View our advocacy items on our Submission to Bundaberg Regional Council Agricultural Buffer Policy, the Inquiry into the Impact of Climate Change on Queensland Agricultural Production, our submission to the Mt Rawdon Pumped Hydro and our Submission to Queensland Resources Industry Development Plan or view our policy developments.
Letter to Minister Last
Bundaberg Ag-Food & Fibre Alliance (BAFFA) aims to identify, research, consult and solve the challenges facing the Bundaberg primary production sector.
Our vision is a united food, fibre, renewable fuel, fishing, forestry, and foliage sectors in the Bundaberg region.
Our vision does not include a coal mine.
Submission to Bundaberg Regional Council Planning Scheme Policy for Agricultural Buffers
BAFFA welcomes the opportunity to provide comment on the Bundaberg Regional Council Planning Scheme Policy for Agricultural Buffers.
We provide this submission without prejudice to any additional submission/s from our members or individual farmers and are primarily focused on potential impacts to primary producers.
Our comments are included in the attached submission.
Submission to Burnett Basin water plan review - June 2024
This is a properly made submission from the Bundaberg Ag-Food and Fibre Alliance (BAFFA), in response to the Preliminary public consultation notice on the proposed replacement of the Water Pan (Burnett Basin) 2014 – s44 of the Water Act 2000.
The Water Act requires that Water Planning balances economic, social and ecological outcomes.
In the Bundaberg Region, agricultural businesses and the processing industries that support them, have based long term investment decisions on the water reliability and water sharing arrangements embedded in the current Water Plan. As such, it is essential that as the Water Plan is renewed that the Department engage actively with water users and the Bundaberg Ag-Food and Fibre Alliance on the plan renewal and make appropriate policy decisions to support industries water reliability and existing water access.
The dam safety issues and infrastructure works at Paradise Dam have created a deal of uncertainty for the agricultural industry in the region and as such it is essential that the renewal of the Burnett Water Plan is undertaken in a way to support the region and minimise investment uncertainty.
Submission to the Inquiry into the impact of Climate Change on Queensland agricultural production
Bundaberg Ag-Food & Fibre Alliance provides a united voice for primary producers in the Bundaberg region and works toward securing the long-term interests of our members and our industry. This submission focuses on growers who predominantly produce sugar cane and other crops in the greater Bundaberg region and provides feedback to the inquiry into the impact of Climate Change on Queensland agricultural production on issues relevant to the local experiences of primary producers in the greater Bundaberg region and serves to represent their interests.
The terms of reference are for the committee to inquire into and report to the Queensland Legislative Assembly on:
a) the impacts of climate change and climate variability on Queensland agricultural production and the existing and potential future risks of climate change on the sector.
b) opportunities for the Queensland Government to create and support resilience, adaptation and mitigation measures in preparing the agricultural sector for future climate change.
Submission to Mt Rawdon Pumped Hydro Project
BAFFA welcomes the opportunity to provide comment on the Mt Rawdon Pumped Hydro Project.
We provide this submission without prejudice to any additional submission/s from our members or individual farmers and are primarily focused on potential yield implications on Paradise Dam and negative impacts on Medium Priority allocation holders in the Bundaberg Irrigation area and the potential for increases in mineral salt loads in downstream areas should there be a discharge.Submission to Queensland Resources Industry Development Plan
The Bundaberg Regional Council area is predominantly rural, with a large township at Bundaberg, and small towns and villages at Bargara, Burnett Heads, Childers, Coral Cove, Elliott Heads, Gin Gin, Innes Park, Moore Park Beach and Woodgate. Rural land is used largely for forestry, agriculture and horticulture, notably macadamias, sugar cane, fruit and vegetable growing, and cattle grazing.
Tourism is also an important industry, particularly along the coast, with the area being the southern gateway to the Great Barrier Reef. The Bundaberg Regional Council area encompasses a total land area of approximately 6,450 square kilometres.
In terms of gross value added, employment and business numbers, the Bundaberg local government area has a much greater reliance on agriculture (approx 13 per cent) than Queensland as a whole (approx 3.4 per cent).
In comparison, mining and resources account for less than 1% of the Bundaberg Regional Council.
This reliance on agribusiness means that any negative impact on our farmers’ ability to generate and market the crops and products they produce has a much greater impact on our community than in other areas.
Policy
Our policies include:
- The security and reliability of water
- Energy costs
- Input costs
- The right to farm
- Rates & unfair Local Government imposts
- Regulation
- Insurance
- Due diligence