Herald 20180410

Is Highfields hopping mad?
By JACK WATERS
With Easter festivities
wrapping up for yet
another year, you could
be forgiven for thinking
you have seen your last
bunny, chocolate or furry,
for at least another
12 months.
Well, if you own a
property in the Highfields
region, you might
have to get used to seeing
them more often.
Rabbits cost the Australian
economy more
than $600 million yeasr
and are known for their
environmental destruction,
making them one
of the country’s biggest
pests.
The Queensland
Murray-Darling Committee,
the Toowoomba
Regional Council, the
Darling Downs-Moreton
Rabbit Board and
Biosecurity Queensland
will be teaming up to
try and reduce the rabbit
population in Highfields,
Cabarlah, Hampton,
Crows Nest and
Yarraman.
Their plan is to familiarise
themselves with
more than 1800 properties
in these areas, n
which they will con-
duct surveys to identify
where the breeding hot
spots are and just how
big the rabbit population
is.
If a breeding ground
is identified, QMDC
will then look to work
with the property owner
to remove the warren,
the most effective
approach to control
breeding.
QMDC’s Regional
Co-ordinator for Land
and Water Vanessa
Macdonald said autumn
is the ideal time
to tackle the rabbit population.
“With favourable
climatic conditions, a
recent outbreak of rabbit
haemorrhagic and
the release of the K5
virus each impacting
on rabbit numbers, now
is the ideal time to add
another layer to control
efforts by way of
mechanical warren ripping,”
she said.
“We’re in the process
of surveying rabbit
breeding places on
more than 1800 properties
on private and
public land in the Highfields
area.”
To advertise phone 4615 4416
Brendan, Chas (TRC), Nathan (DDMRB), Lachlan (QMDC) and Greg (DDMRB) have been
conducting rabbit surveys on 1800 properties in and around Highfields. - Photos supplied.
“This will enable us
to map entries to underground
warrens or
harbours such as under
sheds or rubbish piles
and the level of rabbit
activity.”
Once the surveys
have been completed,
the QMDC will be organising
a rabbit warren
ripping demonstration
workshop which will
share control techniques
Customer-owner sector can play
the role of People’s Bank
Customer-owned financial institutions
can fulfil the same role
as a “People’s Bank”, provided
barriers to competition are removed
and they can operate on
an equal playing field to the big
banks, Heritage Bank CEO Peter
Lock said.
Mr Lock was responding to
calls from Greens leader Richard
Di Natale for the Federal Government
to set up a “People’s
Bank” to provide more affordable
and responsible home lending
for everyday Australians.
Mr Lock said he welcomed
the Greens’ leadership in opening
up the debate on the issue.
However he there was no
need to set up a separate government-owned
institution, as the
customer-owned sector already
had the capacity to meet the need
the Greens had identified.
“We don’t believe it’s appropriate
for the Federal Government
to become directly involved
in banking, but what they
must do is act to ensure we have
true competition in the sector,”
Mr Lock said.
“We don’t need to try to manufacture
alternatives to the big
banks – customer-owned institutions
such as Heritage already
provide that alternative.
“What we need is for Government
to remove the barriers to
competition that currently hold
us back so we can operate on an
equal playing field.”
Mr Lock said the “People’s
Bank” ideal of offering lower
rates and a more customer-centric
approach, free from the excesses
of the big bank sector,
was exactly what Heritage offered.
“The scale have been tipped
too far in favour of the big
banks, in terms of their ability to
raise capital and to access cheaper
funding, because of their ‘too
big to fail’ status,” he said.
“I’m pleased that the Federal
Government has announced a
number of suggested reforms in
recent times that will help address
this inequity, but we need
these reforms accelerated and
locked in so we can truly ramp
up competition in the sector.
“The best way to address the
dominance of the big banks is
not to set up a new government
bank, but to unleash the latent
power of the customer-owned
sector to give customers a much
better deal,” Mr Lock said.
Katter fearful of foreign owned Australian food processing
The announcement
that Murray Goulburn,
the biggest milk processor
in Australia, will
be sold to a foreign
corporation now means
that almost all of beef
processing, is owned by
foreign corporations.
Almost all fruit and
vegetable processing,
almost all sugar processing
are owned by
foreign corporations.
In other words, all of
the industries are now
controlled by foreign
corporations, with the
exception of grains, the
non-processing grains
industry.
What country would
allow foreign corporations
to own almost
all its food processing?
Under Free Trade
agreements we cannot
regulate, and with Mr
Turnbull’s Trans Pacific
Partnerships we will
never be able to apply
any regulations to them
now or in the future.
You’re watching the
colonisation of Australia
by the corporations.
The major parties must
be removed. The policies
are so deeply entrenched
that you will
never change the ALP
and LNP. They must be
eliminated.
82 per cent of our
mineral wealth is foreign
owned, including
almost all of the CSG
industry, around 93 per
cent, and 96 per cent of
all our petrol/diesel is
imported.
We will be moving
in the Parliament to
stop the sale of Murray
Goulburn and the
farmers need the money,
then I suggest they
stop voting for the LNP,
wake up to themselves
and get the Country
Party back which of
course had the reconstruction
board – and
their regulated market
systems – and aggressive
marketing systems
that delivered prosperity
to us.
“Regulated markets
was removed, not by
the ALP, but was put
there by the LNP National
Competition Policy
- which most farmers
are still so bloody
stupid or brainless they
keep voting for the LNP.
There is no capacity for
the extent of the stupidity
of my fellow farmers.
It has to stop. So if we
can’t stop it with an intelligent
approach then we
will stop it with a blunt
object. That is only for
the time being. Only for
the time being because
the people of Australia
will wake up. - Bob Katter
MP.
and give landholders
advice on how to handle
warrens.
Ms Macdonald said
the surveys are close
to being completed and
the results have been
good. “So far, we’ve
completed over 1000
surveys and have been
finding slightly less
warrens than we anticipated
which is a good
starting point for us,”
Crows Nest Show
floral entries
With Crows Nest Show just weeks away, now
is the time to make sure you have everything
organised for entries in the different sections.
For those entering the floriculture section, it is
time to give the pot plants a last minute boost in
readiness for showing. A splash of fertiliser, dead
leaves or flowers removed and a clean of the pot,
and your entry is ready to go.
If your interest is in floral art, it is not too early to
prepare an artificial arrangement or start planning
your other arrangements.
The roses and cut flowers have responded well
to the recent rains. Will they be looking good for
the Show on Saturday, May 12?
Stewards will be on hand to receive pot plant
and floral art entries on Thursday, May 10 between
2pm and 7pm.
Roses and cut flowers will also be received on
Friday morning, May 11 from 7am but they must
be benched by 9.15am.
Even if you have just one entry to display, please
bring it along. Every entry helps make a show and
the stewards look forward to helping you exhibit.
The floriculture schedule is available on line or
from the secretary.
This year, the Darling Downs Heritage Rose
Group will have a display site at the show and they
will happily answer any questions you may have.
There will be some cuttings of heritage roses for
sale. - Elaine Kahler, chief floriculture steward.
Cattle Sales
CROWS NEST CATTLE SALE
Next Sale April 21 - 11am
35 Mixed Breed Feeder Steers (Charolais/
Santa/D-Master)
Charolais X & Shorthorn X Weaner Steers
13 Angus Steers (7mths) & 6 Angus Heifers
(6mths) - A/C R & D Wallace
Assorted Weaner Heifers Droughtmaster &
Charolais X to be drafted
10 Droughtmaster Steers (12mths)
8 Brangus Steers (10mths)
14 Charolais X Steers (8-10mths)
11 Charolais X Heifers (8-10mths)
18 Droughtmaster Steers (6-7mths)
CALL MAL FOR BOOKINGS
Thank you for supporting
CNAH & I Canteen
Geoff Trost 0418 182 296
Mal Berlin 0437 247 020
Livestock
CROWS NEST
QMDC officer Lachlan Marshall inspects
rabbit warrens near Highfields
Celebrating women
in farming and food
Bookings are now open for the Famers La
Femme dinner which is being held on Friday, May
18, to coincide with the Hampton Festival.
The dinner is a four-course meal designed to
highlight the qualities women bring to farming
and food.
The meals will also be prepared by an all-female
line-up of both chefs and farmers who will entertain
you with stories about the challenges and joys
of being a female farmer.
Why not make a full weekend out of the Hampton
festival and grab your tickets now?
Tickets at $135 a person will include four-courses,
sparkling wine/beer and award-winning wines.
Visit www.hamptonfestival.com.au.
CROWS NEST SALE
Steers very strong at
Zeller & Co Sale on
Saturday, April 7
A pen of steer calves from Geham made
$930, Angus steers from Emu Creek made
$1060, Blonde steer calves from Emu Creek
made $900 and Droughtmaster heifers from
the Bluff made $1000.
Next sale April 21, 10am
Early bookings include:
15 Droughtmaster weaners, acc breeder
20 Euro x weaners, acc breeder
10 Braford heifers, acc breeder.
she said. A single large
warren can house up to
100 rabbits and need to
be controlled as soon as
possible.
For more information,
or to report information
about your
property, contact Ms
Macdonald on 428 712
955 or visit the QMDC
web site.
Don’t forget we sell in Dalby
every Wednesday
For bookings & info, please
phone Rick 0428 879 531
or Gavin 0427 979 527
Real Estate
Caroline 0427 134 636
BUYING ALL TYPES OF CATTLE
Fax: 4698 2580
E: rick@zlp.net.au
Your local agent
HIGH COUNTRY HERALD - APRIL 10, 2018 - 13