction in that area caused by trail bikes. The number of complaints that I and others receive is growing continually. The police do their very best, but obviously they are limited in what they can do in an area like that. What is really needed is a concerted management program, which is very appropriate in the Brisbane Forest Park concept, I hope that the Brisbane City Council can see the benefit of it for the people. One other matter that I wish to raise this afternoon is one which, I understand, has been spoken of earlier in the debate, I am concerned about the effect that the proposed bridge to North Stradbroke Island will have on the future of the island and on the ability of Queensland famiUes to share in the future of the island. Any proposal for the future of Stradbroke Island should have as its central point the consideration of Queensland families enjoying the opportunity to participate in its future. As I understand it, the proposed bridge, if it is implemented in the form referred to in the news media for some time, will preclude famUies from participating in the future of the island. In blunt terms, families will be priced out of the market, if that has not happened already. In future, Stradbroke Island ought to provide for families an alternative to the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast. The Government ought not to be opting for a concrete jungle on the island simUar to that on the Gold Coast, Those who want that can go there. The Sunshine Coast also has high-rise development. The development of Stradbroke Island should be fitting for family enjoyment. Over the years there has been no shortage of people wishing to acquire land on the island, I can remember the initial auctions held 20 years ago or more of land on Stradbroke Island, when the only road across the island was a sand track. Although electricity and water were unavaUable, the auctions were well attended and famUies acquired parcels of land at that time. Since stories about a bridge have become commonplace, the auction prices have escalated dramatically. The prices paid have been influenced substantially by rumours of a bridge. In fact, the last auction held in the middle of 1981, realised prices as high as $90,000 a block. That price would preclude the great bulk of families from participating in the future of the island. The suggested bridge has already artificially inflated prices. An answer to a question that I asked recently revealed that a further auction wUl be held in January 1983. Needless to say, that auction will take place with the background of a rumoured bridge to North Stradbroke Island. It takes littie imagination, given the history of the last couple of auctions, to see what wiU happen to the prices of land at that auction. Newspaper and media reports indicate that the bridge wUl be situated somewhere about the position of the Logan River and, as I understand it, gO over to the island at some point south of Dunwich. One of the suggestions that has been made is that the buUding Of the bridge will be carried out by a developer in exchange for a grant of land. The indication has been that that grant of land wiU be very significant indeed. In fact, some 10 sq. km has been talked about. That is some 8 000 to 10 000 building blocks. I understand that that was done on the basis that the cost of the bridge would be of the order of $50m, I would have thought that that was a very conservative estimate. Indeed, I would not be surprised if it was substantially more than that. Even so, 8000 to 10000 building blocks is a very substantial amount of- land. It has been suggested that the exchange wiU be of land on the bay side and not on the ocean side of the island, the implication being that that is not as valuable as land on the ocean side, I believe that wherever the exchange is, it is inappropriate. I do not believe that any bridge, whether it be built now or in the future—my belief is that it is inappropriate to build the bridge now and I wiU go into the reasons for that in a moment—should be in exchange for land. The bridge ought to be built in response to development of the island at some future time; it ought not be buiU to artificially create a demand. If that sort of proposal is undertaken, the principal beneficiaries will not be families in Queensland, and in South-east Queensland in particular, but those who seek to develop the bridge, because clearly no-one will build a bridge unless he Supply (Btimates) 18 November 1982 2485 can see that he wiU receive a substantial return from it. That is self-evident. That sort of proposal would have the effect of artificially creating a demand, and that is quUe inappropriate. As I have said, the only beneficiary would be the developer. It has been said that the Government will not be contributing any money for the building of the bridge, and, by implication, I suppose that argument means ipso facto that the community is making no contrUjution, I beg to differ very strongly. By giving away large tracts of land of the sort of acreage that has been talked about, the community is making a very substantial contribution to the erection of the bridge, which I believe in that form is inappropriate, A future development plan for Stradbroke Island should be prepared. That sort of plan cannot be undertaken in a couple of months. In September we heard a suggestion that there wUl be some sort of strategic plan, and that that plan would be completed before Christmas. If we are serious about haying appropriate development and a strategic plan for the island, the necessary work cannot be done in that short time. A proper plan should be drawn up without taking a bridge into consideration. That plan should be drawn up and implemented in such a way that it wiU benefit the people of South-east Queensland, in particular the people of Brisbane. After all, the island is on Brisbane's doorstep. Honourable members have read the suggestions in the media that consultants have been appointed to undertake a study. The haste with which that study is to be completed is one matter to which I have already referred. The other important matter is that, as I understand it from the reports, the study is being undertaken on the premise that a bridge wiU be built. The charter given to undertake the study does not include consideration of development without a bridge. There has been no substantial study of the kind to which I have referred. There has not been a substantial environmental impact study of the island or of the impact of development in the future or how it might be undertaken. None of those things has been undertaken in depth. The local authority has done none. The coastal management study undertaken some years ago was very broad and it indicated that, at that time, a bridge was not appropriate, I have said before that, in my view, development ought to take place only if it will benefit people. There is no place for development for the sake of development. My fear is that the construction of a bridge wiU not benefit people at present, A bridge ought to be buUt in response to development and demand, not to artificiaUy create demand. One cannot help gaining the impression that a determination to build a bridge has been made. If one looks at the circumstances and accepts the reports that have been circulating in the media, one may consider that the study appears to have been undertaken on the basis that a bridge wiU be built. The advertisement that was placed recently in "The Courier-Mail" inviting proposals seems to have been placed on the basis that a bridge wUl be buUt. The newspaper advertisement caUing for a proposal was inserted prior to the completion of the studies that were to be undertaken and announced some time in September. The type of proposal put forward is not appropriate and is not for the benefit of people in South-east Queensland, For a start, a serious development strategy for the island should be investigated, Mr BLAKE (Bundaberg) (4,4 p.m.): I was very interested to hear the Minister say, when introducing his Estimates, that land is the foundation-stone of any stable society, r could not agree more with that sentiment, and I do not think that any member of the Ck)mmittee would not agree with it. Land is essential and important. The efforts of the Lands Department in giving assistance for rural reconstruction, farm buildup, etc., however admirable, are largely aooruve if there is unfettered foreign take-over of the State's land. In fact, many of our aamirable preoccupations with our personal State and Commonwealth responsibiUties are negated and useless in the long term if we permit our land—in the Minister's own words, me loundation-stone of any stable society—to be taken over by foreign investors. The futility of successive generations of Australians fighting successive wars to retain sovereignty over the land, the futility of paying taxes to provide equipment, armaments and Australian manpower to provide future protection for land alienated to foreigners by an unfettered cheque-book invasion, seems so obvious as to need no emphasis. Unfortunately, further emphasis is needed, I have emphasised this point since soon after my entry into Parliament in the late 1960s, It has been emphasised with great vigour for a long time by 2486 18 November 1982 Supply (Estimates) other members of the Opposition, In recent times, some Government members have been forced by opposition and public opinion to face the consequential reaUties of putting our land and heritage on the auction block in the world market-place. The only statistics available from the Foreign Investment Review Board, which deals only with purchases of $350,000 or above, shows a huge increase in the purchase of Australian land by foreigners. It shows that the greatest increase in the purchase of land by foreigners was in Queensland, At last a commitment has been made by Cabinet to implement a foreign land ownership register. Even though I consider it to be belated, I commend it. It is a case of "better late than never", I am concerned about the public statements by the Premier that he opposes such a register. Where is the much-vaunted—and, I might add, much-vaunted by the Premier- declaration and demand for Cabinet solidarity on a major Cabinet decision? The public of Queensland and a majority of its elected representatives in this House have declared their desire for a register of foreign ownership of land in Queensland, Undoubtedly, that should decide and determine the matter in favour of a register of foreign-owned land. But the dominant role of the Premier in the Government still leaves that basic public and parliament ary demand in doubt. The Parliament and the people of Queensland want a positive govern mental determination in favour of a register of foreign-owned land. Now, during the debate on the Lands and Forestry Estimates, is the time for an undertaking to be given. I was interested in the member for Mount Isa's ridiculing of the Labor Party's attitude to foreign land ownership. If he chooses to ignore Queensland's wishes in regard to the sell-out of Queensland land and heritage, that is his own cross to bear. If he wishes to support a defence Budget and ask Australians to make personal, and probably human, sacrifices in defence of Australian land in foreign hands, that also is his decision. The Premier claims that the register of foreign-owned land—^and he presumes that restrictions deemed by any responsible Government to be necessary—wiU inhibit the develop ment of this State. When the late John McEwen was leader of the Country Party and Deputy Prime Minister of Australia, he lamented the sale of the Australian farm. On that subject he enjoyed the respect of all responsible Australians of all poUtical persuasions. Heaven help Australians and Australia if its successful development depends on selling land to foreigners to bail Australians out of the huge debt that has been brought about by poor government, and not by Australian farmers who are the subject of disloyal allegations of ineptitude. Surely an analysis of any claim made by the Premier or anyone else that restriction of foreign ownership wUl leave Queensland at a disadvantage in development potential casts aspersions on the ability of Australian farmers to develop an Australian presence on the world markets. That is absolutely contrary to the evidence to date. If there is any evidence to support such a contention, it has been forthcoming only under this State Government and under the present Fraser Federal Government. I consider the setting up of a register of foreign ownership of Queensland land to be the major issue for discussion during the debate on these Estimates, I turn now to the managerial or, should I say, domestic aspects of the Lands Depart ment's Estimates. However, I do not hesitate to say that I consider them to be subordinate to the subject of the compUation of a foreign land ownership register, wUhout which we and our successors will surely find ourselves dispossessed of what the Minister himself has stated in his speech as "the land, the foundation-stone of any stable society." I agree whole heartedly. I turn now to the Forestry Department and in doing so refer to the utilisation of existing forests, which, in the main, are hardwood forests. I mention also the policy of what I would term selective harvesting of natural forests. I support the responsible selective harvesting of natural forests. I realise that perhaps quite a large number of people argue against it. Over a lengthy period I have had some experience of the grading by Forestry ofiicers of the harvestable timber that occurs in natural forests. In the great majority of instances, I have found that grading and harvesting to be responsible. There is a tendency on the part of weU-intentioned people who wish to preserve everything that we have to confuse the rape of our natural assets and the sensible conservation and utilisation of those assets, I have heard people rant and rave about the harvesting of timber that has reached the optimum stage of maturity in its natural state. If that Supply (Estimates) 18 November 1982 2487 timber is not harvested, it wUl decay and fall down or it will fall down and decay, whichever way one likes to look at it, and it wiU return to the soil, where it rots and builds up fertility. That is how nature works. There is no reason why that timber cannot be responsibly harvested and the nutrients cannot be replaced by other means, such as by fertilising. After all, agriculture depends on fertiliser to a very large extent. Such harvesting can be carried out without any great detriment to the natural forests. My comments apply not merely to hardwoods and soft woods and not only to Australia, 1 have visited Europe, including some of the Scandinavian countries, where there is not a great depth of soil. They haye mostly pine forests or softwood forests; One does not have to be highly intelUgent to see why the people in those countries harvest their timber when it reaches a certain size. If they do not harvest it, it blows down or falls down through lack of sustenance, root structure and support in the soil, and it goes to waste. That is where we see very lucidly and graphically Ulustrated the principle that some people seem to overlook in regard to the sensible utilisation of our natural forests in Australia, Having seen that, and having spent my whole life on the land and in timber, I have a responsibUity to support what I beUeve to be the responsible harvesting of natural forests. At the same time, I leave myself open to the criticism of those people who disagree with what I say. But if there is no communication of knowledge, or if so-caUed thought is not given to what we consider is knowledge, we will not correct each other and, if we have something worthwhile to contribute in that regard, we will not contribute towards weU-informed debate about the utUisation of our existing forests. One of our forestry practices that I thought in the past deserved criticism was the habit of knocking the natural forest or natural timber right down into the watercourses; in some cases bulldozing the native timber into the watercourses and water-holes for the purpose of planting softwoods. Whatever other criticism might be levelled at softwood plantations, I think it is fair to say that they do not provide a good habitat for natural fauna. I do not want to confuse that with the conservationists' arguments that we dare not touch anything because we will destroy the natural fauna. I have found that when another environment is created, the fauna of that area is altered but it is not destroyed. In other words, pasture improvement might get rid of the honey-sucking birds that feed on the blossoms and the trees, but they are replaced by wood duck, ground larks, pewits and other birds that come and occupy those same geographical areas. There is a change in the fauna. In fairness, I must say that pine forests do not lend themselves to being a natural habitat for a large variety of fauna. The practice that the Forestry Department has followed in the past of staying clear of watercourses with its softwood replanting programs is a very good one, and I do not hesitate to commend the department in that regard. Almost every week I fly over the softwood plantations in the Gympie, Isis and Elliott areas, and the development there has given me a great deal of satisfaction. It also gives me a great deal of satisfaction to see threaded throughout those softwood areas, which do not lend themselves to being a natural habitat for much fauna, the natural timbers along the watercourses and the natural habitat, interspersed though it may be by softwoods, for the native fauna. That is very good. I ask the Minister to ensure that the practices of the Forestry Department provide for that in the future. It might even be possible to allow for a greater margin from the watercourses to preserve in those areas our very valuable natural fauna, Mr Warburton: They take their logging a bit close to those areas sometimes, Mr BLAKE: They do. They are not blameless. I am not saying that they are. There IS room for criticism, and I have criticised their processes. In the past I have seen water-holes filled wUh timber that has been dozed ih. However, I see a more responsible view developing. As I have just stated, I hope that it wiU continue in the future. It is desirable. In fact, it is very necessary. Before I leave the forestry aspect of the Estimates, I state my concern about one aspect of softwood timbers—the proposal for closer economic relations with New Zealand. wish to be constructive, not destructive, but I feel that we have a tendency at times 2488 18 November 1982 Supply (Estimates) to carry out prematurely good philosophical arguments towards freer trade, I say "pre maturely" because we are the victims of other trading nations that do not practice those philosophies, A prime example at the present time is the EEC, which heavily subsidises its sugar and other agricultural products, with total disregard for the effect that has on world trade. In this debate I refer to New Zealand's export of softwoods to Australia, New Zealand, I suppose, is a prime example of a country with which we should theoretically, have free trade. We wiU have two mUlion extra customers and New Zealand wUI have 14 million extra customers. Perhaps there is not a great deal wrong with that—except for the effect it has, in this instance, on softwood timber development in AustraUa. I refer to an article in "The Courier-Mail" of 14 October 1982, headed "Call to stop dumpiing of NZ timber", reporting a statement by Mr Errol Hodder, State Secretary of the Australian Workers Union— "He said the dumping of New Zealand timber and the Federal Government's high interest rate policies were eating into the heart of the buUding and timber industries. 'Timber industry executives have told me that about 1 000 of the 15 000 jobs in the industry have been lost since the first quarter of this year,' he said, 'About nine timber mUls have closed, and 49 others throughout Queensland forced to cut their operations. This represents a major blow for future employment in Queensland's rural areas, which already have been hit hard by the drought.'" I will get right to the crux of the matter. The report continues^— " 'Timber industry sources indicated that New Zealand pine has captured one- fifth of what is left of the timber market in Queensland.* 'He said the New Zealand Government granted $40 a cubic metre subsidy which provided a 20 per cent cost advantage below Australian timber.' 'The Australian Government was to sign a Closer Economics Relations pact with New Zealand on January 1, but there was a need for the Government to consider its own people.' " That is the point I make. I do not deny the principle, but I do consider that the Govern ment has an obligation to consider its own people in this industry, particularly when the product is so highly subsidised by a so-called free-trading nation. It is incumbent on the Minister, the Government and the Federal Government to look closely at this, or the very admirable reforestation we are pursuing wiU probably be doomed to failure in the long term. (Time expired.) Mr POWELL (Isis) (4.24 p.m.): The Estimates before us today are most important and most interesting for the whole of the State. The Departments of Land and Forestry have a very real responsibility to the people of Queensland, Theirs is a custodian role, more than is the role any other department, in that they have to make sure that lands are kept in a manner that is to the benefit of the people of Queensland and that the State's forests are managed so that future generations of Queenslanders wUl have timber with which to build houses and to use for other purposes. One of the responsibiUties of the department is the Young Farmer Establishment Scheme, for which the Government deserves a great deal of credit. Many honourable members stand in this Chamber and berate the Government because young people are unable to establish themselves in farming pursuits. The cost of estabUshing oneself on a farm today is indeed immense. Part of the argument that many people advance for a foreign ownership land register is the amount of land that is being bought by various bodies, which causes prices to rise above the economic value of the land. Frankly, if a register is estabUshed, I do not know what will be done with it. That is what worries me. I always look forward a little bit into the future. If we are to have a register, that is fine; but what wiU be done with it? That is the important question that Opposition members, and others who are in favour of that proposal, have not effectively answered. The introduction of the Young Farmer EstabUshment Scheme is one thing that the Government has done to assist young people to purchase land and to set themselves up in primary pursuits. Page 9 of the annual report of the Land Administration Com mission reveals that, to 30 June this year, 57 applications were received and, of those. Supply (Estimates) 18 November 1982 2489 only eight were approved. Therein lies one of the problems, I wiU not attempt to lay blame at anybody's feet for only eight out of 57 being approved, because I know that the people who have to filter the applications have an extremely difficult task. They ought to be congratulated on the work they have done, I certainly would not like the responsibility of examining a proposal put forward by any young person and having to say, "I am sorry, I cannot accept it," I am delighted that the department's report contains reasons for refusing an application. That is very wise. One of the reasons given for the refusal of two appUcations was that the property had already been purchased. That leads me to another argument that some members have with other departments in relation to grants that are given to sporting bodies. If a sporting body made appUcation in March this year, it would not receive subsidy on that application if buUding had begun before 30 June 1982. If the sporting body misses out on a grant—'and I remind the Committee that it does not find out until October 1982—and it began building between June 1982 and October 1982, it misses out altogether. That seems to be simUar to the operation of the Young Farmer Establishment Scheme, I do not know the exact details and perhaps my criticism is a Uttle astray, but apparently two people had already purchased a property and therefore their appUcation was refused. Every honourable member who knows anything about farming communities knows that when a farm is put on the market, if a prospective purchaser fiddles around and mucks about for too long, he wiU either lose the property because, if it is attractively priced, somebody else wUl grab it, or, alternatively, the vendor wUl get sick of the fiddling around caused by the purchaser going backwards and forwards to Government departments and sell it to someone else, Mr Hooper: Instead of saying "fiddles around and mucks about", shouldn't you say "procrastinates"? After aU, you are a schoolteacher, Mr POWELL: The honourable member for Archerfield can choose his own words, if he wishes to; I wUl use words that people can understand. The prospective purchaser is placed in a very different position. He has either to go ahead and buy it when the opportunity presents itself, in the hope that he can put forward a proposition that wiU be acceptable to the department, or say to the vendor, "No, I am sorry, I cannot buy it just yet. Let us go to the department and see what it can do," 1 am suggesting that the Government needs to look carefully at that problem. Obviously there may be some instances in which people buy a property and then try to hoodwink the Government—probably that goes on—but that is something that the Government ought to look at. On a general basis, the scheme is a good one and the Government is to be congrat ulated for it. Successive speakers on these Estimates seem to be dweUing on some things which, as far as I am concerned, are fairly trivial. They have not got down to the nitty-gritty of land ownership and land utilisation in Queensland, 1 A^ u^^° "°'^ ^ comment in the report with respect to the amount of freeholding of • loll * A" """^ PossiWe in Queensland because of changes that were made to the Act in 1981. Agam, I believe that the Government ought to be congratulated on its poUcy relative to the freeholding of land. If we are to expect people to develop land, we fri K M° ^P^^ *° ^^y *° ^^^^' "^* ^^ y<*"" *o develop," We should be encouraging ireenoming. Of course, that is the Government's policy, and I am deUghted that I am a member of a party that supports that proposition, fim»\w^»'^f '" '^'^ opening remarks the Minister mentioned also the amount of Zni» 'f^el^oWing takes. Probably I am not unique and other members have had Zr; JA^ .-« T.' "^°°^' ^ ^PP"^'' ^°'^ freeholding of this block of land 18 months thpJ. '?°*'""^ ^^^ happened," There is obviously a backlog, and I hope that me process can be expedited, of M J«^l° ^^°. I''*' ^^^ Minister said that great strain had been put on the Department IttK""! ""*'^'"^- ' ^''"'^ J"«* '*^ t° set in a little plug here, because I believe "•ai tnat department should be part of the Department of Lands, Mr Hooper: I have always said that, 51552-84 2490 18 November 1982 Supply (Estimates) Mr POWELL: I am delighted to find that the member for Archerfield finds unanimity with this side of the Committee on one thing at least. The TEMPORARY CHAIRMAN (Mr Jones): Order! Before interjecting again the honourable member for Archerfield wiU return to his usual seat, Mr POWELL: The point I make is that all matters that deal with land utilisation should be under the one Minister, I can understand why national parks and wildlife was taken away from the Lands Department; but I stUl beUeve that, as a matter of philosophy and expediency, the State would be far better served if everything to do with land was controlled by one Minister, Because of the bureaucracies in the Public Service, I can see why recommendations are made to make them divergent; but I would rather see them all together, I plead with the Government to expedite the processing of freeholding applications, because in many instances the ability of the individual farmer to borrow money for his property depends on his being able to freehold. Mention is also made in the annual report of the Land Administration Commission of the Land Development Branch, which many honourable members have a fair bit to do with, especiaUy those in developing areas and areas in which Crown estates are being developed, A sale will take place shortly at Pialba in my own electorate. It is Crown land that is being sold as buUding sites. I believe that the upset price is too high, because those blocks are different from other coastal blocks. I can understand the problems that occurred at Rainbow Beach and Stradbroke Island, for example, where many investors jumped in to grab land; but the blocks at Pialba wiU be purchased by ordinary people who want to build a house. In my view they are too small. The Govern ment should lean very much in favour of allowing those people to buy the land rather than putting it up for sale at a price at which nobody but speculators would bother buying it. Those small blocks of land at Pialba are extremely expensive. The land at Woodgate, which is further north, is a different kettle of fish because it is on the coast. The land at Pialba is not on the coast; it is urban rather than coastal land. I am talking about land that would be used for an ordinary dwelling-house compared with land that could be used for holiday housing or development purposes. I hope that the land sells. It did not sell on the last occasion because of the conditions placed on it. I sincerely thank the officers of the Lands Department who do their level best to sort out problems and assist people. Some persons suggest that those officers are anti-people. I have not found them to be so. The staff in the Minister's office and in the Lands Depart ment office in my area go out of their way to assist. People can go along to them and discuss their problems. Mr Hooper: I will lay 6 to 4 on that you are in the ministry next week. Mr POWELL: I am not a betting man, but one never knows. The vacant Crown land strip on Fraser Island causes more headaches than any other block of land in my electorate, I record my thanks to Reg Stewart, the commissioner in Bundaberg, who does his level best to see that everything is done to maintain proper management on Fraser Island, A meeting was attended by the Minister for Lands and Forestry, the Minister for Tourism, National Parks, Sport and The Arts and the Minister for Mines and Energy and their senior officers in regard to the management of Fraser Island. If the results of that meeting are implemented, everybody will be better served in their use of the island. At long last some sensible management procedures wiU be implemented. In my view the Forestry Department receives a good deal of unjustified criticism. I am happy with the department's stewardship of forests. As I said earlier, the department has a very real responsibUity to protect our forests for future generations of Queenslanders. I have had many arguments with the officers of that department, but the arguments have been on a friendly basis. I am deeply indebted to the officers for the way in which they have listened to the problems that I have raised with them. One of the extreme problems is the use of land, particularly in cane areas. Some mill areas are completely land-locked by forestry operations and a sensible, reasoned approach must be adopted to that problem, Mr Burns: We need more planning, more land-use studies and a knowledge of what we may need the land for in the future, instead of ad hoc decisions. Supply (Estimates) 18 November 1982 2491 Mr POWELL: I become a little tired of all the studies and committees of inquiry. Studies have taken place in my electorate. The last was the Elliott River-Boonooroo Point Coastal Lowlands Land Use Study in 1976. Frankly, it is outdated. That is the problem with those sort of things. There needs to be continuing planning. The conflict between the use of the land for forestry, cane, or other cash crop production, is one that wiU never be resolved, I reiterate that the department, the Minister and the Government have a responsibility to maintain forests for future generations. The Minister has to walk a tight rope. I am glad that I am not the Minister for Lands and Forestry, There are very strong pressures that he will encounter, I reject out of hand the criticism that the department is not doing what I have said it ought to do. The stewardship that is taking place in the forests in my electorate is of the highest order. For example, the people who attack the suggestion that there should be no logging on Fraser Island do not know what they are talking about. Logging has been taking place on that island since the 1860s. In fact, my late grandfather was one of "the first rangers on the island. The stewardship that has taken place there is an example of the stewardship that is needed. People who have been taken into those areas that have been logged would not know that logging had taken place. Very shortly a new industry will be officially opened in my electorate. Coppers (Aust) Pty Ltd wUl treat timber at its factory in a similar fashion to that carried out by Hyne & Sons Pty Ltd. Timber that was once thought to be not millable in the past will be utiUsed. The Government and the people of Queensland should be proud of the developments under taken by such companies. At the moment timber appears to be a finite resource, Australian native timbers take between 85 and 90 years to reach maturity. The exotic pine trees that are being planted in large quantities in our plantations take only between 40 and 45 years to reach maturity, Mr Eaton: If you buy any material made out of them, it is shocking. Mr POWELL: I fully agree with the member for Mourilyan. There is no better pine in the world than Queensland hoop pine. Unfortunately, Queensland hoop pine is a variety that is not flourishing. Fifty years ago people should have been planting plantations of hoop pine. That is being corrected now. The member for Maryborough referred to the quantity of timber imported from New Zealand. There is an ideological argument regarding the importation of radiata pine and other pines from New Zealand for use in the Queensland building industry. While we are using New Zealand timber, we are not using Queensland timber. Because of the problem with jobs in Australia, perhaps the time will come when the traffic could well be going the other way. It may not be too long before New Zealand is the seventh State of Australia. That would be another problem to compound the situation. I congratulate the Minister on the way in which he has administered his department. He does a fine job in a very difficult portfolio. I would hope that freehold conversions can be expedited. I look forward to seeing the Forestry Department using its visitor information centres more than it has done in the past, particularly on Fraser Island, (Time expired.) Mr McKECHNIE (Carnarvon) (4.45 p.m.): I have pleasure in speaking to the Lands and Forestry Estimates, The Minister has a difficult portfolio to administer, and I pay a tribiite to him for the way in which he administers it, I also thank his officers in the Lands Department, the Forestry Department and the Stock Routes and Rural Lands Protection Board for the co-operation that they give me whenever I go to them with problems on behalf of my constituents, A problem arises in all Governments in AustraUa and probably overseas concerning efficiency in government. Attention should be given to that problem. On the first page of the Minister's speech he mentions the phasing out of perpetual leases. That is a philosophical objective and the Government is working towards it in good taith. However, insufficient thought was given to some of the consequences in relation to special leases and simUar aspects. If someone has a special lease and wants more secure tenure, he cannot convert to perpetual lease; he must convert to freehold. That means that he has to have a survey one. I know that the Minister is aware of an instance in my electorate in which solving such a problem will cost $12,000 in survey fees. That is just to give a fellow security tenure over land over which his family have had a special lease for years. 2492 18 November 1982 Supply (Estimates) Mr Hooper: Are they going to amalgamate deeds, or what? Mr McKECHNIE: No. The problem arises because his land Ues around forestry land. Years ago the fellow gave land away to the Forestry Department. When he got it back it was given to him by way of special lease. It contains four parcels of a funny shape. It is a shame that he and his family cannot be given perpetual lease of the land. I suggest to the Minister and to members of the Land Administration Commission that serious thought be given urgently to amending the Act to aUow for the granting of special leases in certain instances, thereby saving the cost of very expensive surveys. A chap on the Granite Belt wanted to gain control of 5 acres because it had space for the construction of a dam. He wanted to be sure of security of tenure if he buih a dam. What beat him was the cost of the survey. Mr Hooper: Do you agree with the previous speaker, and with me, that the Mapping and Surveying Department should come under the Lands Department? Mr McKECHNIE: I am pleased that the honourable member referred to that, as I had intended mentioning it later in my speech, Mr Hooper: Do you agree? Mr McKECHNIE: Yes, I do, I shaU give a reason, I see that Mr Baker is sitting in the lobby. He, together with other members of the commission, always gives good advice and is always happy to help members of Parliament who are trying to solve problems confronting their constitutents, Mr Baker will remember a case involving a very close friend of mine who wanted to have a road closed and the land appended to his freehold land by way of a simple subdivision. In July of last year he telephoned the officers in the local office of the Lands Department, They happened to be going to Stanthorpe that day, so the application was written out on the spot, I suppose that saved a delay of two months, I decided to use that case as a test case, I thank Mr Baker for all the work that he did on it. However, despite his very enthusiastic and most efficient help, a further delay occurred. It was due to the system, under which the Department of Mapping and Surveying is not under the control of the Lands Department, As weU, the Lands Department has a system of checks and balances. Because of all that, the matter was not finalised until July this year. In other words, despite great assistance given by a senior member of the commission and despite the fact that the case was followed aU the way by a member of Parliament, it took 11 months for it to reach a conclusion. That is not good enough. Something is wrong with the System, Close attention should be paid to the delays that occur in Government departments. They should be overcome, because nothing is more annoying to a person who decides to spend money on development or on the purchase of land than to be told that, even though he has the money, he cannot do it for 12 months. The problem must be solved, I do not think that it can be solved by a Minister of the Crown or by members of the commission because they are so busy with their responsibilities that they really do not have the time to take a proper look at the department from top to bottom, I would imagine that it would take two or three years to do the job. Somebody should be given that job. Hopefully, it would result in more efficiency. The Stock Routes and Rural Lands Protection Board has been in a controversial situation during the past year, I see Mr Doug Grant sitting in the precincts of the Chamber, and I thank him for the co-operation that I personally have received from him when making representations on behalf of my constituents. The simple fact of the matter is that this Goyernment, and this Assembly, set up the machinery for the Stock Routes and Rural Lands Protection Board. I think that the dingo barrier fence was the test of whether the board was efficient and worth preservmg. Quite frankly, I think it failed. The board comprised people from all over Queensland, They were careful not to be parochial. They were so careful about not being parochial that I do not think they clearly understood the wishes of the people in the proposed dingo fence area. They were prepared to come in with the big stick against the wishes of the majority of the people in the area and say, "This is going to be good for you. We wiU do it whether you like it or not. I am talking about the board now, not necessarily the officers. There has been some change in the make-up of the board, and I hope that the problem will be sorted out. Supply (Estimates) 18 November 1982 2493 I suppose that I should be happy, because the people in my area have been promised that they wiU get what they want. The people at the western end of the fence have been promised a very good deal, and they are happy with what they are getting. From the bottom of my heart, I am very sorry for my colleague and friend, the member for Balonne (Mr Don Neal), We have worked very closely together on the problems of the barrier fence, I do not think that the solution is good enough for him, and I give notice that he wiU have my total support in any moves that he might make to try to protect the interests of his constituents. Some people to the north of the proposed new barrier fence said that they did not want it and they were allowed to get out of it. The simple fact is that a great number of people in the electorate of Balonne do not want the fence, but they have been told that they have to have it. I think that the answer to the problem is to give it to them a little cheaper. They are getting the fence against their wiU, Previously, I recommended that they should get it for slightly more than 3c per animal, and not 5c per animal, so that it would not be a burden to them, I am confident that the member for Balonne wiU come up with a solution to the problem. As I say, he wiU have my total support in whatever he decides to do, I understand from the Minister's speech that the idea of a single precept for a single pest authority is stiU being hawked around. Quite frankly, I am frightened of it. If all local authorities in Queensland are to be levied to raise money to control all pests, I do not think that it will work. There will never be enough money in the till, I think that the pressures on the Government to provide more money wUl increase. Money will be spent in areas that are powerful and have a strong voice, but it will not be spent in other areas that are not powerful. For example, the fruit growers in my area have written to the Stock Routes and Rural Lands Protection Board, to get money spent on the destruction of flying foxes, I wonder what priority that request would get under a single pest authority. When people pay precepts to control all pests, they wiU want aU pests controlled. The money in the tUl just wiU not be enough. When that matter comes before the ParUament, members will have to look at it very carefully. Another thing that frightens me is this section of the Minister's speech— "This single precept wUl therefore include in one package precepts and/or rates which local authorities are presentiy required to collect and/or pay under the Stock Routes and Rural Lands Protection Act, the Barrier Fences Act and the Rabbit Act We fought a long battle to try to get exemption for certain councils from the 5c precept for the dingo barrier fence. If there is to be a single precept, does that mean that those councils will have to pay a precept, after we thought we had fought and won? That is the impUcation. If that happens, we wiU have another battle, I give notice that those of us who do not want the precept wiU win the battle. We have had an assurance from the Government that no longer would the people in our areas pay a precept or a special rate for the maintenance of the barrier fence; that the funds would come out of normal local authority funding. That assurance has to be honoured or there wiU be big trouble, I have a constructive suggestion to make about "1080", With the best wiU in the world, the Stock Routes and Rural Lands Protection Board bought baits from Western Australia and there were some problems. Such problems can be used by the anti-" 1080" lobby in an attempt to prevent totaUy the use of "1080" If that hapened ,it would be a tragedy. It is time for the Government to take positive steps to see that "1080" baits are prepared in Queensland, I think we will be in government for a long time Mr Kruger: What's that? Mr McKECHNIE: I am sure we wiU be in Government for a long time. The landholders of this State need to use "1080", They need to be guaranteed supply despite Government changes in other States and in other countries of the world, ^"^other matter under the Minister's purview is the control of rabbits. It must be very difficult for landholders out West, or those in the back of my electorate, who want to do something about controlling rabbits to get carrots. They do not have the contacts. The Rabbit Control Authority or some other authority could provide them. It would make it easier for farmers or graziers to buy carrots if the authority were to issue a list of contacts or acted as a contact agency. This matter should be pursued. 2494 18 November 1982 Supply (Estimates) The Young Farmer Establishment Scheme was an exciting development. Because there is never enough money in the barrel, many young people are disappointed. The simple fact of the matter is that anybody who does not have an equity cannot make a go of a venture today. The rough rule of 40 per cent equity is probably a good one. Young people have to Uve with that. Generally speaking, those responsible for administering the scheme are working to the best of their abiUty, Although the scheme is in its infancy, it wiU grow and, eventually, it wiU be a worthwhile part of financing young people onto the land. I am concerned at the power of the Mines Department, The Minister set up a com mittee to examine the rights of leasehold farmers or graziers, whose land is affected by people acting under the provisions of the Mining Act, It seems wrong for the Mines Departinent to have so much control over land in Queensland, I encourage the Minister and his departmental officers to be firm in their endeavours to win the battle in Cabinet and ParUament to give more protection to people with grazing land and special and other forms of leases against the Mines Department, They certainly need U. Anybody with a mining lease should perform or give it up. It is too easy for somebody with a mining lease to hang onto it when he is not really performing. In the meantime, that causes a great deal of heartburn and hardship for graziers, farmers and other people. I must not neglect the Forestry Department, which is under the capable administration of Jim Smart, because that department controls a very important industry in the State. I have put my money where my mouth is and estabUshed a great number of pine trees on my farm, I have 6 0(X) established young trees, and recently planted a further 4000, I believe in reforestation. The Forestry Department plays a worthwhile role in decentraUsation. The departmental report states that 1 750 people are directly employed, but that is only part of the story. In outback towns and other small places, the many sawmills that have been established provide work. At the moment, I am particularly sorry for the people of Inglewood because the people have been told that the sawmill is to be closed down and amalgamated with the Goondiwindi miU. Mr Kruger: What is the answer to all these mUls closing down? Mr McKECHNIE: The companies state that they can compete only by becoming bigger and more efficient. Mr Kruger: They all get bigger, and that is the problem. Mr McKECHNIE: As another honourable member said, the problem is that the sawmills have to compete with timber from New Zealand. Neither Government nor Opposition members like that. The Federal Government must be urged to do more to prevent that. However, Queensland sawmiUs also have to compete with timber from other States, The simple fact is that large sawmills in other States have introduced computers and other technologies based on large quantities of timber being put through the mUls, If Queensland sawmills do not follow a similar line, and cut their losses and amalgamate, instead of jobs being lost in one town, jobs in two or three towns will be lost. That will be sad but, unfortunately, it wiU be a fact of Ufe, I am pleased that the company in Inglewood is to give preference to former employees when employing people in Goondiwindi, Nobody wants to see people relocated, but those who want jobs will be avaUable, At least they wUl have a job and that is something. I am also pleased that the mill at Inglewood has received an unexpected order for cypress timber from one of the mining companies. Because the mUl wiU operate longer than was expected, some temporary relief will be provided for the men—perhaps only until Christmas or a little after—and that will put a few extra doUars in the pockets of the people in that town, I reiterate that the Minister has a difficult portfolio, I appreciate his friendship and co-operation and that of his officers. Land transfers must be processed quickly. The present system is not good enough. The department must try even harder to find ways and means to speed up the conversion of land from one tenure to another and the transfer of land. (Time expired.) Supply (Estimates) 18 November 1982 2495 Mr KRUGER (Murrumba) (5,5 p,m,): In the past 18 months, I have enjoyed my role as Opposition spokesman on lands and forestry matters. It has been a real chaUenge, but I have enjoyed good relations with the Minister and the department. There are a number of problems facing the State, and I have made constructive comments about them in an endeavour to ensure that the Minister and his departmental heads get the best out of the State's avaUable land. I said just that to the Minister when he was appointed, and it is essential that that be done when so much is at stake. The Government's land policies do not go far enough. There is a real need for a land-use study of aU of Queensland, not just certain areas, to find out exactly how land is being UtiUsed in this State and under what circumstances areas are most productive. We need to know what types of crops should be grown in certain areas—for example, cane being grown on land that is not terribly good but has a good moisture content. We need to look at alternative crops for different areas. We need to know which land is best suited for certain crops so that good land is not used for housing, I point out that the salad bowl of Brisbane, the Redland Bay/Cleveland area has largely been given over to housing, which is a waste of prime land that could be used for vegetable production, particularly as it is so close to the capital city. Until a full land-use study has been carried out we will not know quite where we are going. Such a study would be reasonably costly, but it would provide a lot of jobs. In a State that is crying out for jobs, I think that is a constructive suggestion. When one looks at any aspect of land usage in Queensland, one begins to worry about the land being sold to foreigners. I have raised this matter on several occasions, and I am sure that if I did not raise it again in this debate some people would be concerned that I had lost either my touch, my punch or my health. It is important that I again.speU out the Opposition's policy. I have here a Press cutting from the "Telegraph" dated 4 November, headed "Sparkes backs register". The article states— "National Party president. Sir Robert Sparkes, today discounted a warning from the Premier, Mr Bjelke-Petersen, that a foreign land ownership register would scare away potential overseas investors." The story continues and then there is another heading, "Intent on profit". The article continues— "The Liberal Party state director, Mr Gary Neat, said today that many overseas owners of Queensland land were abstenee landlords more intent on making a dollar than boosting the local economy," That is something I have been saying for a long time, as have the people of Queensland. Unfortunately, the Government is not doing anything about it. I do not blame the Land Administration Commission; I do not entirely blame the Minister. There is a man in this State who does not want it, and that must concern us all. Until there is a register of not only foreign ownership but all land ownership in this State, we will not know exactly what is going on. The land will be whittled away, day in, day out, not by Queenslanders and not by AustraUans but by greedy people who are only out to make a quick quid out of this country. Mr Powell: What are you going to do with the register when you have it? Mr KRUGER: I am pleased that the honourable member has interjected. If the present Government had a register, it would not do anything; but a Labor Government would certainly impose controls on the sale of land once it knew who owned what. It would also, where possible, try to negate some of the agreements that have been made in the past—the Iwasaki agreement and a few others. The persons concerned would be told that unless they performed they would no longer be able to own land in this State, Mr Neal: Are you aware that under a Labor Government in New South Wales, where there is much more freehold land than there is in Queensland, there is no such register? Mr KRUGER: I will tell the honourable member what they do have in New South Wales—a Labor Government running the State, As I said, the problem here is not the Minister or even, many honourable members opposite; it is the Premier, who wishes to hide something, I am not sure what it is, but I will try to outline the problem as I go along. 2496 18 November 1982 Supply (Estimates) I have here another pressing cutting, which reads— "Libs lash 'sellout' on land The Liberal Party claimed yesterday that legislation for a register of foreign land ownership in Queensland had been 'convenientiy and irresponsibly shelved,' The party's state director, Mr Gary Neat said: 'The continuing delays and lame excuses for the register are a sellout of future generations of Queenslanders'," It was the would-be leader of the Liberal Party who made that statement. He either does not have the feeUng of the Liberal Party or the Liberal Party is not prepared to move. I remind the Cbmmittee of what happened recently to my friend the member for Mansfield (Mr Kaus), When the article to which I referred appeared in the Press, I put out a release chaUenging Mr Neat to put up or shut up, I have tried to raise in this Chamber the question of a foreign land ownership register and allow it to be debated. The Liberal Party has supported the National Party on every occasion, only because it is a marriage of convenience to maintain the numbers. The Liberals do not want to rock the boat. They know that Queensland needs a land register. Many back-bench National Party members know that. Probably if the Minister were free to do so. he would admit that he feels the same. He has property in the West and knows what the western people want, but his hands are tied and he cannot move on something in which he believes, Mr PoweU: You have to admit that the Premier is a very practical man, Mr KRUGER: He is also a dictator, I began asking a few questions. I asked one about Leslie Homestead and received some reasonable answers from the Minister. I checked who was involved in the deal and who are now part owners of that property. Judging by their names, they are not of British descent. They seem to be Japanese or Malaysian, It is impossible for me to pronounce them, I directed the following question to the Minister for Justice and Attorney-General— "(1) What is the number of property transfers registered in the Rockhampton District Titles Office since May 1981 with area of 100 ha and upwards? (2) What are the names and places of living of the new landholders? (3) What is the value of properties transferred and the areas of such properties, and, where possible, wiU he list the real property description?" The Minister's answer was— "(1 to 3) The Registrar of Tities does not keep statistics of this nature. To extract the information sought from all the transfer documents registered in his Rockhampton Office since May 1981 would require the deployment of staff already fully occupied with normal duties. It is estimated that this would take at least eight man-weeks, thus depriving the general public of the normal standard of service to which they are entitled," Is that not all the more reason why there should be a register? I asked the Premier about the land owned jointly by his son and Mr Aoki, Of course, the Premier bought The Ten MUe to which he wanted a highway built. The Premier, in his answer, listed the names of people recorded in the Valuer-General's Depart ment, Quite clearly they are of Japanese descent. He said that the purchasers were all American citizens. Possibly they were, but they certainly were not born and bred in America, Over the years, the Premier has been connected with a great deal of fordgn dealing with his own property or his son's property in addition to his dealings with Mr Iwasaki, The Premier is not in the Chamber, I am not saying this because he is not present. On other occasions I have forced him to come into the Chamber and listen to what I am saying. He has not done the right thing by the people of Queensland, and we will be in trouble until Cabinet takes him on. The Press reported, "Joh rules out foreign land owners Ust," The article read— "The Premier, Mr fljelke-Petersen, yesterday made it clear that there was no chance of Queensland setting up a foreign land ownership register whUe he remained in charge." Supply (Estimates) 18 November 1982 2497 The wording in the cartoon reads, "What you don't know won't worry you." If that is not an admission of guiU, I do not know what it is. Mr Frawley: Do you think that old Jap owns more land than we know about? Mr KRUGER: I think he owns a lot more. The Press referred also to "Job's $1.5m farm," I have referred to that before so I will not deal vrith it in detaU, Today's "Courier-Mail" reports, "BiUionaire's retreat out west," It is referring to Mr Maia, I am stunned at the number of properties that he owns. Leases were arranged here and there. I do not know how they were arranged. In my travels I have found that the Land Administration Commission operates very honestly. I am worried about a certain tone of poUtical interference. In passing, I wish to refer to the activities of my "friend" Keith Williams, After the attacks on him made by me and other people, he said that it was aU right for him to build a resort on HamUton Island because he held a grazing lease, I have a copy of the original lease that was granted. The lease states that the land cannot be used for resort development, Mr Frawley: How did you get a copy of it? Mr KRUGER: How I got the copy is nobody's business but mine. The copy was available. There were no strings attached. It was in the best interests of the State of Queensland to obtain a copy of it. Recently I made a statement that I would make copies of the lease available to honourable members. Great condominiums were being buUt on that island before the finalisation of the lease arrangements, Mr WiUiams had an acceptance in principle dating back to 1979 which aUowed him to build a resort, A certain amount of trust is involved with something like that, Mr WilUams defies the local authority to the extent that he builds without a permit and does not place before the council the impact study that is required, I have documentation in my possession which shows that the council was going to sue Mr WilUams because he had not taken the necessary steps. The Lands Administration Commission should have said, "You cannot go ahead untU such time as you have satisfied the requirements of the local authority," I do not mean that the Land Administration Commission has acted incorrectly. Legislation should be introduced so that such a project could not go ahead until the requirements of the local authority were satisfied. Land has been "eroded" by foreign take-overs. This morning I looked at the 1978 report titled "A Basis for Soil Conservation Policy in Australia", The preface states— "This report has four major parts. The first part describes the nature of the land degradation which has arisen as a result of the interplay between the activities of man and the natural environment. This part of the report concerns: * the causes and processes of land degradation in various parts of AustraUa (Chapter 3); * the extent of land requiring treatment for degradation and the construction cost of soU conservation works assessed as being required (Chapter 4); * the importance of controlUng land degradation and priorities for con servation (Chapter 5), The second part addresses the human factors involved " I will table the document if honourable members wish to read it. It speUs out the needs concerning soil conservation. Section 10.1 of the report, under the heading "The extent of land degradation and costs of soU conservation", states— "3, Fifty-one per cent of the total area used for agricultural and pastoral purposes in Australia was assessed as needing some form of soil conservation treat ment under existing land use. The total value of fixed investment in this area subject to degradation is of the order of $12 biUion, 4, The incorporation of sound land management practices into farming and grazing activities is considered to be an appropriate and adequate form of treatment over 44% of this area subject to degradation. This represents 22% of the total area in use. The value of the fixed investment in this land is approximately $5.3 biUion. 2498 18 November 1982 Supply (Estimates) ; 5, Soil conservation works involve a significant investment of funds and are required together with appropriate land management practices for the treatment of the remaining 56% of the area subject to degradation," Funds made available for soU conservation and control have dropped off. Less and less money is being provided for soil conservation. Whilst we are losing land to foreigners, we are losing land through degradation because of the lack of good soil conservation practices. What I am saying is. that the Queensland Government and the Federal Government are not doing what ought to be done. If they do not have the money available to do what should be done, they should encourage farmers to do what ought to be done. Right throughout Queensland graziers are aware of the problem, but they are not being encouraged to overcome it. It was about 25 or 30 years ago that people first began to talk about conserving water on properties. After that, tanks were sunk everywhere around the West. At present, even during time of drought, most property holders have a reasonable water supply, whereas about 25 or 30 years ago they did not. They were encouraged to embark on water conservation measures. However, although we thought about the water, we forgot about the soU, One without the other is not much good to us. The sea is certainly of no use Ih agricultural production. I turn now to the Forestry Department, If 1 did not, Mr Smart would think he got off the hook. The State should have paid more attention to certain species of forest timbers. It took too long for the Forestry Department to implement acceptable practices in the logging of rain forests. The conservationists claim that nothing has been done. Certain areas have been set aside and wiU not be logged at this stage. Logging practices within rain forests have improved out of sight. However, loggers take every opportunity to take a short-cut, so obviously the Forestry officers in the field must maintain a close watch on them. Generally speaking, logging practices have improved, but there is room for further improvement. Admittedly, in some of the steep country, timber is stiU available. However, on the level country, large areas have been logged out. I see a need to phase out logging in rain forests. That has occurred in New South Wales. Government members are keen to draw comparisions between New South Wales and Queensland when it is convenient for them to do so. Today, however, they have not said that the Queensland Government should follow the example set in New South Wales and cease logging the rain forests. The honourable member for Bundaberg referred to bringing back areas that sup posedly are worn out. I have been on the land all my life. A land-owner who has land that is getting a bit tired does something to regenerate it. Every opportunity should be taken to find species of timber that will grow in those worn-out areas so that they can be got moving again. It would also be as well to find species that can be planted in the harshest areas of the State. It has been common practice to plant forests along the coast and to make sure that species in rain forests are preserved for future generations. However, very little work has been done west of the Great Dividing Range. Generally speaking, the only forests that grow there are natural forests. I should like to see experiments conducted to ascertain what type of hardy species can be planted west of the range so that areas can be converted into forests. If forests can be established west of the range, there is a great possibility that, because of the buUdup of moisture in a forest area, rains will follow. Until such time as that possibiUty is looked at, we cannot be satisfied that it wUl not occur. I do not know how much work has been done in that direction, but I believe it to be fairly limited. An examination should be made of the feasibUity of planting southern Queensland timbers in North Queensland, thereby reducing the need to log the rain forests. I am concerned about the closer economic relationship with New Zealand and the quantity of timber that is iniported into Australia. Reports indicate that in the future Australia will be able to export timber. Steps should be taken now to plant trees so that in the future we can challenge New Zealand in the timber export market, (Time expired,) Supply (Estimates) 18 November 1982 2499 Mr NEAL (Balonne) (5,25 p,m,): I have pleasure in supporting the. Minister for Lands and Forestry in the presentation of his Estimates, although I must say that I have not agreed wUh aU the decisions that he has made. However, he is responsible for the department and he has to make the decisions. The administration of the State's lands is an important facet of the Government's operations, particularly when approximately 80 per cent of Queensland land is Crown land In his introductory remarks, the Minister referred to changes in administration as a resuh of increased population and development. Of course, the Government must show flexibility, and it has done just that. The Minister referred to the legislation that was introduced last year whiph aUowed perpetual lease selections to be freeholded, and to how that has placed a strain not only on the Lands Department but also on the Department of Mapping and Surveying because the surveys for some of the leases need to be verified. I have always been a great beUever in the policy of freeholding land because it provides the most secure tenure. The problems associated with freeholding land do not concern aggregation; rather, they concern fragmentation. When land is freeholded and times are good—commodUy prices are high and seasons are running well^the owners of land tend to subdivide it into smaller areas. Those areas might be viable in good times, but they become uneconomic in times of drought and low commodity prices. We heard the former leader of the Opposition talk in glowing terms about Labor's land poUcy, Members of the Labor Party have some sort of obsession about subdividing land. In the early days they used to talk about closer settlement, and they still talk about it. Closer settlement, provided it is done wisely, is good; but there are many pitfalls with it. If we cannot learn from the mistakes made by the ALP years ago, there is something wrong with us. The Labor Party's poUcy on closer settlement was nothing short of a tragedy. Land was cut up into blocks that were too small. They were not viable living areas. People did not make a living off the land; they had to live off it. They had to eat waUabies and heaven knows what. That is not how land should be subdivided, Mr Eaton: But many people survived, Mr NEAL: I take the honourable member's point that many people survived, but 1 have no desire to see people live under the conditions that people had to endure when I was young. The people on many of the small, uneconomic areas got out of trouble only when the price of wool went to a £1 a lb. For the first time in their lives they knew what a few bob were. That was the only time when they experienced anything other than starvation and poverty. Although this matter does not directly involve the Minister for Lands and Forestry, I am concerned about the subdivision of some freehold land into hobby farms. The problem is fragmentation of freehold land, not aggregation. The developers of hobby farms have left the coastal areas, I suppose because they feel they have subdivided aU the available land that is not being used for farming and small-cropping. They are moving out into western areas and purchasing huge tracts of land, which they are subdividing into 30-acre, or 12-ha, lots. Many of the local authorities have been unaware that the purchasers intended to sub divide the land into small blocks. In some instances, it has got out of hand. I express my concern about it. People seem only too wiUing to buy the blocks of land. I am concerned that some are buying without really knowing what the land is like, thinking that it is capable of producing a Uving. In many instances, subdivisions are many mUes from towns and amenities such as hospitals and doctors. They lack adequate water, power and telephone. When they have children, there is the problem of getting them to school. Much of the land is in very dry areas—from 22 inches down to less than 20 inches of rainfall a year. Some 30-acre blocks are being bought on which there is no water at all. Tremendous amounts of money are required to find artesian or subartesian water in many areas where water is as far down as 2 500 feet. To put down a bore, a person is faced with an expenditure of $50,000. Many of these people do not have funds of that magnitude available to them. Others have the idea that they can enter into primary production such as feedlotting of cattle, pigs and poultry. There is no doubt that that is possible Mr Lee: But they have to have a bit of money. 2500 18 November 1982 Supply (Estimates) Mr NEAL: The qualifying factor is how deep their pocket is. I agree with the member for Yeronga. Many people who go out there thinking that they wUl be able to follow those pursuits are learning the cold, hard lesson that it is not on. There is some employment in those districts, but that is limited by the prosperity at the time. I have no objections to people going out there, but they should know what they are about. If they want to live amongst the trees, the kangaroos and waUabies and if they have the money or a paying job, that is fair enough by me. However, there are limited oppor tunities for the exploitation of that land. I sincerely hope that people know what they are letting themselves in for. The Minister referred to the Young Farmer Establishment Scheme. I have been a supporter of the concept of that scheme. It is a very good one. Unfortunately, not sufficient funds have been allocated to it. Mr Bums: Whose fauU is that? Mr NEAL; I agree that it is the Government's fault. In my opinion, $l6m over seven years is not sufficient. However, I also say that no greater amounts of money should have been released in the first few years. Any new scheme wUl encounter teething problems. We do not want to be carried away with lending too much money before we find out where the scheme is headed. Of the $l,5m that was made available from January this year, only $1,234,800 has been lent to eight applicants. The great publicity that was attached to the scheme led to the buUding up of the hopes of many young people that this was their opportunity to get onto the land. Unfortunately, it is not a lottery, and owning and running a property today is a costly business, Mr Burns: You have to have a lot of money to get into the scheme, Mr NEAL: A lot of money is required to go onto the land, and a lot of money is required to survive. Mr Burns: You cannot get into the Young Farmer Establishment Scheme with less than $100,000. Mi- NEAL: I am not arguing about that. It depends on the enterprise in which a person wishes to establish himself and how much a viable operation will cost. A property cannot be operated on a shoe-string any more. Gone are the days when a big heart and a sharp axe got people by on the land. Of necessity, young people have to have a reasonable amount of equity and they have to know what they are about. They have to have had experience. As has been pointed out, the equity can be cash, stock or farming equipment; all of those things are taken into consideration. As was indicated earlier, 40 per cent equity is a fair amount. I make the point that although many hopes were buUt up by the introduction of the Young Farmer EstabUshment Scheme, at no time--I emphasise that—^was it intended to cater for young people who are well off. It is a last-stop borrowing institution. That is one of the things that must be made clear to people. Some people thought that they could get some money from the scheme without any equity and thereby get a block of land. Others thought it was an institution from which they could get money at a low rate of interest. That is not on; it is a last-stop borrowing institution. However, the scheme will build up, and in the future, when it is functioning smoothly, I hope that the Govern ment will allocate much more money to it, I wish to touch on the operations of the Rabbit Control Authority and, in particular, on the rabbit control area. Some councils in my electorate are not particularly happy about the amounts of money that they have to contribute each year to the operations of the authority. The reason is that very seldom is a rabbit control officer seen in their area. They do not see anyone around and they want to know what they are getting for their money. That has been highlighted over the last few years. Recentiy I asked a question in the House on the matter and I was informed that in 1978-79, the Balonne Shire paid $11,700 by way of levy; that in 1980-81 its contribution increased by 98.87 per cent to $25,700; and that for the 1982-83 year its contribution has increased fractionally. The ^.. , . 18 November 1982 2501 Supply (Estunates) X* riiii. Shire CouncU is in a similar sUuation. Its contribution went from $3,680 iii 1978-79 rirorimatel? $11,500 in 1980-81-an increase of 185,77 per cent-and it has mcreased '" mTTfor 1982-83-a further 24,71 per cent. The Tara and Warroo Shires have had ° let sin^ilar increases in the levy. When they see littie or no evidence of those funds beinT spent in their area, or any control officers coming around, obviously they become "''^^A creat deal of correspondence has been exchanged with the Minister over the years, Ac recentlv as yesterday, I received a letter from the Balonne Shire CouncU stating that f would strongly oppose any action by the Government to increase the present minimum rZTlSc in the doUar, The councU is opposed to that levy because if there is revaluation in areas' of high unimproved value-if they are put on the maximum—property owners will be oaying considerably more than they are now. The Tara Shire is presently being revalued: If the values double or treble, the levy now bemg paid may also double or treble. In his introductory speech, the Minister foreshadowed the introduction of legislation, which is presently being drafted, to set up a single pest authority for the State. Of course, it has been in the wind for many years. He said— " the concept being developed by the Stock Routes and Rural Lands Protection Board wUh regard to future funding, if accepted by the State Treasury and the Government, wiU provide for a single precept payment by local authorities each year " As I said, it has been mooted for many years, and that is fair enough, I thmk that aU honourable members agree with that concept. They know which vertebrate pests need eradication and control in their own electorate. But the big question is the cost of controUing animal and vegetable pests. It all boUs down to how much it wiU hit us in the hip pocket, and who wiU pay the piper. The Minister continued— " a single precept payment , to cover all stock route improvement and maintenance and vegetable and animal pest control contributions assessed on the basis of units of benefit to each particular shire " That opens up a real Pandora's box, and the wisdom of Solomon wiU be needed to decide what should happen. The Stock Routes and Rural Lands Protection Board could not even come to grips with degrees of benefit in relation to the precept to be charged in the central area of the barrier fence. Having said a few words on that subject, I now take the opportunity to pay a tribute to Bob Wicks, who recently passed away, and place on record my appreciation of the work that he did. Although I say quite openly that I did not agree with many of his views, I give him credit for pursuing the course that he felt was right, and for implementing the board's decisions with great dedication, possibly to the detriment of his health, I believe that the question of the barrier fence will raise its head again, I was not happy with the decision that was taken, and I will be very interested to see the interpretation of "basis of units of benefit" Councils from the ChinchiUa Shire down to the border on the eastern end are paying no precepts on the barrier fence, yet the Minister clearly stated in his speech that there will be a single precept payment by local authorities to cover payments under the Stock Routes and Rural Lands Protection Act, the Barrier Fences Act and the Rabbit Act, I wiU be very interested to see the legislation when it is brought forward next year, Mr BOOTH (Warwick) (5.45 p.m.): The Estimates for Lands and Forestry are a very important part of the parliamentary process. Earlier today an honourable member said that many more areas of responsibility should be brought under the Minister's umbreUa. I do not favour that suggestion. Too many responsibUities can be placed under the one umbrella. The Minister already has a great number of responsibUities. If an efficient Minister is given too many responsibilities, he might not be able to perform as well as expected. The responsibUities of the Land Administration Commission are somewhat frightening. It has representatives on the Rural Fires Board, the Beach Protection Authority, the Agri cultural Bank, the Rural Reconstruction Board and the Rabbit Control Authority, It is 2502 18 November 1982 Supply (Estimates) wise to have on those bodies somebody who knows something about land. People will need to borrow money so it is necessary that the commission be represented on both the Rural Reconstruction Board and the Agricultural Bank. These days people are tempted to pay too much for land in the expectation that the value will continue to rise. That has been true for the past 20 years but there was a time when land values remained static. People must be wary of the temptation to consider that land values will continue to escalate. Today, it is more dangerous to pay too much for land than it used to be, because interest rates have been allowed to reach too high a level. The Federal Government is inclined to stand aloof on this matter but that Government should govern. We are about to suffer the disadvantages that come from that policy. In recent days I have read of a freeze on certain salaries and wages and the possibifity of extending it to other areas. That is the first sign of land values stabilising. The $16m provided for the Young Farmer Establishment Scheme is not sufficient. The guide-lines under the scheme are complex. The Minister said— "In order to avail himself of the benefits of the scheme, an applicant is required to demonstrate that he is unable to obtain finance through normal means and is unlikely to be able to acquire a property in the foreseeable future. He must also have accumulated sufficient assets to offer a reasonable equity in the property being purchased and have sufficient experience or qualifications to conduct the particular rural industry." No-one could quarrel with the last part about having sufficient experience and qualifica tions. I commend the Minister for covering that aspect. The wisdom of Solomon is needed to make an arbitrary decision on whether a young farmer is unable to obtain finance and has accumulated sufficient assets to obtain a reasonable equity in the property being purchased. The system should be changed. I know that a farm cannot be given to someone who has no equity. Although a young farmer may not have the ready cash, he should be given opportunities to establish a farm if he has plenty of experience and know-how to do so. That is not meant as a criticism because the scheme has only recently got off the ground. Only eight applicants have been successful. $1,234,000 has been expended. The amount of money involved and the number of successful applicants suggests it is not anticipated that anyone will get much in excess of $150,000. Possibly most applicants are receiving $100,000. In order to service the interest alone, payments will be approximately $1,000 per month. Anyone who has tried to pay off a house or farm knows that interest and redemption payments of that magnitude are not peanuts. Because a very difficult situation is involved. I do not offer criticism of the scheme or the people entrusted with its operation. However, somewhere along the line some people without many assets should be given assistance. That may not be as foolish as it seems; it may well be successful to some extent. Mr Davis: It is only a farm for the rich farmer's son. Mr BOOTH: That might be an exaggeration. The honourable member for Brisbane Central has a fixation about these things. These days, I do not think there is such a thing as a rich farmer's son. Mr Hooper: The farmers always squeal. Mr BOOTH: They do not squeal, but they work fairly hard. In fact, they work long hours. If one or two of them happen to become wealthy, the member for Archerfield should not deny them that right. As a general rule, not a great deal of money is to be made. Mr Hooper: Mr Davis knows; he comes from your electorate. Mr BOOTH: I know that. He is well bred. I do not think the people in my electorate would own him now that he is in Brisbane. The Minister mentioned the Marginal Dairy Farm Reconstruction Scheme. He was wise to mention it because it has been a success. There would be one or two people who have borrowed money through that scheme who have encountered difficulties. However, the majority of them have been able to adjust and become successful. Supply (Estimates) 18 November 1982 2503 The support that the Minister was able to give to the dairy factories was appreciated. Without the scheme, many factories would have had difficulty in carrying on, modernising their procedures and reaching bulk milk standards. The scheme was successful, I was associated wUh the people who administered it. They were suitable to operate such a scheme, and took a punt with it. Because they were able to gauge the situation they were able to operate it successfully. The Minister said that the Milk Entitlements Committee was using the scheme as a bank for the purchase of entitlements. The money made avaUable to the Milk Entitlements Committee was appreciated, I am not a great fan of the committee, because its per formance has been disappointing. Its charter was to spread the benefits of market milk as much as possible, I am disappointed that it has not been able to do more. It seems to be carried away with the idea that it is not possible to upset anything that has happened in the past. Its task was to readjust the industry, I am disappointed that that has not been done to a greater extent, I turn now to the Stock Routes and Rural Lands Protection Board, which had a fairly stormy beginning. The new chairman, David Cory, is from my area, I am sure that he will face up to this task and wiU prove to be a success. He is in a difficult situation in that he has to seU the idea of a single pest authority. It will be necessary for him to use aU the diplomatic ability at his command. The Minister, in his speech, foreshadowed the introduction of legislation that is being drafted to set up a single pest authority, I was unaware of that, but it is best to be warned. Some of the steps outlined by the Minister will be difficult to implement. For example, he said that the concept of future funding will provide for a single precept payment by local authorities each year, either by one or two instalments, to cover all stock route improvement and maintenance, and vegetable and animal pest control contributions, assessed on the basis of units of benefit to each particular shire, with the Government contribution being by way of subsidy paid into the trust fund. It is the last portion of the Minister's statement that concerns me. If the benefit to each particular shire could be assessed accurately, no-one could quarrel with that concept. However, it would not surprise me if the Minister gets into considerable trouble, A lot of battles wiU be fought before this proposal is implemented. In my own area, the Glengallan and Rosenthal Shires will have netting put on top of the fence to make it dingo proof. In fact, in the Glengallan Shire the work has been completed without any problems. In the Rosenthal Shire, some protests have been lodged, and I do not think the dispute has been settled. I have many dealings with the Rosenthal Shire CouncU and its chairman, Mr Hooper: It's a National Party CouncU. Mr BOOTH: And the chairman is an excellent man, as is to be expected of anyone in the National Party. He is the chairman of country cricket and has been responsible for bringing many cricket stars to Brisbane. He is a good administrator. Mr Hooper: You have never known me to make a personal attack on anyone. Mr BOOTH: That is quite correct; I do not think it is in the honourable member. I believe that the dispute wUl be settled. It is important to have the top netting fixed to the fence. It is claimed that another small spur fence is needed in the KUlarney area. The location of the site has presented some problems, but departmental officers have been out and I think they have found a suitable site. It may be that in addition to having a dispute settied we will get the spur fence. Some people seem to think that spur fences are needed aU over the place. It is too expensive to do that, so the situation will have to be watched carefully. The Minister also controls the Forestry Department. I have something in the nature of a complaint to make—I have written to the Minister about it—concerning the burning of natural forests in my electorate. I wonder whether the local people were consulted before the decision was made to burn the forest. It is most important that the local foresters be consulted. If they have any sense, they will discuss the matter with local landholders. In this instance, the timing could not have been worse. The fire was lit on a day when the undergrowth was tinder dry. There was nothing to stop the fire spreading. In fact, when the fire was lit the whole area virtually exploded. As weU, the area that was Ut was too large, so it was impossible to control the fire. It caused many problems, Mr Hooper: Was anybody charged? 2504 18 November 1982 Supply (Estimates) Mr BOOTH: No, The department carried out normal firing, but the time was wrong. The best time to light such a fire is after rain, I am led to believe that the decision to fire the forest was arrived at in other than the local area, I do not doubt the sincerity of the people who arrived at the decision. They probably looked at the weather chart and said that temperatures would not be high on that day. Perhaps they made the decision some weeks before, [Sitting suspended from 6 to 7.15 p.m.] Mr BOOTH: Before the recess for dinner, I was making the point about when decisions should be made to burn forests, I even think that the decision should be made on the morning of the burn. It is not much good saying the previous day, "It will be good to burn in the morning," If it is hot and dry the next day, the burn should not take place, I hope that common sense wiU prevaU. I am not suggesting that the people to whom I have referred set out to do any mischief. They just made a bad decision, I return to the Forestry Department and the plantings that it makes in its plantations each year, I was pleased to note that hoop pine is being planted but not in the same quantity as some other species. I note that 676 ha of hoop pine are to be planted, and that is a considerable area. Of all the pines in Queensland, hoop pine is probably the best. Many houses in my area that were built almost exclusively of hoop pine are still standing after almost 100 years. It is an exceUent timber, and we should be doing all we can to bring some hoop-pine plantations into production. Although hoop pine is not presently being planted in my electorate, some of the best, if not the best, hoop pine in Queensland is grown on the ranges in my area, I would like to. see the Forestry Department use some of the plantations in my electorate to propagate hoop pine. It is not only an attractive timber to look at but also an easy timber to work with, and we wiU have to have some of it in the years to come, I am disappointed that the timber industry in this country is beset with problems caused by the importation of New Zealand timber. I do not beUeve that we can continue to allow New Zealand timber to be imported into this country in the quantities that have been coming here in the past. I turn now to the Stock Routes and Rural Lands Protection Board, One of the aims of the board is to overcome the rabbit problem. It might be aU right for the board to do that, but I would sound a note of warning. People in my area have been quite satisfied with the operations of the DarUng Downs and Moreton Rabbit Board. We should be careful about intruding into an area that has been covered by that board. It has been able to control the rabbits at a reasonable cost. It has kept a tight rein on its budgeting. It would be a pity if the budgeting was not tightly controlled and people were asked to pay increased fees for rabbit control. It is all very weU to set up a single pest authority and say that it wUl contrd all pests and in that way save money. It wiU save money only if proper management is there; and the proper management will be there only if some pressure is exerted on the l3oard to save money. The board has to spend the money wisely. One of the most important matters is research, I am not suggesting that research that comes up with a negative answer is bad; but if research cannot find ways in which to destroy pests, there is not much use wasting money on it. I congratulate the Minister on his Estimates and his introductory speech. He has left the way open for many of us to comment on the areas in which we are interested. I also congratulate him for his efforts during the year, Mr EATON (Mourilyan) (7,20 p,m,): Like the member for Bundaberg, I was rather impressed by the Minister's opening remarks. The Minister referred to the crux of his portfolio when he said— "The greater the increase in population, the more intense is the pressure to obtain land for rural pursuits, residential, business, sportmg and other activities." I represent a strictly rural electorate. The only primary industries not carried on in my electorate are wheat and wool production, I know that other honourable members have the same problem as I do from time to time in obtaining deeds and titles for the various forms of land tenure. Often we have cause to write or make personal calls to the Lands Department, The Government has not kept abreast of the times. We are Supply (Estimates) 18 November 1982 2505 continually told how Queensland's population is mcreasing at the rate of thousands a month, I have had to visit the Lands Department on numerous occasions, and I cannot speak too highly of its officers. If honourable members were to read other speeches of mine as reported in "Hansard", they would see that I have mentioned that, if there is to be an increase in any Government department staff, it should be in the Lands Department, We receive numerous complaints—and I know that this appUes to other members from North Queensland—from people who cannot obtain titles, deeds and so on. One person who approached the shire councU after recent revaluations complained that he had paid three lots of rates but stiU had not received title to his land, I sympathise with those employed in the Lands Department, The Minister must take steps to avoid such long delays. He quoted figures on subdivisions and new titles to be issued. However, it must be recognised that it is a problem that has to be overcome. People in Queensland are becoming land hungry. The reasons are many and varied. They can see AustraUa, and Queensland in particular, being sold out to overseas interests. Those who have battled aU their Uves—I know that the Minister has been involved in the land himself for many years and I am sure he is aware of the problems that exist— have an incentive to obtain their own land. However, the Minister's hands are probably tied by the Government's land poUcy. Before proceeding further, I take to task two Government members who have spoken in this debate—the member for Mt Isa and the member for Isis—^who tried to justify the Government's stand not to have a land register. The member for Mt Isa read his speecti as quickly as he could and then left the Chamber, He went for his life because he didn't want to cop any flak, I would Uke to know who wrote the speech for him, Mr Burns: A bloke named Sebastiao Maia, a BraziUan nulUonaire who owns most of the land in the north-west of the Mt Isa electorate. Mr EATON: I don't know whether he did or not. In my opinion, the member for Mt Isa read that speech although it was against his own belief, I repeat that he could not get out of the Chaniber quickly enough. When the gong went to indicate that his time had expired, he hardly waited to pick his papers up. The member for Isis tried to justify the Government's decision, Mr Bums: He can't get out. Mr EATON: No. He has a job to do. He is held here as Temporary Chairman, All humour aside, I disagree with the aspersions he cast on the Opposition's policy of registration of land tenure. If he found himself in business on the land—if he had a cane farm—^he would want to know how many tonnes went to the sugar mill. If he was dealing in cattle or sheep, he would want to know how many hundreds of thousands went to the meatworks, Mr Burns: He used to count the kids in the class-room at school, Mr EATON: I'U bet he did. Anyone in business has to keep a check on his stock. Despite all the jokes made about it, we as parUamentarians are the custodians of the land of Queensland, We are custodians on behalf the people who elected us. We must not forget that, but many politicians do. Some think that when they come into this Assembly they do not have to answer to the people, I travel quite extensively both in my electorate and outside it. Some people bring their problems to me and even mention that, because my electorate is surrounded by electorates held by Government members, they have approached Government members. What they sometimes say is they are a bit crooked on the fact that Parliament conducted an all-night sitting to give Iwasaki some land, and they want only a few acres but the Government wiU not entertain the idea at all. Some of those people have four children who they hope one day wiU settle on the land, or at least have the opportunity to get on the land. The Government constantly states how many thousands of people are migrating to Queensland, That was mentioned today by the Minister in the presentation of his Estimates, The Government must ensure that it does not kill the incentive not only of the young people of the State but also of more senior people. Although the Rural Reconstruction Board and the Young Farmer EstabUshment Scheme help in some way, there are stUl many 2506 18 November 1982 Supply (Estimates) problems. In some cases a young person cannot qualify for assistance because he does not have sufficient equity. However, his father may have been on a property for many years and somehow the father and the son should be able to work in together so that the son can be kept on the land. Certain conditions could be attached to such a scheme, but that would help the young person enter partnership with his father and keep people on the land. Because so many persons are leaving country areas for the cities, it is a responsible move to try to keep the young people of Queensland on the land. Those who leave for the cities are lost to the rural industries. Primary industries revolve around land, and those industries cannot afford to lose many people, especially in these current times of severe hardship. Most of Australia is now suffering from drought. The wettest town of Australia Innisfail—which is where I live—^is now experiencing a dry period, so I can imagine what is happening in other parts of AustraUa, Everybody in the North wants rain, I did not think I would ever see the day when the people of InnisfaU would be asking for rain. InnisfaU can receive up to 300 inches a year. So I understand the predicament facing landholders engaged in primary industry, whether it be wool, wheat, sheep or agriculture. Perhaps those engaged in agriculture would be the first, and worst, hit. If they lose their crop and miss a season, they have to wait another 12 months before they can start again. It means that they are more than 12 months behind because they have missed that season's crop. When land-use studies are considered, all those matters have to be taken into account so that in the long term the incentive is not destroyed. Incentives need to be created, both for the present and the future, to encourage people to improve their properties or to settle on the land. All country people realise that if they have a piece of land they wUl be able to survive when hard times hit, but those who live in cities have a very grim existence because of the dog-eat-dog attitude that exists there. One only has to waUc around the streets of Brisbane to realise that if a person is run over nobody wiU give him a second look or even puU him off the road. Many people who are now on the land have already gone through depressed times. They can see that the nation is fast approaching the problems that were encountered during the Depression of the 1930s, Government departments are almost broke, I am speaking right across the board, not only of the Lands Department. Because of the world monetary system and the present economic climate in Queensland and the rest of Australia, there is a shortage of money, but there is a sincere desire by those who cannot at the moment afford it to get onto the land. Much land has been abused, instead of used, by rich people. It has been bought and developed as a tax dodge, to bring a bit of glory to the person who has a great deal of money to invest. Some people want the land as a hideaway, or a week-end resort, or a place to breed cattle or horses or to engage in a bit of agriculture. They produce a commodity at well above the normal cost of production, but because their activities on the land are a tax dodge and save them money, they can put the commodity on the market and compete with the person who is dependent upon the production of that commodity for his living. That happens in many rural industries, and I am sure that the Minister and his departmental officers are aware of it, Mr Booth: What's your answer? Mr EATON: A system of penalties should be introduced so that if an absentee landlord buys land as a hobby or an investment, he must pay a special tax on that land. I would rather he did not have it, but we cannot kill incentive. If people have so much money, let them pay a tax that could be paid into a fund to help struggling rural dwellers. Mr Moore interjected. Mr Burns: Don't listen to Mr Moore. He said we ought to grow a lot of cactus out in the West and feed it to cattie in the drought, Mr EATON: That would be the limit of his brain-power in relation to the land or primary industries. It must be remembered that rural industry was the basis of development in Queensland and Australia, There were no rich mineral fields in the early days, when people looking for gold went broke and starved. The member for Balonne was also critical of the fact that blocks are too small. That is because of the progress that has been made over the years. He did not mention that in the '50s, when wool was selling for £1 a pound stations were plenty big enough. Market forces determine whether a block is big enough. Supply (Estimates) 18 November 1982 2507 The State can only be opened up through new development. One of the Government's latest projects was the release of land in the Mareeba/Dimbulah area for rice-growing. It proved more than satisfactory. There was a queue a mile long waiting for the release of those blocks, because there is a market for rice. The tea industry in North Queensland cannot produce even one per cent of the total amount of tea imported into Australia, Those are the areas of land usage that the Government must investigate, I return to the criticism of the honourable member for Balonne that most properties are no longer living areas. They were living areas when they were opened up, and at that time a lot of work had to be done to them. But they were worked by family units, and aU Governments looked after the family unit. As I said, aUhough Queensland and Australia were developed from a rural base, the development was carried out by families who went out into the bush. I agree with the honourable member for Balonne on one thing: I do not want to see a return to the days of people eating kangaroo' and rabbit in order to survive. However, in the early days the famUy unit was catered for, not only, on the land but across the board. When Governments released development plans and policies, they considered the famUy unit. That does not happen today; it is not even considered. These days there seems to be a trend towards quoting statistics. Almost every person is classed as a millionaire. We are living in a false economy, and I have already explained how that has occurred. It has been caused partly by people investing in land as a tax dodge. With the increase in population, the time will come when a system wiU have to be evolved—we might think of it today as harsh—under which a penalty is imposed on anybody who owns land but does not Uve on and work it. The introduction of such a system will have to be considered, because if things keep going as they are at present they wiU aU end up as mUlionaires. In today's "Courier-MaU" a story about Sebastiao Maia stated— "He was the only member of his family to stay on in the ranching business and he now owns 60 000 cattle on ranches in the States of Sao Paulo, Gois and Mato Grosso. He runs an additional 45 000 cattle in Uraguay. His two meatworks in BrazU have an annual kiUing capacity of between 250 000 and 300 000 cattle. He also owns a haulage company in Brazil and has extensive real estate development projects in North America. He first hit the Australian spotlight in 1976 when he took over the lease of the 11000 sq km Lawn HiU Station north of Mt Isa. In the same year he was granted lease title to the 800 sq km Cargoon Station near Charters Towers and five properties in the Julia Creek district with a total aggregate of some 20000 ha." That emphasises my point. If people such as that are to be catered for and the State is to remain competitive, the Government wiU have to step in. If it does not, many more people from overseas will buy land in Queensland. I have nothing against Mr Maia, because he and his family are living on the property. That is fair enough. But a number of people have bought land in (^eensland for investment purposes only and they spend money only as a tax dodge. Mr Burns: Many young Queenslanders want a farm and they cannot get one. Mr EATON: Mr Maia should be penalised by not being allowed such a large area. A limit should be placed on the area that can be aggregated by one person in such circumstances. When a friend asked Mr Maia if he had everything that he had asked God for he replied, "No, I would never ask God for so much," Mr Burns: But Joh mil give him a bit more land. Mr EATON: He will give him a bit more. The incentive for young Queenslanders to have a go should not be lost. The Government wUl be forced to set up a land register. Even its own supporters are complain ing about Queensland being sold to overseas absentee landlords. Some people are able to obtain miner's homestead perpetual leases easily. One man got nine leases in about nine years. He made a fortune getting them cheaply and seUing them off. I have a list of the names and areas concerned. The man whom I mentioned used his brains and took every advantage offering, but I think that in some cases he used more than his brains to obtain so many blocks. The number of blocks should be Umited. 2508 18 November 1982 SupjHy (Estimates) If a person wants to take out a lease, he should be given one; but he should be Umited to one, I am opposed to leases in some areas, A grazier with a grazing lease does not want somebody taking up his good land and leaving him with nothing. The Lands Department is no doubt aware of the shortage of land in Queensland In his speech, the Minister mentioned a shortage of land for schoolgrounds and sporting bodies. The councU in Innisfail held an area of land in trust. It gave it to the school. The Works Department does not have the money to develop it and it cannot hand the area over to the school until it is suitable for use as a playground. The Innisfail district has 48 soccer teams, but the town of Innisfail does not have one junior soccer field. It has to use land in Silkwood, The p, and c, assodation at the East Innisfail State School has to pay for a bus to convey the children one and a half miles to a sports ground. There is a shortage of such land in my electorate and in many other electorates. The Lands Department controls the Agricultural Bank, the Rural Reconstruction Board and the Stock Routes and Rural Lands Protection Board. Far North Queensland has a problem with giant sensitive plant. That problem should be nipped in the bud. The council has inspectors who are trying to control it and the councU is on the baU, The areas of giant sensitive plant in Far North Queensland are very smaU. Most farmers have a fear of this pest and, whenever they get the opportunity, they do their utmost to control U, It needs to be sprayed continually, and that work should be subsidised because there is an opportunity to wipe out the giant sensitive plant whilst it is in its infancy, I have seen the photographs contained in the annual reports, (Time expired,) Mr STEPHAN (Gympie) (7,40 p,m.): I have no doubt that land generally is one of our greatest heritages, I compliment the Minister on the way in which he has presented his Estimates, He was appointed to his present position on 23 December 1980. He accepted that appointement with some trepidation. His portfoUo has not been without its problems. The Minister has handled those problems in a realistic way. I do not suggest that he has reached agreement with everyone with whom he has come in contact. However, he has gone a long way towards overcoming the anomalies. The member for Mourilyan and the member for Mackay painted a great picture of the possibiUties that exist for the leasing of land and how easy it was to acquu-e leasehold land. They referred to the advantages of occupying leasehold land. That is contrary to the views that have been expressed to me in country areas. A person has to pay for the right to occupy land whether it is leasehold land or freehold land. The only time a person can lease land is when he can find a piece of vacant Crown land. I admit that in country areas when roads have been closed or areas have been set aside for roads people have squatted on the land and utilised it. However, the blocks involved are only smaU, They are certainly not handed out wUly-nilly, A person must pay for the right to hold a lease, whether it is a perpetual lease or a normal lease. We should not underestimate the value that is placed on land. The cost of leasing land in many instances is just as high as the cost of purchasing a piece of freehold land. However, the tenure of that land is not as secure. The most important objective of a sound land poUcy is to realise the full productivity potential of the land for the benefit of the nation. There is no doubt that we have not reached the full productivity potential of our land. Many markets for our produce have not yet been tapped. The population that Australia could support cannot be estimated at present. Production is restricted by costs and the limited number of people who are prepared to work the land. The land-owner and his family should enjoy a level of economic security and pros perity that is at least comparable to that enjoyed by other sections of the community, I have heard it said many times that because a land-owner has 50 or 100 acres of land, he is a millionaire. The land is not worth anything untU it is sold for cold, hard cash. In many instances a land-owner must borrow money and pay high interest charges to purchase the property. He puts a great deal of work into his production. Compared with what others earn in a 40-hour week, a 35-hour week, a 5-day week or a 9-day fortnight, the farmer certainly does not receive a reasonable return for his labour. That is one of the reasons why many sons of farmers are not remaining on the family farm, I stUl see the famUy farm as being the most economic production unit that we have. Quite often, large companies endeavour to compete with the famUy unit. That has been noticeable, for example, in the vegetable industry. Some processors attempted to produce Supply (Estimates) 18 November 1982 2509 vegetables on what were termed large production units. They employed labour. However, they found that they could not compete whh the faniily units, which were able to produce vegetables at a lower cost. It was found that the processors gave the contracts back to the family units. Of course, some farmers do not receive the returns to which they are entitled, so they find it difficult to retain workers. They are not always able to pay wages similar to those paid by the mining companies and urban interests. This does not occur a great deal in my area, but it does happen further north. The vegetable industry is confronted at times with a great shortage of workers for harvesting. The workers find they can obtain higher wages on the mining fields, I suppose they cannot be blamed for going to the mines. Unless the farmers are able to obtain a higher return for their outlay and hard work, they will find it difficult to encourage workers to harvest their produce. The whole matter comes back to the viabiUty of primary products. Do not let anyone think that because a farmer in a coastal area has 100 acres and a farmer further inland has 1000 acres they are millionaires. That is not so. They face many problems in keeping their areas viable, I StiU maintain that Queensland rides on the back of the land-owner. Although it relies a great deal on mineral exports, and but for mineral exports the State would be in financial trouble, it looks to the primary producer to keep it out of trouble. The land owner should not be ridiculed. The Mjinister mentioned the biological control of noxious weeds. The herbicides that have been used have proved to be quite satisfactory. However, some herbicides, particularly 2,4,5-T, are abused and their use causes concern, I am interested to note that an increase has occurred in both the scope of individual biological control projects and the number of projects that are being undertaken. Further expansion in biological control of noxious weeds is expected to flow from research that is being conducted at a field station set up in the early part of this year at Texas in the United States of America, Initial studies are being undertaken in the control of Queensland pests, such as groundsel, noogoora burr and lantana. Some success is being achieved, but it is only "some" success. Possibly more success has been obtained against lantana. In some areas, land-owners are able to say that it no longer constitutes a problem. Groundsel, on the other hand, certainly poses a problem. If a close watch is not kept on it, it will get out of hand. The honourable member for Isis referred to Crown land development areas. It is contemplated that in the Rainbow Beach/Tin Can Bay area another 48 residential blocks will be released in 1982-83. However, I doubt whether too many of those blocks will be sold. In the past, low interest rates and lengthy repayment periods were offered, and many people took advantage of them. I believe that it has gone from one extreme to the other. At present, not many buyers are able to offer cash on the faU of the hammer. If a block of land is not sold at an auction, it may be sold on terms three months later. Perhaps it would be more reaUstic to allow terms when the land is first offered at auction. About half of the 83 allotments at Rainbow Beach that were offered at the last auction remained unsold, and I doubt whether many blocks will be sold at the next sale. I am not sure whether any blocks at Tin Can Bay were sold at the last sale there. I urge the Minister to look more favourably at the question and to bear in mind the difficulty that many buyers face in paying cash for blocks of land. Although Rainbow Beach is a tourist area, developers are not the only people buying land there. A number of young people who genuinely want to establish their home in that area are findingi t difficult to do so. I note that $2,559,000 is being made avaUable for extending and enlarging existing schoolgrounds. Submissions have been made for the provision of land for a high school in the Tin Can Bay/Rainbow Beach area to cater for the expected increase in population in that area. It is a beautiful area. Before very long land wUl be required on which to build a high school so that the children will be able to get their education a little closer to home. I commend the Minister for the work that he is doing in that regard, I cannot allow the opportunity to pass without commenting on the Tuan/Toolara forestry area. The Minister referred to the management of the State forests, the protection of the forest crop, the harvesting of the timber and the establishment, care and replacement of trees. That is certainly being done in the Tuan/Toolara area. 2510 18 November 1982 Supply (Estimates) When I was at school I can remember the school forestry plots. They instilled in the minds of children the importance of for^try and the different ways in which forest products could be utUised. Forestry recreation areas are a big succe» story. They certainly are appreciated by the many tourists who use them, I note that 700 000 people have used the forestry drives and visited the forests where picnicking and week-end camping is catered for. There has been a 200 per cent increase in usage in the last three years. People Uke to be able to get away from the rush and bustle of ordinary living, ITiey appreciate the fact that those areas are kept scrupulously clean and that wood is provided at the fireplaces. The member of persons using them proves that. Some other honourable members have mentioned that we are seeking an integrated timber-use industry in the Gympie/Maryborough area. This is not a new plea. Long before I became member for the area, the people were calling for the establishment of a pulp mill in that area. However, that industry is not particularly profitable at the moment. It is certainly not riding on the crest of a wave. A couple of mills in the southern part of AustraUa are in financial trouble because of the lack of markets. We wonder what else we can do with the timber that is available in the area now if a pulp mill is not established. I wUl give some figures relating to the production and consumption of paper in Australia. We produce 2l40(X) tonnes of newsprint and 216 0(X) tonnes of printing and writing papers, but Australian consumption is in the order of 490 000 tonnes of newsprint and 441 000 tonnes of printing and writing papers. However, the position has changed dramatically with newsprint since the commissioning of the new ANM Limited mill at Albury, which provides an additional capacity of some 400 000 tonnes of newsprint per annum at full production. That creates a large problem for us and certainly does not help our case for a pulp mill in the Gympie/Maryborough area. We do want a miU to use the thinnings and the off-cuts that are presently wasted. I compUment the department on its participation in overseas projects. Nepal and Fiji come to mind. Dr Don GUmore, who comes from the Gympie area, has recently gone to Nepal as an adviser. It is a great credit to him. However, it will also be a great challenge to be appointed to an area with such vastly different Uving standards and industry require ments. The greatest need for timber in that part of the world is for heating, which is a far different reason from that for which timber is produced in this country. Consequently, timber is being used over there at a much faster rate than it is being produced. Any assistance we are able to give to overcome that problem will be greatly appreciated by that country, I compUment the Minister for the job he has done and thank him for the assistance he and his staff, particularly those in country areas, have afforded us. Many members have said that they do not have a Lands Department office in their electorate. That would be a disadvantage, I and my office receive tremendous assistance from Ken Stark in Gympie. Perhaps not every electorate would have a Lands Department staff member as realistic as Ken Stark. He is an enormous help to me, and the assistance rendered by him and his staff is greatly appreciated. The ministerial and departmental staffs in Brisbane are also extremely helpful. On many occasions we have consultations and correspondence, I worry the Minister from time to time, but I am grateful for the answers that I receive from him. Mr BURNS (Lytton) (8 p.m.): I make a plea for the conservation of rain forests, which are rare, diverse, complex, beautiful and rich in value. They are the land-based ecosystem that paraUels the Great Barrier Reef in value. Tropical rain forests cover only 6 per cent of the earth's surface yet contain at least 50 per cent of aU animal and plant species. They are our richest banks of genetic diversity and the key areas of future evolution. Mass deforestation of earth's vegetation cover poses a spectre of major changes in climate through alterations of the earth's C02 balance. Through sheer self-interest, if nothing else, the community should feel compelled to respond to this crisis. There is very littie of this world left as yet undisturbed by humans, and much of the rain forest area is stUl only partially described or understood. People have destroyed and are continuing to destroy in ignorance, A major weakness is general lack of detailed infor mation. This in fact, is the tragedy of the rain forest issue. The vast majority of plante and animals in rain forests are, by inference, unknown and undescribed. Our ignorance of the complex ecological interrelationship between plants and animals and biological processes Supply (Estimates) 18 November 1982 2511 in rain forests is even greater. Funding of research is low—probably no greater than $30m throughout the world—yet Governments have undertaken to modify large and significant areas of primary rain forest without any real understanding of the functioning of the undisturbed ecological systems. It is the paucity of detailed information currently available that both permits the misconception that rain forests are adequately conserved already and precludes further reservations. After the New South Wales Government had acted on the issue of rain forests, the Queensland Premier said that the decision was not such a great one, that New South Wales does not have a very great area of rain forests and that Queensland has protected more than one miUion hectares of rain forest, which is 20 times the area covered by the New South Wales decision, I would like to be informed about those areas. Perhaps the Minister's advisers could give me a Ust of the areas that the Premier said the Queensland Goverament has protected, I am speaking about their being fully and adequately protected, Mr Scott: The Government thinks that any sort of logging is stUl a protective arrange ment. Mr BURNS: That seems to be the Government's attitude. It seems to many people that up in North Queensland there is a vast steamy area of jungle which is of almost unlimited area. It is only when a person gets to North Queensland that he finds that that is anything but the case, OriginaUy, rain forest in Australia constituted about one per cent of the total land area; today, it is a quarter of that. Much of what is left is already under threat, is endangered and has been interfered with. The remaining rain forests are not situated in one large area. As honourable members know, rain forests exist in patches, and each smaU area is a refuge for a unique collection of plant and animal species. The smaUer the size of the patch, the more vulnerable is its living community to any form of disturbance. Tropical rain forests usually are buUt up by a great number of different tree species forming varying mixtures. The seeds of nearly all of these trees are heavy and cannot be transported rapidly over great distances. When many species are involved, their arranging in a mixture ratio due to competition needs a long time, and at least several generations of trees. Therefore, it certainly takes much more than 5()0 years—^and probably more than 1000 years—for their complete regeneration, I have visited areas of so-called regeneration and seen trees of a certain size. But if one peruses history books and visits the State Library, one can see photographs of trees four times the size of those that now exist in the so-called regenerated areas. The trees have not regrown to the same size, and I do not beUeve that regeneration can take place in 50 years, 100 years or the length of time that has been mentioned to me by so-caUed Queensland experts. In Queensland, the total area of rain forests is relatively small, and the species Uving there are numerous. Moreover, most of those species are unique in the world because of the long isolation of the Australian continent. Thus, destroying or even reducing the Queensland rain forest largely means killing an ecosystem unique in the world. The Australian Heritage Commission has clearly recognised the value of rain forests and the urgent need for their conservation. The following is quoted from the commission's publication "The National Estate in 1981"— "In a continent already restricted in forest resources, the rainforest areas are the most valuable, most restricted and most threatened. Rainforests have an incomparable richness of flora and fauna and are important reserves of genetic diversity. The pharmaceutical potential of our tropical rainforests is very great. The rainforests of North-eastern Australia and the nearby Pacific Islands contain the world's largest assemblage of primitive plant families. UnUke some other forest types, the rainforests are irreplaceable once destroyed. So important and fragile are they, that there is a strong case for including all remaining intact rainforests in Australia m the Registrar of the National Estate,,, .,,above all because of the richness, importance, and scarcity of the resource, a definitive survey of rainforests in Australia is a vital task. Only by carrying out such a survey will it be possible to determine precisely how much rainforest is left and what is its quality and nature," 2512 18 November 1982 Supjrfy (Estimates) I believe that sufficient funds should be allocated to set such a survey in train. I ask the Minister and his advisers: How much money has been spent on that type of survey this year? Almost 18 million cubic metres of natural hoop and Bunya pine timbers have been felled in Queensland in just under a century. What remains wUl barely last out this decade. Though once a major feature of the South-east Queensland landscape, very few unlogged stands of these hoop and Bunya pine forests can be found today. Natural regeneration has not been successful after logging. These forest types have clearly been changed. It is difficult to justify the continued logging of the smaU remnant stands of natural hoop pine for a small and declining supplement to plantation supplies, A second point I would like to make refers to these hoop pine plantations. The establishment of these plantations has involved the clearing of almost 40 000 ha of rain forest or related forest, the ecological complexity of which cannot be matched by the plantation forest. Today, when there is growing pubUc concern for our rain forests and an awareness of their values, the Government is continuing with this program, clear- felling rain forest to plant hoop pine. Surely it would be appropriate to bring this program to an end now, especially considering that it is already about 90 per cent complete. To summarise my two points: should not the Government, firstly, stop extracting the last remnants of hoop pine from our rain forests and, secondly, stop clear-felling rain forests for further hoop pine plantations? I suggest that the Government should immediately pursue the intensive development of plantations on already cleared land to provide future timber supplies and immediate employment alternatives. Let us have a look at sustained yields and alternatives to them. The North Queensland rain forest has been decUning for a considerable period. Within the last few years, the aUowable cut from Crown forests has gone from 200 000 cubic metres to 160 000 cubic metres to approximately 140 000 cubic metres, and it is likely to go to 80000 cubic metres by the year 1987, The Forestry Department wiU claim that this is all to plan, that a sustained yield of 80 OCX) cubic metres wU be achieved from 1987 on. Others are less optimistic. Where are the examples of a rain forest industry achieving sustained yield? In New South Wales it was never perceived (even before the Wran Government's decision to conserve the major area of rain forests) that the industry would be able to go on past the mid-1990s, except for the occasional extraction. In southern Queensland, where once there was a large rain forest industry, the industry has not achieved sustained yield. Claims are made by the department that the level of research now facUitates better management. But in relation to logged stands in North (^eensland on page 25 of Department of Forestry Queensland Research Reports, 1979 it was stated— "The data base for this information is fairly smaU and plots were chosen subjectively. Renewed effort is being directed towards obtaining completely objective stand and increment data from areas used in studies of logging damage," I ask: In two or three years has the department been able to assemble the necessary information to come up with a certain picture about the growth increments in nature's most complex terrestrial ecosystem? Certainly, for members of ParUament and the public to be convinced, there needs to be more detail provided than that in the September 1981 Position Paper prepared by the Queensland Forestry Department. The onus of proof is squarely with the Minister and his Forestry Department to give a detailed account of the method for calculating the sustained yield of our northern rain forests, and the data base. However, we need to cut through the technical debates of sustained yield and address the real question in hand: What are the "ways and means" avaUable to preserve the State's remaining rain forests and ensure ongoing employment? It has been shown in New South Wales that once the detaUed work is done, veiy considerable gains can be made for the preservation of rain forests. I commend the style of the FORTECH study commissioned by the New South Wales Government on the Washpool wilderness area. That study dealt with possible alternatives to the logging of Washpool. Supply (Estimates) 18 November 1982 2513 The present response of the Government to requests to study ways and means of preserving rain forests is summed up in a reply by the Minister to a question from the former shadow Minister for Lands and Forestry, (Mr Kruger) on 18 February 1982, in which he said— "It is considered that a public inquiry into the use of and management of rain forests and of alternative sources of supply is completely unnecessary." I ask the Minister and his officers: (a) When wiU the Government look at ways and means of preserving the State's remaining rain forests and (b) Has the Government done any assessment of the relative costs of exploiting the rain forest, which seriously degrades it, and of preserving it? Many questions need to be answered on the Government's pine plantation program. The Senate Standing Committee on Trade and Commerce stated that Australia is overplanting pines. It points out that about 30 000 ha of pine is being planted in Australia per year, rather than the required 20 700, David Dumaresq of the Australian National University points out that, contrary to predictions, per capita consumption of timber has fallen, and gross consumption has not risen to the extent expected in the early '70s, There is a very clear possibility, extrapolating from the national scene, that Queensland is overplanting for domestic needs. What now is the rationale for the Queensland plantation program? Is Queensland overplanting with regard to State needs? I>o we have the opportunity of allocating to other pn^rams funds now going to pine plantations? Is Queensland growing pines efficiently, compared with other States? Would we be better off using the funds for something else? Many questions need to be answered. The Queensland Government has not answered the requests for detaUs of the losses that the Forestry Department is sustaining on native forest operations. The sort of response we have had from the Government appeared in "The Courier-Mail" of 26 June 1982, which reported the Minister as saying— "We are not trying to hide anything, but we are not going to open the books," That is not satisfactory. What is needed is commercial accounting. That was clearly pointed out in the Senate Standing Committee's report on Australian forestry last year. The public has a right to know. The public may wish to have its money expended on more environmentally sensitive projects, welfare projects or something else. We are entitled to have some justUication of the expenditure. The department has indicated that a loss is sustained in some areas, Mr Smart, the Conservator of Forests, revealed in "The Courier- Mail" of 28 June 1982 that some rain forest operations did not cover all costs. The extent of the loss is unknown, I want the Minister to tell me the extent of the loss in each area. When vnll the Minister produce commercial accounts for his Department of Forestry? WiU his advisers provide that information tonight? The figures of the Australian Bureau of Statistics show a 23 per cent decUne in emptoyment in the Australian timber industry in the 10-year period to 1979 despite a 17 per cent increase in log output during the same period. Technological innovations in the field were the major contributing factor for the decline in employment. No persons should lose employment or be otherwise seriously disadvantaged as a result of the changes wmch are seen to be necessary in the management of Queensland's rain forests. That should be completely possible if the introduction of aUernative employment and timber supirfies are programmed to coincide with the closure of any particular logging operation. We do not want something done overnight; we want a planned program. Alternative employment opportunities could be provided by plantation programs ami soil conservation works. The rain forest timber industry is decUning, In 20 years' time Queensland rain forest umber will represent about 3 per cent of timber production in Queensland, In the long term reforestation programs could provide many of the highly valuable timbers now extracted th°K A\ '^^^ ^o^^si- The Government could encourage the re-equipping of timber mills 0 handle timbers other than rain forest timbers; undertake reforestation on cleared lands 0 provide alternative timber supplies, and assist in the transportation of alternative timbers to timber mUls, 2514 18 November 1982 Supj^ (Estimates) Given the current climate of growing public reaction against rain forest logging and given that many of the highly valued cabinet timbers such as white beech, red cedar, black bean and Queensland walnut are becoming very scarce, a rational approach to the problem would be to investigate the growing of those timbers in mixed plantations or artificial rain forests. Experimental work in North Queensland has indicated that this approach is feasible. I ask the Minister: Have any funds been aUocated for research in this area? I wUl now talk about a couple of the reserves and other matters controlled by the Lands Department. I shall deal firstly with the Edmund Kennedy reserve. Some 320 ha of rain forest land (mesophyU vine forest) at Kennedy Bay, north-east of TuUy in North Queensland has recently been included in the interim register of the National Estate. Explorer Edmund Kennedy landed at the bay on 24 May 1848 with 12 other men of his party at the start of his fateful six-month overland trek to Cape York. The land is zoned as a water, recreation and camping reserve (R229), and held in trust by the CardweU Shire Council on behalf of the Land Administration Commission. It has been under official consideration as a national park for the past 10 years but is presently being considered by the council and the Government for a major $138m tourist development by the Sydney financial consultants, Butler Pollnow Pty Ltd, The area needs to be included in the Hull River Naticmal Park which would allow a diversity of habitats from Mt Mackay to the mouth of the Hull River to be conserved. This is a rare opportunity to preserve a coastal river system with much of its vegetation, including rain forests, mangroves and melaleuca swamps stiU intact. That land developer is trying to take the cheap way out by alienating public land. There are large areas of privately owned freehold land nearby that he could purchase and develop if he wanted to develop a resort larger than the Iwasaki resort that he is talking about. We should not allow him to take this valuable piece of public land when he could buy the land that he wants on the private market. It wUl be a scandal if he is allowed to do that. The Opposition will oppose it all the way, I am pleased that the Queensland Forestry Department has been able to acquire some 10 345 ha of cleared pastoral land north of Gympie, as a satisfactory alternative to some of the proposals in the area. This represents a very significant step forward in the preservation of the entire Noosa River catchment. However, the position with respect to the preservation of Cooloola's rain forests is not greatly improved. The rain forests at Cooloola (about 2 550 ha) are mainly present in moist north-west/ south-west oriented depressions between the dunes. They are remarkable in that they occur on soils of especially low fertility. Less than one-third (800 ha) of this unique and biologically significant rain forest is included in the Cooloola National Park. The majority of the rain forests occur in the central forestry area. There is a strong case for inclusion of the whole central forestry area in the national park. Probably the greatest threat facing rain forests today is development of the Cape York Peninsula region. This has been described by many eminent scientists as one of the most important biogeographic areas in Australia, Biologically it represents the richest and least disturbed of the few large wilderness areas left in Australia, There is as yet no established road access across the Daintree River, In view of the wilderness potential, the criticaUy depleted status of tropical lowland rain forest and the biological and scientific importance of the region in its natural state, the intentions of the Government with respect to the future of this area should be made public, before it takes any action. Has pubUc money been committed to any projects north of the Daintree River? I wish to raise two other matters. The first matter concerns the proposed Lawn Hill National Park. It is time that some facts were presented about that national park. Sebastiao Maia, the BrazUian milUonaire, and officers of Government departments examined the area. It has no mineral or grazing significance, but it has ranges and gorges that Would provide a beautiful national park. It has great tourist potential value for North-west Queensland. Reference was made to 200 000 ha and then to 80 000 ha. Today, "The Courier-Mail" reported that the Premier was seen "reclining in a blanket supported by several of the picnic goers" during a picnic at Lawn Hill Gorge. We are now told that 2 000 ha will be set aside, which includes one gorge. Why must v^e go cap in hand to a foreign millionaire to find out whether we can have some national parkland for ourselves so that people can visit a gorge in their own country? That is not good enough. Supply (Estimates) 18 November 1982 2515 p & 0 has no great record for looking after Heron Island, It should not be given control of half of the 4,9 ha on WUson Island, That company says that only half the island is involved and that it wiU not disturb the birds, I wonder which bird the company is going to teach to read so that when the sign "This is P & O's side; tourists only" is erected, the bird will know on which side it is supposed to be when it is nesting, Wilson Island should have been protected for the roseate tern colony. It has been handed over to P & 0. I am told that the company shifted its share register to the Northern Territory to escape stamp duty in Queensland, P & O's record in the port of Brisbane and on Heron Island leaves a lot to be desired. It is time that the Government started to stand up for the people of Queensland, We should never have to go cap in hand to P & O, to Maia or to Iwasaki to ask for the right to use the parkland in our own country. It is time that the people of Queensland began to say that they want a register of land and they want the Aliens Act re-enacted, thereby ensuring that anyone who wants to buy land in this State has to come here to live, (Time expired,) Mr HARTWIG (CalUde) (8.20 p.m.): I have pleasure in joining in the debate on the Lands and Forestry Estimates. At the outset, I acknowledge the many courtesies that are extended to me by Mr Wally Baker and other members of the Land Administration Commission, It is always good for members to be able to obtain assistance from officers in the Minister's departments, because I can assure him that in the far-away places the people face tremendous problems. At the present time, those problems are aggravated by one of the worst droughts in the history of this State and nation. The Lands Department and all other Govermnent departments should cut the red tape and get on with the job of making finance avaUable to the great many people who work on the land. Last week, one land-owner in my electorate lost 300 head of cattle. Many landholders find themselves in a simUar situation. The drought is getting worse day by day, and we as a Government should do everything we can to assist the people on the land, Mr Hooper: Not "we as a Government"; you are an Independent, Mr HARTWIG: The honourable member is in the Government, too, Mr Hooper: No, I'm not, Mr HARTWIG: He must have been expelled recently, Mr Hooper: No, not yet. The TEMPORARY CHAIRMAN (Mr Akers): Order! Mr HARTWIG: I am adamant that the land and its productivity are aU important to this State and nation. It is true to say that most things come from the soiL Mr Hooper: Take a bit of advice from me. If you want to run as an Independent, do so. Don't try to have a dollar each way, Mr HARTWIG: WiU you go and drown yourself? The TEMPORARY CHAIRMAN: Order! Mr HARTWIG: Over the years, much has been done to give security of tenure. In my younger days, security of tenure under the Foley administration was an extension of 14 years of grazing homestead lease. That was the type of security that young people on the land had to expect in those days. Fortunately, over the years the situation was rectified. Generally speaking, landholders can now apply to have their land converted to freehold, thereby obtaining security of tenure. Anyone who wants to ascertain the difference between leasehold and freehold should offer a freehold block for sale and a leasehold block for sale. He would soon see the different values of the properties, • tJ^* *''^"* °^ secunty of tenure has been the great breakthrough in land administration in this State, I can assure honourable members that young people find it very frustrating not to have security of tenure. Banks wiU lend money only against security of tenure. 2516 18 November 1982 Supply (Estimates) In Central Queensland, what is commonly known as the brigalow belt was developed. Its development allowed many people to acquire properties, build homes and establish themselves in opening up the region. Under the plan, beef roads were buih to provide an efficient communication systemi for the people who were developing that land. I am afraid that, apart from the road system, other services are not provided. Today many people do not have a telephone and they have to depend on their own generators for electricity. Those are some of the bugbears of people who are trying to make a living on the land and rear and educate their children in that environment. My daughter and son-in-law live north of Dingo in the electorate of the Minister for Water Resources and Aboriginal and Island Affairs (Mr Tomkins), She drives her son 68 mUes to school each day. If that was happening in Brisbane, there would be hell to play on television programs such as "Today Tonight" and "Nationwide", If the Government wants to encourage young people to go to those areas, it is not good enough merely to give them a block of land. They must be provided with telephones, elec tricity and school buses; those services that go hand in hand, Mr Hooper: With the utmost respect, the population must have some bearing on it. You cannot provide aU those amenities for a handful of people. Let us be realistic. You are a businessman and a former shire chairman, Mr HARTWIG: There wiU not be a handful there; there will be nobody there. That is the point I am making. Over the last decade, because of lack of services, the population in the rural areas has decreased rapidly. People receive one mail service a week, instead of two or three, and they have to pay $10,000 or $20,000 to the electricity supply industry to get power. ITiose are the sorts of things that are making people leave the country areas and go to the cities. The honourable member refers to a "handful of people" Unless some thing is done about those matters, that handful of people will not be there, I do not have to tell the Minister that because he is aware of what isolation means to country people. Many people said that the great Peak Downs project was a waste of time and money. At the time, it received a great deal of criticism. If nothing else, it demonstrated that crops can be grown in the Central Highlands area. Today, that area of Queensland is rich in production and contributes much to the economic growth of the State. I now wish to talk about land usage, which is something to which the Government should pay more attention. There is an abuse of land by overstocking, by denuding the land of timber and by excessively ploughing land that is subject to erosion. Those sorts of things are doing much to destroy the good farm land. Recently, I was in America, If anyone wants to see what agricultural development really means, he should look at the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers, They are rivers of mud. The Ohio River, which flows through Louisville, is also a river of mud. The overuse or bad use of land is contributing to that situation. When I visited Africa, I went to see the great Zambesi River, which flows between Zimbabwe and Zambia, and it was as clear as tank water. There is virtually no agriculture near that river. Development and population are associated with erosion problems. Mr Scott: You have travelled just as widely as Mr Fraser. Mr HARTWIG: Yes, but he travels a bit more often than I do. That is an instance of what development through cultivation of the land means. Ten or 20 years ago the Redland Bay area was regarded as being the salad bowl of Brisbane. However, because on many occasions the vegetable growers received poor returns at the markets, they could see a quick dollar when subdividers offered them high prices for their land for subdivision. What is happening today in the land usage in that area should not be allowed, I assure the Government that nothing wUl bring this nation to its knees more quickly. Recently I highlighted the enormous amount of food this nation is now importing. Meat, vegetables, canned pineapples and fish are being imported into this country, rich in agricultural soU, Houses can be built on mountains, but cabbages cannot be grown on them. Look at what is happening in the rich Brisbane River Valley with the constraction of the Wivenhoe Dam, It wiU be a marvellous project; it wiU generate power and provide water for the lawns of Brisbane, But what of the area U is covering? That rich Brisbane Supply (Estimates) 18 November 1982 2517 River country with which the Minister is famUiar is being inundated, never again to be used for the production of cattle or crops. If we let our engineers loose on projects of that type, they will design dams where they can build them at the lowest cost per acrefoot. Mr Scott: That's the art of the profession. Mr HARTWIG: I say that the art of the profession should be to ensure that the water is impounded where it wiU retum the greatest financial gain through increased productivity. We need to produce. Mr Scott: Don't try to shift the Tinaroo Dam or there'll be real trouble in North Queensland. Mr HARTWIG: Admittedly, more water conservation is needed; but let us be realistic and put water storages in the right places. Mr Burns: Where would you have put the Wivenhoe Dam? Mr HARTWIG: I would have put it higher up, like the Stanley River Dam. There are plenty of other sites where water would not have covered the good, arable land in the Brisbane Valley. That country is too good to be inundated. The next matter I refer to is the Livingstone Shire Council's not allowing subdividers to sell blocks of less than 10 ha in area. Mr Hooper: What's that in acres? Mr HARTWIG: 25 acres. It is untidy development. Who the hell can look after 25 acres? Half of those blocks become a fire hazard. The Minister for the Environment, Valuation and Administrative Services (Mr Hewitt) then says that we have a fire emergency on our hands. There is no way in the world that power and sewerage can be reticulated to such sparsely settled areas. The New Zealand Government was allowing the same sort of development, except that the areas were a minimum of 100 acres. It has now realised its mistake and is allowing blocks of a maximum area of 2 acres—and rightly so. For those people who want to run a pony or a cow, that is ample. It leads to tidy development. Water, sewerage and electricity can be reticulated in those circumstances. The whole development can be kept neat and tidy. But I say in all sincerity that an area of 25 or 50 acres is neither your backside nor your elbow. It is sheer madness and a waste of good country to cut it up into such small blocks. Nobody can live off 25 acres any better than they can live off five or 10 acres. The Young Farmer Establishment Scheme created by the Government has caused a great deal of heartburn and frustration among young people. If the Government had done something more positive, it would have been a hell of a lot better. Today I received a telephone call from a constituent for whom I have been endeavouring to get some financial assistance. For the lack of $2,000 that person has had his tractor repossessed. I have been told that, even though only five months of the new financial year has past, both the Farm Water Supplies Assistance Fund and the Agricultural Bank are broke. Owners of irrigated properties are crying out for a little additional finance. They have the water; aU they need is the finance to put their lucerne farms into production. At present in Central Queensland a bale of lucerne is as good as a bag of gold. One man rang me this morning to say that he is feeding 3 000 head of cattle, which costs a great deal of money. Mr Burns interjected. Mr HARTWIG: When the flood hit Brisbane, each property owner affected by it had $2,500 put in his palm. However, in the case of a landholdier Mr Burns: The poor old workers are supporting them, Mr HARTWIG: When the flood hit Brisbane, money was put into the palms of those whose properties were damaged. However, landholders cannot get finance. There is too much red tape, bureaucracy and frustration. The departments have offices in Rockhampton, Mackay, Townsville and Longreach, so the Government should do SMnething positive and allow the officers in those places to give primary producers finance, iney have waited for months and months. Before some people receive the assistance they need, the drought wiU be over. 2518 18 November 1982 Supply (Estimates) Land-owners with irrigated farms that can produce lucerne have been inundated with telephone caUs from people in the Far North and West who want fodder. Thousands and thousands of tonnes are required; yet the Farm Water Supplies Assistance Fund, for the sake of a million or two, is broke. The Premier can afford to pay $2.3m for an aerojjane. That money should be put into those assistance funds, ParUament House and the Parlia mentary Annexe have cost $51m; yet a person in my electorate has had his tractor repossessed because the Government will not provide him with $2,000, Mr Scott: There is no justice, Mr HARTWIG: No, there is no justice. Ways and means must be found to get the message across to the respective Ministers. I realise that the Minister for Lands and Forestry is not responsible for the Agricultural Bank, but primary production is geared to the land. The Stock Routes and Rural Lands Protection Board, which was set up by the Government a few years ago, has as its chairman Dave Cory, who is a pretty popular bloke, so good luck to him. However, more rubber vine is growing on the roads and on stock routes in my electorate than on properties. If the Government tells landholders to keep their properties clean, it is fair enough that stock routes and main roads throughoiit Central Queensland also be kept clean, I am truly dismayed by what happened to Wilson Island, P & O had no more right to it than anybody else. If the Government wants to give any island away, it should go to tender as any second-hand school would. The people of Queensland should be able to participate in the acquisition of half of Wilson Island or any other island. (Time expired,) Mr SCOTT (Cook) (8,40 p.m.): This has been a typical debate on the Estimates, with Government member after Government member rising and criticising the Government's poUcies. Anyone reading those speeches later on will realise that the Government is in disarray as far as its policies towards the people of Queensland are concerned. I will not develop that theme any further because it is late in the day, but obviously the Minister has not listened to his National Party members. Time after time they were critical of what the Minister's department is doing in driving people off the land. The speech made by the honourable member for Callide was a good example, in its references to the poUcy of allowing the development of small blocks and that type of thing. All I am saying is that the Minister should take notice of his colleagues as weU as members on this side of the Committee, It was obvious that the best speeches came from members on this side, Mr Lee: Why should we take any notice of the likes of you? Mr SCOTT: The more critical speeches have come from the honourable member's own side of politics. This has been one of the worst debates I have ever heard for attacks on the Government by its own members, I wUl be a Uttle complimentary this evening, although I have to be very careful in doing so because I do not want slices of my speech cut out and pasted in the "Gregory Gazette" under the heading, "Member for Cook praises Minister" I must say that in Cairns recently it was very good to see the result of the Minister's work in improvmg office accommodation for employees of the Land Administration Commission, The Minister made the point to the people of Cairns that it was not possible for public servants to work properly under the conditions which he found in the Cairns office of the Land Administration Commission. As a resuU of the Minister's efforts greatiy improved accom modation has been provided. It must be really great for the employees of the commission to go to work every day knowing the conditions that await them. It must mean that W put greater effort into their work. It is most important work, and U could not possibly have been carried out properly in the circumstances under which the employees were previously required to work. It is now a pleasure to go to the office, lean over the counter to look at the maps and talk to employees about land problems in (Queensland, Mr Lee: It must hurt you to give praise, Mr SCOTT: No, it does not, I wUl praise a good Minister in this Assembly; '| ''J"y that there are so few of them. Occasionally, when I see a glimmer of hope, I will buuo it up. We wiU probably win Gregory at the next election, and then the Minister will oe Supply (Estimates) 18 November 1982 2519 just "that nice old BiU Glasson." He is an accessible Minister, and it is good to be able to deal with a man who knows what he is talking about. He can talk to members on level terms about very serious problems. As I said, there is a very sUght gUmmer of hope. It is good to see, I must also compUment the Minister's staff, as I have done pubUcly in the past. It is one department a member can ring and be told the exact situation. Staff never say that they cannot find a file or that the problem is too hard, I have never had this answer that I get from some other departments, "Oh, yes, the letter has gone. It went about an hour ago," That does not happen with the Land Administration Commission. Later, I wUl be a Uttle critical about delays, but I wUl be offering constructive criticism. I know that the Minister recognises the problem. I am not speaking tonight for the sake of speaking. It is a Uttle late and the Minister has to sum up. We are aU interested in hearing the Minister's comments on the points that have been made. The delay in handUng freeholding applications is worrying people. For example, people taking up auction purchase freehold blocks experience an incredible delay an getting hold of the vital document they call a deed. Because of the description of the title people acquiring such blocks met the development requirements, acted in good faith and buiU houses on them in the belief that they had an asset which they could reaUse. Of course, they cannot. People have trotted along to the bank manager who has told them, "I am sorry, but you stiU have a lease." So they then quite belatedly—^if they had known about it they would have taken steps earlier—^try to convert the area of land to freehold. But it jusf cannot be done quickly with the present staffing arrangements. Once again, I know that it is not entirely under the Minister's control because other ofiices are involved, such as the Department of Mapping and Surveying and the Titles Office. The one transaction involves three different Government departments, so I urge them to pull up their socks and do something because people are concerned about the problem, A senior executive of the brewery told me at a social. evening in Cairns the other evening that he may have to come to me for help in sorting out some deeds over a small block of land in ChUlagoe, The brewery is trying to get rid of land that it acquired some years ago. It is certainly not trying to make a big profit on it. The deeds have not come to light. The executives of the brewery and the legal people are trying to hasten the matter but they are not doing much good. It is essential that more staff be employed so that people can realise on their entitlements. The Government talks about freeholding—for everyone except the Aboriginal people, of course. Because the Government is not putting its money where its mouth is people are only getting half of what they think they should get. I add my criticism of the Young Farmer EstabUshment Scheme. The Government was terribly and cynically poUtical in that matter. It tried to gain a lot of poUtical capital. Oppositiqp members woke up quite early in the piece that the Government would not honour its promises. The Opposition is interested in getting on the land young people of limited means, not the rich sons of affluent graziers. That is all that has happened so far. The Minister knows the detaUs of the scheme and knows that it is not working as it was intended to work. The delays in handling land matters show up strongly in my electorate, which contains two very important satellite areas on Horn Island and Prince of Wales Island. I again compliment the staff in the Cairns office but their number is limited. They are overworked. They have a vast area of responsibUity, They cannot get quickly to the more remote areas of the district. Those officers visit the Torres Strait area once a year. They are in that area at present. I was there last week. I knew that they were going there and would sort out a number of problems that I have drawn to their attention. I know that they wiU handle them well. But what about the person who has a problem next week? Will he have to wait 12 months before an officer can visit the area and make an inspection? For the benefit of people who do not know, I point out that before any change m tenure is made, a report has to be prepared by an officer of the Lands Administration Commission. That is right and proper. The assets of this State should not be handled in a 2520 18 November 1982 Supply (Estimates) frivolous manner and be let go cheaply. It is essential that a report be prepared by expert officers of the commission. To do thatj they go to the Torres Strait area once a year. I have referred to them probably a dozen matters that required attention in that area. I have numerous land problems in all areas of my electorate, but at the moment I am dealing with the Torres Strait area. The members of the staff are unable to visit there often enough. The Minister should relieve that situation if possible, I understand that an inter-departmental committee is looking at the land development situation on Horn Island, Thursday Island has very Umited living areas as weU as a Umited supply of water. The Torres Shire CouncU is applying strong pressure to prevent further development on Thursday Island, It has put a blanket blockage on any building approvals on Thursday Island unless the application is to replace an existing unit and the applicant can guarantee his own water-supply. And there are no moves to have solar-generated water on Thursday Island. The area that people must look to includes Prince of Wales Island and Horn Island. The problem on Horn Island is complicated because the CommonweaUh Government is imposing on the Torres Shire ownership of the airstrip on Horn Island. It is a particularly important airstrip. The Torres Shire is playing hard to get. I do not blame it because it has limited resources and does not want to plough ratepayers' money into the development of the airstrip. The Queensland Government should use its good offices with the Common wealth Government—I do not think that it has too many because it is so critical of that Government—to have the ownership dispute resolved. It should not be allowed to hinder land development on Horn Island. The Government should take the necessary steps to make the land available and to smooth out the problems of access that are caused by the long strip of freehold land, which is owned by the Commonwealth Government, between the airstrip and the wharf. That seems to be one of the main causes of problems in the development of Horn Island. It must be developed as a sattelite area of Thursday Island as quickly as possible. Prince of Wales Island has been the subject of contention for a long time. The question of whether deer should be permitted on Prince of Wales Island and whether they should be exported has caused a great deal of bitterness in the area. That matter does not concern the Minister's portfoUo, but land tenure does. Consideration is being given to restricting the areas that can be used for cattle. It is just not on to raise cattle on Prince of Wales Island, I have spoken to people in the industry, but not the licensee concerned, who have informed me that it is almost an impracticable proposition to raise cattle. The landholder has promised that, eventually, he will provide beef for Thursday Island. In the many years that the island has been used for cattle raising, nothing has been done to provide a better meat supply for Thursday Island. Meat is still carried at great expense by the Mason Shipping Line, Land tenure on Prince of Wales Island should be closely examined. It is a recreational area for the people living in the Torres Strait, The delightful picnic areas that are avaUable on the island should be available to all of them. Access should be provided by way of an esplanade and roads. The interests of the people who live on the island must be looked at very closely, I have sent a letter to the Minister about the tip of Cape York, I understand that it is proposed to provide a gazetted road through the property held by Air Queensland. That company is developing a tourist resort. To the present time, it has not accepted that a road should be constructed to the tip of Cape York. Following the representations I made the Torres Shire has supported me more strongly. I was told that road-making plant is not available on the mainland therefore that company does not want the additional responsi bility of having to maintain a road through to the tip of Cape York, I have said many times in this Chamber that Cape York is a magnetic attraction to the people of Australia- it certainly is to Queenslanders—and that an immense number of tourists have that small area of land as their goal. They should be able to drive legaUy through the lease that is presently held by Air Queensland, We should look closely at what has been given to Air Queensland. Access to the tip of Cape York is most important, I am concerned about "1080" baiting, I understand that a "1080" pig-baiting program wUl be undertaken on Prince of Wales Island, When I spoke to the DPI officer he assured me that it would be done properly and that baits would not be laid within a given distance of residential areas. When I spoke to the people on Thursday Island about the proposal to drop "1080" baits on Prince of Wales Island, I found that they are not happy Supply (Estimates) 18 November 1982 2521 about it. That program should not be undertaken. The benefits to be gained from it wiU not warrant the cost, and wildlife will be lost. It is all very well for the experts to tell us that "1080" is as safe as houses, I have many reservations about it. Perhaps there is some justification for it in the cattle areas, but I believe its use is not justified anywhere in Queensland, and certainly its use is not justified on Prince of Wales Island, I would like to know why that program is being undertaken, A great deal of concern has been expressed about land use needs. Some Government members criticised the Government's activity or lack of activity. Over a lengthy period a land-use study was undertaken in the Rossville/Helenvale area. I have been unable to determine Whether any conclusions were reached. I do not spend my time criticising qangos, but they are subject to criticism particularly by Liberal members in this House who do not come close to understanding the purpose pf these semi-government organisatitms. The Government procrastinates far too often. As the representative of the area, I want to know what is happening in the Rossville/Helenvale area. Turning to forestry—tonight I heard one of the many good speeches that the member for Lytton has made in this Chamber. He excelled himself. He drew many points to the Minister's attention. I am sure that Government members, even Ministers, have not thought about those things'. I do not think they really understand forestry and rain forest management. That is a shame because, as the honourable member for Lytton pointed out, a rain forest is not a renewable resource. Trees of immense age simply cannot be replaced quickly. The people of Queensland do not know if areas of untouched rain forest are left in the State. I should itnagine that only a very small area of untouched rain forest remains. When I was a young boy living in the MUlaa MUlaa area I thought for quite a number of years that rain forests were a renewable resource which could not be damaged easily unless someone took to them with a chain saw, bulldozer or fire. Without doubt a fair bit of that was done in the old days. However, it is now known that it is extremely difficult to replace certain species of timber. When the forest canopy is opened out by the rash harvesting methods of today, untold damage is done. That type of thing is happening at Bamaga, and I will be having a close look at the situation there. A smaU area of very delicate rain forest lies on the DAIA Aboriginal reserve, under the total control of the director. A smaU amount of logging has been going on in the Bamaga area. Logs have been taken to a very expensive sawmill at Bamaga. Years ago I was told that that sawmUl would produce sufficient timber to build houses all over the Torres Strait and northern Peninsula area, and that its output would be complemented by bricks that were to be manufactured on one of the Torres Strait islands. Nothing like that has eventuated. But that is typical of the DAIA, I would like to know whether that rain forest area is under the control of the Minister's officers and whether it is inside or outside the reserve, I should also like to know whether that delicate area of rain forest is at risk and whether any rare species of trees are being harvested for the Bamaga sawmUl, If a worthwhile area of rain forest is being damaged, it would be better to close the sawmill or, alternatively, import logs from New Guinea, ensuring that proper tests are carried out to prevent the introduction of pests and diseases, A valuable area of rain forest should not be put at risk simply to keep the sawmill working. Not that I am not for employment; I am all for it, and that is one of the reasons why I hold off somewhat in talking about logging and harvesting. They are a source of employnient in North Queensland. For many years my father worked as an engine-driver m a sawmiU. I thought I knew what the World was all about in those days. It is a different worid today, and the few things that we have left must be conserved. Finally, again I thank the Minister's department for the courtesies and kindnesses it has shown to me. In particular, I thank the staff in the Minister's Cairns and Brisbane offices. Mr SIMPSON (Cooroora) (8,59 p,m,): I rise to support the Minister in the presentation of his Estimates. Over the past few days much has appeared in the national media about the economic situation and unemployment. It behoves each one of us to give earnest consideration to projects that wUl employ people. It does not matter whether such projects are in the private sector or the public sector, 51592-85 2522 18 November 1982 Supply (Estimates) The Minister's Estimates reveal that in certain areas of employment cut-backs are being made. In small townships, such cut-backs can have a serious effect on the economy, I mention Imbil, which depends a great deal on the forestry industry, A cut-back of even one job can cause serious problems in such a small community, I mention private employers who, even though they are not making a profit, hang in there to keep their workers employed. That is taking place in the timber industry, particularly in large sawmUls in my area. Even though they are not making a profit, they are maintaining their staff and will not put any workers off. That is happening in many other places in Queensland and in other States. It behoves private enterprise to continue along those lines and Federal, State and local Governments to look seriously at what they can do to improve the environment so that more jobs are created. Some of that development must take place in Queensland, and local authorities will be responsible for much of it. So many developers have been knocking on the doors of local authorities with so many propositions that local authorities are becoming very choosy. It is time that many local authorities reappraised some of the developmental propositions that have been put before them and encouraged worthwhile development that will create more employment. When that development takes place, more timber will be used in the construction of houses and buildings. We have seen the effect of the importation of timber from other countries. I instance the reply that the Minister gave in this Chamber yesterday. He referred to the advantages that countries such as New Zealand have in terms of labour costs and royalties. The member for Lytton suggested that there is an ovfer-productiori of timber, but certain timber has to be imported to meet our needs. In 1981, Queensland imported 60000 cubic metres of spruce pine fir mix and Douglas fir from the West Coast of North America, 25 000 cubic metres of radiata pine and Douglas fir from New Zealand, and 45 000 cubic metres of merantic mahogany, etc., from Asia and the PhUippines. Those figures indicate that at present we are not able to produce those timbers at a competitive price. The answer to that is that there should be greater productivity and greater consumption. We should be encouraging the use of more timber so that jobs are created and we get out of this situation of gloom and despair. The member for Lytton read a speech prepared by someone else about rain forests, It might have sounded great to somebody who did not know anything about the matter. Rain forests are an emotive matter. They mean different things to different people. Some say that when it is hot in the sun they can walk into the shade provided by a rain forest. They say, "Isn't that beautiful?'' It is beautiful. Other people say that they can walk under the canopy provided by a rain forest into a world of greenery. There is very little good productive timber in subtropical rain forests. The very taU timbers in the temperate rain forests in Victoria and Western AustraUa are quite different from the timbers in the subtropical and tropical rain forests. In the tropical areas we have the large timbers that are good for veneer. However, I have no time for thpse who say, "Now we should have a survey." AU that does is waste the time of people who have already proved themselves and their abUity to manage the resource, to the extent that others come along and say, "Lock it up." What they are really saying is, "Lock up a few more jobs." I have been to three speech days recently. Our high schoolchildren are worried about their future. So they should be if too many people say, "Lock up this. Don't mind that. Don't touch the other." We won't have any production at aU. If those people were let loose in our community—if they were to gain Government—our children in great numbers would be without jobs and the starving of the world would number two-thirds instead of the present one-third. That sort of attitude would reduce our ability to feed others in the world. Over the years people who are enterprising have cleared land to produce crops to feed people—and the world's population is growing at an alarming rate. We have a responsibility to feed them. Mr Eaton: And we can't sell our rural produce. Mr SIMPSON: We can seU it. We have to be a bit more competitive. I know that there are difficulties. It has been said before that life wasn't meant to be easy. We must recognise that there are ever so many people in the world who are still starving. Supply (Estimates) 18 November 1982 2523 It is a matter of transport and economics. However, the point to be made is that it would be so much worse if we were not producing. It has been the in thing to be a knocker. I say that it is time to get rid of the knockers. It is time to get out there and be positive and constructive. We must concentrate on those things that wiU give us back productivity and give us back jobs. Mr Bertoni: What about the Labor Party? Mr SIMPSON: It is obvious that people in that party have been doing a lot of knocking for ever so long. If they were ever to gain the Government benches, woe betide us. Obviously, forest areas are emotive subjects. In part, that is because the timber industry has not tried to seU its importance. I am not criticising the department, which is short of funds and must allocate them according to priorities. The industry itself should be out there selling the worth of the industry to the community—and it has to do it damned quickly before the knockers throw a few more jobs away. The community should have explained to it the importance of growing good timbers. Timber is a long-term crop. We have to give consideration to planting; exotic varieties. It always amazes me that people get so emotive about exotic plantings. They are exotic creatures to Australia them selves, yet they lie on their backs and say, "Oh, you planted a pine tree. It comes from overseas. It's exotic. That's a dastardly thing." They ought to see our Australian eucalypts growing in other countries and how the people there welcome them. Mr Davis: What are you raving about? Mr SIMPSON: I am raving about the Ukes of the member for Brisbane Central who thinks that because something is exotic it is no good. They don't believe in productivity. All they can do is knock. That is what the Labor Party is all about. Its members are just knockers. I hope that the Minister will give consideration to employment in small-town forestry areas. When such plantations come into production I hope that as many local people as possible are employed there, I also ask that the wear and tear on the local roads be taken into consideration, I wish to refute some of the rubbish that has been spread about ram forests disappearing from the face of the earth. In a flight over BrazU, for some four hours a person sees nothing but continuous forest. That is equivalent to the distance from Brisbane to Perth, Yet people say that rain forests have almost disappeared, A month ago I was at a tree- planting ceremony and a girl guide said, "Children, you are aU going to die. Because trees have been cut down there wUl be too much carbon dioxide" What a load of waffle and unscientific rubbish. Any type of green vegetation wUl convert carbon dioxide to Oxygen, Pastures will yield four times as much oxygen as a stand of trees of an equivalent area. Those very emotive statements need to be balanced, and time is fast running out. Recreational forest parks are complementary to national parks, They help to boost the labour intensive tourist industry. The results with the Brisbane Forest Park have been very rewarding, with over one mUlion people passing through it. Something simUar. could be done in the Pomona/Noosa/Tewantin area, which would be another boost to th? tourist industry, which is already domg quite well. The Stock Routes and Rural Lands Protection Board has responsibility for the eradication of groundsel. Because my electorate has susceptible fruit and vegetable crops, groundsel is a problem. The economical method to eradicaite groundsel is by the use of 2,4-D. The use °^ ^'^^ .requires a great deal of public education. There is no known evidence that shows that the use of 2,4-D at recommended levels has any detrimental effect, Mr Davis: That is rubbish and you know it, Mr SIMFSON: That is the sort of ignorance that is fuelling the fires of thosie who canipaign against that chemical. That really sickens me because those people are so thick between the ears that they close tbeir minds to the provep evidence. They do not even stop there: they try to mislead the public. Frankly, that is quite sinful. 2524 18 November 1982 Supply (Estimates) When it is used at the recommended levels 2,4-D is a safe chemical. That message has to be got through because if that chemical is banned and another method has to be used, production costs wiU increase, which wUl increase costs in the community, and that causes the loss of jobs. Obviously the groundsel eradication scheme has not worked so a new approach must be adopted. The board should take over the running of the scheme from local authorities. Officers of the department must liaise with producers on such matters as improved pastures, management, spraying and swabbing, especially in areas that grow susceptible crops. I congratulate the Minister on his handling of the portfolio. There is great benefit in having a practical man responsible for the portfolio because he can grasp the significance of any problem put to him. Because he can see in a flash what is needed, where the problems are and find solutions to them, the Minister has been very helpful to my electorate. I also congratulate the Minister's staff, especially Mr Baker, who I have worried so often with my problems, particularly about Crown land for sporting purposes. We still have one problem to sort out about DPI land at Coolum, but I am sure that with the co-operation of the Officers of the DPI and the Minister we wiU achieve a satisfactory result. I congratulate the Minister on his presentation of his Estimates, and I just hope he continues the good job he is doing at the moment. Mr AKERS (Pine Rivers) (9,15 p,m.): I will be brief so that the Minister has time to reply, but I want to raise two points, A large proportion of the Brisbane Forest Park is in my electorate, and I am greatly interested in it. It is a wonderful memorial to the late Sir Douglas Tooth because it was he who initiated the idea, fought it through the Liberal Party and then Cabinet and finally brought it to fruition. I should perhaps say that he had a lot of help from other people, Mr Davis: What about the Brisbane City Council? Mr AKERS: Sir Douglas had to fight the Brisbane City Council and other vested interests, I hope that I can leave such a benefit to future generations when I depart from this place, I congratulate the Government, the various Ministers, the Brisbane Forest Park Authority and its staff and, possibly belatedly, the Brisbane City CouncH, for the work they did in bringing that park to its present standard, I hope that the work continues because places like, Bellbird Grove and Jolly's Lookout, which is in my electorate, by the way, are a benefit to the residents of the entire Brisbane area. The only janing note is that although they benefit the residents of the Brisbane area they do not greatly benefit the residents of the forest park area. Some problems have occurred. Adequate policing could overcome most of them. There is a tendency for trail-bike riders to go up to the park now that it is receiving far more publicity than it did. They disappear around private or forestry fences and create tremendous problems for residents of the area. Mr Davis: You ought to visit it, Mr AKERS: I average about one visit a week, so that is not too bad. Trail-bike riders, hikers and picnickers pay no regard whatever to private property, of which there is a significant amount in the area, especially up in the Mt Nebo, Mt Glorious and The Summit areas, I ask the Minister to try to ensure more adequate policing of the park, especially in those buUt-up areas, because of the possibUity of invasion of people's privacy and physical damage to their property with their fences being cut jjy trail-bike riders, and the danger that someone wiU be careless and start a bushfire. Although I thank the Minister for the work done recently to reduce bushfire danger in the area, there is always that danger in that type of country, and a lot of damage could be done. The second point I want to raise is '#hat kppfekrs to me to be a mad rush to sell off Government land, I will give two examples, but it appears to me that Government land b being sold off everywhere. The excuse we are given for the proposed Stradbr(*e Island bridge is that it wiU not cost us anything because land will, in effect, be soM to the developer. But it will cost the people of Queensland their land—there wiU be a cost. Supply (Estimates) 18 November 1982 2525 One of the examples in my area I want to bring forward is probably not under the Minister's control, but it relates to land in Kluver Street, Bald Hills, which was resumed by the Main Roads Department, A number of people wanted to turn that land into a park, in which case it would have been brought under the filinister's control. The Brisbane Qty Council was not interested in its being a park. Letters on the file indicate that it refused. The first thing that local people and I knew about what was happening was when subdivision pegs were put in the ground. The Minister and his department know about my next point. It is an example of what can happen. The Minister and I have looked at a block of land in Samsonvale Road, Strathpine, which is adjacent to the Pine Rivers United Soccer Club. Luckily this matter has been resolved to a reasonable degree of satisfaction. The Pine Rivers Shire Council' asked for the land many times and was told that it was being kept for future Crown purposes. The soccer club asked for it and was refused. Suddenly it was to be subdivided into about 18 house allotments. On.the advice that it received from the Lands Department the council allowed the soccer club to build a licensed clubhouse adjacent to the land; I was a member of the committee that recommended the approval. The department, without giving any consideration to the matter, suddenly decided to sell the last piece of vacant Crown land for many miles around to permit the building of houses alongside a licensed soccer club. I ask the Minister to stop this pell-meU selling of Crown land that is needed for the, future in growing areas such as Strathpine. . ; ,. We have just been through the process of trying to find an alternative site for a hospital in the district. No Crown land is available other than this piece, which is quite unsuitable for it, and another piece at Bald Hills which belongs to the Commonwealth Government. Consideration must be given to reserving Crown land for future use in growing areas. The excuse given was that it is valuable land and should be sold. The Government would not sell the Botanic Gardens across the road, although it is a very valuable piece of land. Mr Davis: I wUl look after that. Mr AKERS: Yes, I know it is in the honourable member's -electorate. It is needed for the future of the city. The Government would not sell Anzac Square, although it has been almost destroyed; The Government did not seU the Bellevue site once the obstruction was removed, because it was required for future use. The smaU areas of Crown land that are available in districts such as Strathpine and Bald Hills are needed for future use by the community. 1 promised to leave the Minister 40 minutes and I have already taken two of them. ^^- W. H. GLASSON (Gregory—Minister for Lands and Forestry) (9.24 p,m.): 1 thank all honourable members who havCi contributed to the debate on the Estimates for Lands and Forestry. Most of the contributions were interesting. Members recorded their concern as well as their appreciation of the efforts of the two departments that I control and their services to the people of Queensland. I thank the Opposition spokesman on land and forestry matters, the honourable member for Maryborough, for his very responsible contribution. However, he said that there were some unknowns in the funding for land development. I shall endeavour to clear up those matters for him. In 1981-82, the original budgeted appropriation for the normal program was $3,100,000 f «i"ii ^**"" expenditure transferred from special program appropriation, which amounted to $1,335,523, making a total of $4,435,523. The original Budget appropriation for special projecU was $6,500,000. The amount spent on special projects was $2,168,117.58. That lett a surplus. That is what the honourable member was concerned about. In 1982-83, the fund balance of $3,205,481.69 was used to satisfy the commitnients carried over from 1981-82. The trust fund of $7,500,000 was made up as follows: project e^nditure, $4,800,000; interest and redemption, $200,000; and payment to consolidated v"™"J^; «,500,000. The special projects revised budget amounted to $5,537,627, project ,^^™J ,f'*3'368,500, and redemption payment on special projects, $2,168,127, making a for IV * '"''^^'^- The grand total amounts to $13,037,627, which is the amount estimated IhoBTrtTl'i.''"' ^^^ *''^"*' amount available is $15,352,000 as per Budget estimates, he MkJj hL k *"*^"^ the quesrtion that was raised by the honourable member when "^ea now the Budget figures for the development fund were arrived at for this year. 2526 18 November 1982 Supply (Estimates) A number of members, including the members for CaUide and Lytton, expressed concern about the lease on Wilson Island, First, Heron Island Pty Ltd purchased the lease of Wreck Island. The company was approached by the National Parks and Wildlife Service to forsake its interest in Wreck Island because it is one of the two main turtle nesting areas the other turtle nesting area being Mon Repos, The company asked for Wilson Island, Mr Burns: How long ago? Mr GLASSON: About 12 months ago. The company was asked to shift to Wilson Island. It then made an application to go to North West Island, which is a much larger island than Wilson Island. Concern was expressed about 'North West Island because water could cover the island during the cyclone period. The National Parks and WildUfe Service said that North West Island was a much larger island that would cater for the camping public. The company then applied for a lease on Wilson Island, Wilson Island has an area of only 8^ to 9 acres. It was agreed that half of the island would be made a national park. The area that has been excluded as a special area reserve is for the roseate tern. Mr Burns: Four acres? Mr GLASSON: That is correct. Terns do not nest all year round. A guarantee has been given that P & O will not take campers or day-trippers to the island whUe the terns are nesting. The only buildings that will be erected on the island are two toilet blocks and a smaU building, for say, a small shop. Mr Burns: What about water tanks? Mr GLASSON: They will have to cart their own water. Mr Burns: A powerhouse? Mr GLASSON: There will be no powwhouse. The conditions that wUl be laid down in that lease wUl ensure the protection pf the island. Mr Burns: How many campers? Mr GLASSQN: There is permission for 24 tents, ,That is subject to ministerial discretion, I should have obtained a copy of the lease, because it contains the conditions that wiU be laid down. The gem island that we talk about, Wilson Island, wHl be protected because controls wUl be imposed to ensure that it is protected. There is an esplanade 2 metres above high-water mark which mesans that, it wUl be possible to land on the island. There is an easement from the limited landing area along the esplanade into the national .park. That is the way in which the public wiU gain access to the national park, , There is an esplanade around the national park except for the special reserve for the terns. The member for Lytton said that the environmental record of Heron Island Pty Ltd, or P & O, leaves a lot to be desired, I invite the honourable member and anybody else to go to Heron Island to see the bird Ufe there. I speak of the noddy tern, the muttoorbird, and the yellow-eye. Honest to goodness, I have never seen such birdUfe in my life. It is protected and looked after, and the birds are almost human. Recently the marine park authority had its meeting on, Heron Island. It was attended by representatives from the James Cook University, the University of (Jueensland and the Commonwealth Government. Mr Burns: Let me ask you a question. What about the sewerage plant and the dum^g of sewage into the bay, and what about the stink and smell as you go past it? What about where they dump their garbage and rubbish out in the ocean? ^ Mr GLASSON: AU that is dumped is the "live" garbage. That is'dumpied on the edge of the cay, and the sharks and turtles come in and eat it. The turtles and sharks can be seen swimming around. There are no tins or bottles; it is refuse that is edible, ^^.y**™^", '' over the island in a helicopter and see the sharks feeding on the garbage that is dumped. Mr Burns: What about the stinking sewerage plant and the garbage in ,the; middle of the island?' ^I^y (Estimates) 18 November 1982 2527 Mr GLASSON: There is an area where the garbage is accumulated before it is removed. I have been through the island and seen it, * Mr Burns: What about the sewerage plant? Mr GLASSON: The island has septic tanks. Mr Burns: It flows out into the water. Mr GLASSON: Where else can it be put? What is done down at the Gold Coast? There the sewage is pumped into the sea.: Mr Burns: We are talking about the Great Barrier Reef now. Mr GLASSON: What happens with all the muck fronfi Cannon HiU? •...-. , . ' • :••••- '. ..V( Heron Island is the only island in the whole group that is not a national park. Just before I went over there, one island was declared. Cta leaving Gladstone, the plane flies oyer Mast Hpad Island, which, has been a national park for a considerable time, Erskine Island, which was declared Only 10 days before I went there. Wreck Island, which originaUy Was the island that was bought and is now a national piark. North West Island., which is a national park, and Tryon Island, which is a national park. Half of 'V^'Uson Island is a national park. I believe the Government has taken responsible action to get itself out of a tight spot. I think I have cleared Up the situation concerning Wilson Island. I thank all honourable members for their tributes to the officers of the Lands Departmeht, including the previous chairman of the Land Administration Commission, Len Lawrence. . I appreciate the consideration that my officers give to members as representatives of the people of Queensland. I take, this opportunity to add to those thanks that have been expressed mine for the co-operation and service that I receive from my personal staff and from aU officers of the Land Administration Commission, the Lands Department and the Forestry Department. I thank each honourable member for the way in which he complimented my officers. As to Fraser Island—^my officers in the Forestry Department have told me that they appreciate the favourable comments concerning forestry matters, particularly on Eraser Island. The island possesses an extremely valuable timber resource, vvhich is being managed to continue to support the timber industry and also protect the environment and the recreation potential of the island. Over many years that fact has been amply demonstrated, as has been pointed out by the honourable member for Isis. The honourable member for Isis emphiasised that well-managed forestry timber is a renewable resource. It is a pity that the member for Mackay and the member for Lytton do not appreciate that the Government is not destroying the rain forests of Queensland. Those members can say what they like; the greatest conservationists in relation to the rain forests and, in fact, aU tiniber reserves are the officers of the Foresit^-y Department. We hear a lot from the do-gooders and fly-by-nighters, and I will have a few words tq say in.relation to them wheii I deal with the speech of the honouirable member for Lytton. The For^try Departmeht has based its whole managehient policy on maintaining and renewing forests in perpetuity. The member for Maryborough commented also on the Gympie/Maryborough plantation. Queensland is very fortunate in that the Gympie/Maryborough forest plantations are the best uncominitted timber resource in Australia today. They are a tribute to the Govern ment's foresight. Only today, some gentlemen from overseas commented on the forests and said that in them Queensland had a wonderful resource. Those people are contemplating setting up a pulp paper-mUl in the Gynjpie/Maryborough area, I agree with the honourable member that those plantations wiU provide a base for major industrial development in that The second speaker was the member for Mt Isa, who raised a very interesting point, th '^^"^' "* particular, to the border confrontation or dispute between Queensland and ih i[*"" Territory, on the one hand, and Queensland and South Australia, on the other hand. I make it quite clear that the Queensland Government arid the Land AOmmistration Commission accept that the marks on the ground are the border. The shifting ne meridian from time to time is of no concern to the Queensland Government or to tie Department of Mapping and Surveying, 2528 18 November 1982 Supply (Estimates) The rabbit netting fence between Queensland and South Australia is not on the survey Une. Early this year, the Department of Mapping and Surveying found 128 of the 196 pegs that designate the boundary between Cameron's Corner and Poeppel's Coraer. That was the line that was accepted by the Governments of the day. At that time, the Northern Territory was part of South Australia, The border between the Northern Territory and Queensland has become an issue only because of the mining resources in the area. The next speaker was the member for Sherwood, He referred to the Young Farmer Establishment Scheme, as did many other members. He also spoke about the Alan Fletcher Research Station, which is in the electorate of Sherwood, Any member in this Chamber who has been to that station and seen the work that it carries out on the control of pests in this State would give it his full support. The honourable member referred to an advertisement in the Press, of which I was not aware, I now have a copy of it. It reads— "Construction of a Road Bridge to North Stradbroke Island, Queensland, Australia Proposals are invited by the Queensland Government for the constructiqn of a road bridge between the Queensland mainland and North Stradbroke Island, in return for considerations which may include transactions in Crown Land on the island suitable for development, and/or a franchise agreement for operation of the bridge on a toU basis, A document setting forth requirements for submission of proposals is available from the Director (Administration), Co-ordinator-General's Department, Executive Building, 100 George Street, Brisbane, postal address is: P.O, Box 185, Brisbane North Quay, Qld, 4000, Proposals must be lodged so as to reach the above address by 4,00 p,m. on Friday, 25 March 1983. (C9074)" As far as I am aware, no commitment has been made. In fact, the Deputy Premier and Treasurer said in a statement that there would be no exchange of land. That decision must have been taken by Cabinet before I became a Minister. I was very surprised to hear about that advertisement. No commitment has been given on behalf of the Lands Deipartment. It might be said that the Crown land there could be used as a basis for negotiation with somebody who wants to build a bridge. If common sense is >. to prevail, nobody presently living on Stradbroke Island should think he wiU enjoy the luxury of having that island locked up for life. Regrettably, some people adopt the attitude, "I own land there and my home is there. Beggar anybody else." It is a repetition of what happened at Bribie Island. Without the bridge, Bribie Island would be nothing today, compared with what it is. Stradbroke Island has one of the best beaches in the world and is on the doorstep of the capital city, Brisbane, whose residents should have access to that island. The only way to provide access at a reasonable cost is by a bridge. However, regrettably, 1 was not aware of that advertisement. The member for Mackay began his speech by really criticising the Young Farmer EstabUs^iment Scheme. He said that a claim had been made that thousands of people would be put on the land. Let us get down to a commonsense logical basis. It was an endeavour by the Government of this State to give an opportunity to young people who could never expect to get a start on the land by any other means. As I said in introducing the Estimates, one of the conditions set down for the scheme is that if mon^ is available through normal financial channels, the appUcant wiU not qualify for assistance under the scheme, AppUcants have to be between 21 and 40 yeats of age., Th^ reason for tadcing it to 40 is that, especially in isolated areas, many a youhg fellow who has reared a fa(nily has had to meet the cost of educating his' children. Any money he accumulated would have been taken in education expenses. By the time he is 4(), his son wiU have left school and they can work together. That is why the upper limit was set at 40, It was enrisaged that it, should be 30, but I thought that that was very unfair and unreasonaWe, Another criterion is that the applicant should haVe accumulated sufficient equity. The 40 per cent is ctaly to be taken as a rough guide. Some applicants with lesS thai 40 per cent equity have received support; others with in excess of 110^ per cent equity have not. Probably the most important criterion is viability, A young farmer going Mr Burns: Then why did the Government grant a special lease at that time? Mr GLASSON: That was the intention. A person wiU not build a meatworks unless he has sufficient land on which cattle can be held, fattened, topped off and then turned into the meatworks.. That is the reason that the lease was made avaUable to Mr Maia. It was a program of land usage to make available a fattening paddock for the proposed meatworks. The menaber for Mt Gravatt spoke about a proposed Brisbane forest park on the southside. The Lands Department has determined that portions 338 and 339 be considered for incorporation in the proposed park. That is the area of land at Mt Gravatt on the eastern side of the freeway.; Those two areas of land with environmental park reserve 2555 were recommended by the National Parks and Wildlife Service, which is the body that controls environmental parks, to be included in the proposed southside forest park. The crucial area, of course, is Toohey Forest Park. It is freehold land owned by the Brisbane City Council. Negotiations are in train, and it is anticipated that the Brisbane City Council could agree to amalgamate all of that land with the other area to which I have referred to form a park on the southside. I commend the member for Mt Gravatt for his efforts on behalf of the people on the southern side of the river to create a park which, it is hoped, wiU dupUcate the Brisbane Forest Park on the north and north-western fringes of Brisbane. In his usual responsible style the member for Bundaberg referred to bis concern about the subsidy on New Zealand pine products entering Queensland and, indeed, AustraUa. Let me assure not only the member for Bundaberg but every person involved in the timber industry in this.State that I, the Forestry Department, the Premier and the Deputy Premier have all written to the Minister for. Trade and Resources and Deputy Prime Minister (Doug Anthony) about closer economic relations with New Zealand and the fact that the Federal Government does not appreciate the problems that this policy has caused to the Queensland timber industry. Radiata pine is one of the best promoted timbers in the South-East Asian area. The manufaqturing subsidy and the freight subsidy provided as an incentive by the New Zealand Government to the timber industry and the timber processors of that country mean that the product is landing on our shores at what we term a dumping rate. Mr Burns: The courts upheld the New Zealand appeal against the 19 per cent. Mr GLASSON: I have not heard the result of the appeal. Mr Burns: It was in the newspaper the other day. Mr GLASSON: I regret that I did not see it. The matter of dumping not only of New Zealand timber but also timber from the southern States, should concern each and every one of us. I have already referred to the Apple Isle. We know that Tasmanian products can be shipped to North Queensland as cheaply as they can be shipped to Victoria. The people of North Queensland are labouring under that disadvantage in relation to freights on which subsidy is paid to Tasmanian processors because of the disadv^tages they suffer by being based in Tasmania. Of course, that is not fair to our producers. The member for Isis also referred to the Young Farmer EstabUshment Scheme, which I have already covered. He asked why tbere should be a time lag between an expression of interest m a property and the making of an approach. I did not mention previously that a young person has to find his own piiece of land and then come to the Land Administration Commission with a propositon, including the purchase price, etc., so that the viability of the property can be established. After all, the scheme is to establish young people on the land. The honourable member asked, "Why can't a young person go and buy a piece of land and then come back and look for the funds?" If a young person has been able to raise the finance to buy land he does not qualify under the scheme, because it is a scheme set up to help young people buy land. So a person can hardly rush in and buy a piece of land and then come to the commission looking for reimbursement of the money he has spent. Many speakers referred to the delay in freeholding. If an appUcation is submitted in relation to the freeholding of a piece of land, the land must first be inspected. The ippHcant must write to the land commissioner requesting an inspection. An evaluation Addresi in Reply 23 November 1982 2531 has to be made to establish what sort of ah offer should be made for the land on a freehold basis. The valuation is made on the day the appUcation is sent to the secretary of the Land Administration Commission, A commissioner is then contactedi He makes an inspection and sends a report to the commission in Brisbane where it is assessed. An offer is then sent out to the applicant. Whether he accepts it is,his decision.; If he does accept it the documents are then sent to the Department of Mapping and Surveying, They then go back to the commission and then to the Titles Office before the whole transaction is completed. So it does not happen overnight. I can imagine the problems confronting a person on Thursday Island or in the Torres Strait area, but the commissioner can afford neither the time nor the expense to travel there every day. At 9,55 p,m,. The TEMPORARY CHAIRMAN (Mr Powell): Order! Under the provisions of the Sessional Order agreed to by the House on 21 October, I shaU now put the questions for the Vote under consideration and the balance remaining unvoted for Lands and Forestry, The questions for the followmg votes were put, and agreed to— Lands and Forestry Department of Lands 18,110,780 Balance of Vote, Consolidated Revenue, Trust'and Special Funds and Loan Fund Account ., / ,, ,, ,, ,, 105,448,014 Progress reported. The House adjourned at 9,56 p,m, ' n t~ m fn Tt o vo 00 00 ,-H :T-H'F-ii!,,H ,-H ,—I y^ y—* y—i-'T^fy..-^' ,-H ,-H ,—i r< S »-H S nit O ^ a H,* a oo iJl J,"-^ a c en IO vo 00 ON P --I o o --S3 P p p P o S s p s vo VD VD vo VO VO VD \G KO \0 ^ ^ «nn« l~ fOO ON ' P -H IO- vo oo ON P U) S y^ »H en 1^ SO .1. .1. 1* 'I' ri 2 03 2 5 2 7 $;s J. uu 2434 18 November 1982 Questipi^ Upon Notice Salary Classifications Contained Under Part I of the Schedule to the Public Service Award—State