The National Food Plan green paper released last Tuesday shows that the federal government is completely lacking in vision when it comes to Northern Australia. Released earlier this month, the paper again ignored any possibility of developing the region’s agricultural potential, which could feed a growing Asian population to our north.
The food plan continued to rely on the conclusions of the North Australia Water and Land Taskforce. This was a taskforce packed with environmental activists that deliberately set-out to restrict any consideration of new dams in Northern Australia.
It’s also been confirmed that the coalition is putting together a detailed plan for Northern development. The Chairman of the Coalition’s Dams and Water Management Taskforce, Andrew Robb, has been put in charge of the report, and his view has already been supported by the leader of one Australia’s largest indigenous land councils.
It’s not surprising that the chief executive of the Northern Land Council has come out in support of development. People throughout the region, in all walks of life, understand that everyone can benefit through development that creates more employment and greater prosperity. The only people who will benefit from turning the north into a huge national park are the bird watchers.
You can find the green paper here and the ANDEV/IPA North Australia Project’s response here.