AMWU delegates from the sugar industry in Queensland have called for a moratorium on a scheme which is encouraging big companies to buy up cane plantations in order to claim ‘offsets’ against their carbon footprint.

AMWU Queensland Assistant Secretary Darren Trask says the scheme is a cynical exercise that big companies are engaging in which is providing them with tax concessions.

“Big consortiums are coming into North Queensland, buying land off struggling farmers, getting rid of the cane crop and plant trees.

“They can then say they’re reducing their carbon footprint, but there’s no attention being paid to how this is affecting the industry.

“Forestry Managed Investment Schemes are not driven by commercial or environmental benefits, but rather to cater for a short term tax offset benefit to high income investors.”

Mr Trask said the AMWU sugar delegates first raised this issue in 2006 and a resolution was passed by the AMWU state and national Conferences for a moratorium to stop further invasion of the sugar cane crop.

“A study must be undertaken to look at the viability of the this exercise, because it’s continuing unabated and there’s a real issue that we will end up with a shortage of sugar cane.

“Last week, 10,000 hectares of sugar cane were ploughed straight into the ground.”

The delegates who met in Mackay this week are concerned about a continuing loss of land and what this will mean for the communities that rely on the sugar industry.

“If this continues unabated, essential community infrastructure for education, health services and small business in these small, medium and large sugar dependent towns will fail on a much broader scale.”

Mr Trask will be heading a submission to the Federal Government next week on the issue where the AMWU is asking for a revision of laws relating to Managed Investment Schemes in Forestry.

“Our industry is globally competitive, but needs scale to continue to compete in the global market.”

In another development, the Federal Member for Dawson, James Bidgood who addressed the Sugar Delegates Conference extended appreciation and thanks to the AMWU for the invaluable assistance they provided to getting him elected.

Mr Bidgood who won the seat of Dawson in Queensland with a 13.20% swing and wrested the seat from the Liberals’ De Anne Kelly, pledged his support for the unions’ campaign for fair industrial relations laws.

Mr Bidgood acknowledged the role that the Your Rights at Work campaign played in the election and expressed commitment to ousting WorkChoices.