Statutory review of the regulated standards under the Reef protection regulations
Bundaberg Ag-Food & Fibre Alliance (BAFFA) aims to identify, research, consult and solve challenges facing the Bundaberg primary production sector.
We recognise the need for a united primary production industry across food, renewable fuel, fish, forestry, foliage and fibre sectors in the Bundaberg region to secure the long-term interests of our members and our industry. BAFFA welcomes the opportunity to provide comment on the Statutory review of the regulated standards under the Reef protection regulations and offer the following comments.
The current regulatory framework is fundamentally unsuitable for the diverse, multispecies integrated farming systems prevalent in the Bundaberg region. Our region cultivates over 124 different crops, often in rapid succession within the same paddocks. For example, a single paddock might transition from sugarcane in July to watermelons in August, then tomatoes in March, back to watermelons in August, and finally to sugarcane the following February. This raises critical questions: Is this a regulated sugarcane paddock or an unregulated horticultural paddock? The regulations fail to provide clarity, are difficult to understand, and thus cannot effectively or fairly be applied to such dynamic and integrated systems...
Council and industry sign agriculture MOU
Bundaberg Regional Council and key agricultural industry bodies have signed a Memorandum of Understanding acknowledging the vital importance of farming and agriculture to the Bundaberg Region’s economy.
The MOU formalises a commitment by Council to consult with Bundaberg Ag-Food & Fibre Alliance Ltd (BAFFA) and Bundaberg Fruit and Vegetable Growers Limited (BFVG) on Council issues likely to impact the production of food, fibre and agricultural produce in the region.
Mayor Helen Blackburn said it was an important initiative that would help Council stay informed about the specific challenges faced by the agricultural sector.
“Our Bundaberg Region is home to one of the largest agricultural industries in the country, we supply 25% of Australia’s produce during the winter months,” she said.
“It’s important that we continue to engage with the industry, understand the issues they’re facing locally and consider how Council can support them.
“I’m looking forward to working collaboratively with our ag sector into the future.”
BFVG CEO Bree Watson said the agreement was a chance to work proactively with Council.
“We've traditionally been quite reactive to Council decisions when it comes to planning and development rates and a whole other host of policies that impact on our farmers,” Bree said.
“We have a lot of urban encroachment at the moment with our farms, and we need to ensure that our community and our farms can continue to live in close proximity to each other and continue to move forward, acknowledging the role that agriculture plays here in Bundaberg.
“It's the third largest employer and so it's really important we have a vibrant community to ensure that our farmers can keep supporting the local community.”
Bree said signing the MOU was also significant to the wider Queensland agricultural industry.
“It's my understanding that this is one of the only Local Governments that actually has an MOU with the agriculture sector,” she said.
“I sit on the Queensland Horticulture Council and everyone in that committee is looking to Bundaberg, they're looking to this relationship that we have developed and they hope to develop ones similar in their own areas.
“So, it's really important for us to get this right and to show other areas throughout Queensland what Bundaberg can do.”
BAFFA Executive Director Dale Holliss said the agricultural industry was a significant economic driver in the region.
“Intensive agriculture in Bundaberg's worth about $2 billion a year, the Bundaberg regional economy is worth about $8 billion a year,” he said.
“So, it's very important that we help Council understand what we need and that Council becomes needs based and outcomes focused, in terms of what it provides for intensive agriculture in this region.
"[Signing the MOU] is something that we've worked for, for the last 18 months and we're very pleased to see an outcome.”
ENDS
Bundaberg to Establish Joint Council-Industry Committee for Agricultural Future
Bundaberg Ag Food & Fibre Alliance (BAFFA) was established in 2022, and members include Isis CANEGROWERS, the Australian Macadamia Society, Bundaberg Fruit & Vegetable Growers and Bundaberg CANEGROWERS organisations, plus individual cattle and horticultural producers.
The Bundaberg LGA is predominantly rural, in a region where land is used largely for intensive irrigated agriculture and horticulture - notably nuts, sugarcane, fruit, vegetables and some cattle. The region is one of the predominant fresh produce-rich regions in Queensland, often described as Australia’s tastiest food bowl - or the “Bundaberg Bowl”.
In February 2025, BAFFA hosted a successful Ag forum involving all sectors of the region's agriculture industry and involving key decision-makers around the future proofing of Bundaberg region’s agricultural and primary industries.
This included a strong panel discussion around Right to Farm and Town Planning.
Bundaberg Regional Council participated in the forum as an active voice, with Mayor Helen Blackburn sitting on a discussion panel around Right to Farm, and as a result there was an agreement with BAFFA to work together with all local producer sectors to form a joint committee relating to a Memorandum of Understanding on issues including Right to Farm.
BRC, BAFFA, BFVG and others are currently establishing this Advisory Committee sitting within Bundaberg Regional Council, working together collaboratively and cooperatively.
The role of this Advisory Committee is to ensure that we:
- Future-proof the Bundaberg Local Government Area (LGA) agricultural and primary industries
- Address and resolve issues affecting Bundaberg LGA farmers, growers and producers
- Continue to build strong communication channels between BRC and the agricultural sector, supporting the voice of local farmers, growers and producers
- Work together to develop and implement policies, rules, practices and procedures for the mutual benefit of council and its region’s agricultural and primary industries
BAFFA is aligned with Bundaberg Regional Council in securing the future of our communities and we look forward to building opportunities for growth.
ENDS
Future-proofing farming takes centre stage at Ag Forum
FUTURE-PROOFING farming will be in the spotlight at the 2025 Bundaberg Ag Forum on February 3 .
With topics ranging from the controversial Great Barrier Reef Regulations to the Paradise Dam debacle, and the role of Right to Farm within town planning, decision-makers and influencers will join with producers to explore opportunities and address barriers to sustainability.
“This is a critical gathering to explore pathways and methodologies to future-proof agriculture in Bundaberg region,” said Dale Holliss, Executive Director of the Bundaberg Ag-food and Fibre Alliance (BAFFA), which is facilitating the forum.
“Bundaberg farmers produce around 145 diverse crops and contribute $2 billion to the $8.2 billion local economy. Farming supports tens of thousands of jobs in our region, and is integral to our community and its way of life. Farming must be future-proofed, and this forum is bringing producers from all sectors together to take a collaborative approach.”
The event is hosted by Member for Burnett and LNP MP Stephen Bennett, Chair of the Queensland Parliament’s Primary Industries and Resources Committee.
The forum also is giving a “green light” to farmers on how to turn organic waste - such as manure, crop residues and food processing by-products - into renewable gas and fuels. Australia’s largest landfill biogas company LMS Energy will deliver a presentation plus a free two-hour workshop.
“Each year, LMS’s projects stop more than 4 million tonnes of greenhouse gases being emitted into the atmosphere and Bundaberg farmers are being invited to be part of that journey,” said Mr Holliss.
“It is a natural correlation for our region’s producers, who are guardians of the land we all rely on for food and drink security, to turn farm wastes into income streams and also benefit our environment and communities.
“There also are opportunities for farmers to supply energy crops - such as Sweet Sorghum, Sunn Hemp, Soy and Faba beans and Chickpeas – for the generation of renewable fuels.”
Speakers at the forum include world-renowned Great Barrier Reef expert Dr Peter Ridd, who will speak on why Bundaberg region farmers should be exempt from the controversial State Government’s Reef Regulations.
The Palaszczuk Labor Government introduced the Reef Regulations in late 2019, saying they would address land-based sources of water pollution to the Great Barrier Reef, including agricultural sources of nutrient and sediment pollution.
But Mr Holliss said: “Bundaberg region has, ridiculously, been included in the government’s ‘reef regions’ impacted by these Regulations, and this is placing increasing levels of financial and bureaucratic pressures on our farmers without any environmental benefits.
“This needs to stop. Bundaberg region should be exempt from the Reef Regulations.”
Dr Ridd is a geophysicist with more than 100 publications and 35 years' experience working on the Great Barrier Reef.
Dr Ridd said this week: “There is ample justification for a science audit to be carried out on the evidence that was originally used to include the Burnett catchment in Reef Regulations. This presentation will contain compelling new information directly relating to the Bundaberg region and its oceanography that makes it absolutely clear that the farmers of this region should be exempt from the Reef Regulations – they have no impact on the Great Barrier Reef whatsoever.”
The business end of the proposed $4.4 billion Paradise Dam rebuild will come under scrutiny at the forum, with Sunwater Executive General Manager Cameron Milliner taking questions from the floor. The 300,000 megalitre dam was damaged by the 2013 flood disaster, causing a major threat to water security for farmers in the region.
A spotlight also will be put on the future of town planning and the Right to Farm in Bundaberg region, with an expert panel including Bundaberg Mayor Helen Blackburn exploring the topic.
Mr Holliss said: “Getting this right will play an important role in future-proofing the future of farming in this region. Right to Farm focuses on ensuring best land use outcomes and minimising conflicts.”
Entry to the forum is free, and concludes with a free two-hour workshop by LMS Energy. Q&A sessions within all presentations will enable direct engagement from the audience.
Mr Bennett said: “I am excited to see the quality and depth of subject matter and presenters being proposed at the forum and have a deep appreciation and interest in the challenges confronting our region’s continued food and fibre production.
He added: “I share concerns around the future of water security in the region and the relentless targeting of farmers with some 20 major changes and 50 amendments to vegetation management laws over the last 10 years. The Bundaberg Region is the food bowl of Australia.”
Mr Holliss said: “The forum will provide an invaluable opportunity for producers to find out more about pressing regional issues as they relate to farming, and to work in a collaborative methodology to explore solutions that will work to future-proof all areas of the industry in Bundaberg region.”
Ends
Mt Rawdon Pumped Hydro Project
Bundaberg Ag-Food and Fibre Alliance (BAFFA) Executive Director Dale Holliss has welcomed the submission of the Mt Rawdon Pumped Hydro Project to the Queensland Coordinator Generals office for assessment.
“In April 2023 we became aware of the project and provided a list of issues and potential areas of concern with the proposed development to the Coordinator Generals office with particular reference to the impact on the nearby physical environment, groundwater and the potential effect on irrigators’ water security during the filling process.”
According to Mr Holliss the Evolution Mining and ICA partners have been very proactive in addressing BAFFA’s concerns and met with them and other groups several times to better understand the concerns and to address them during the EIS process. “I have been impressed with the level of consultation and also the genuine outcomes that have been presented to us” he said.
“Our greatest concern was that the 26,000 ML required for the first fill would impact negatively on the reliability of medium priority allocation holders (Irrigators) in the Bundaberg Regional Council Area given the current interim full supply level of Paradise Dam. Evolution Mining and ICA partners have somewhat allayed those fears by undertaking to temporary transfer water from existing allocation holders and also to access the Strategic Water Reserves that are available under the Burnet Water Resource Plan and if necessary to spread the take over a several year period.”
Water and Energy are the two most important factors into our food and fibre production process and whilst we are agnostic to the source of the electrons, having a pumped hydro in the region may be a blessing into the future as the nation decarbonises its energy systems.
We look forward to assisting the project come to fruition in a mutually sustainable way.
Parliamentary visit
At the invitation of Tom Smith MP, State Member for Bundaberg, Bundaberg Ag Food and Fibre Alliance (BAFFA) representatives Peter McLennan and Dale Holliss travelled to Parliament house to meet with Minister Glenn Butcher, Assistant Minister Shane King and other representatives on a wide range of issues impacting our agribusiness and farming operations.
BAFFA is extremely concerned that the urgency to rebuild Paradise Dam by the State and Federal Governments is waning and that the Olympic infrastructure and Clean Energy infrastructure requirements will be to the detriment of the timely rebuilding of Paradise Dam.
We requested that an indicative timeline on actual build commencement and finish date be released before the end of the 2024 water year.
We reiterated the Water Resource Plan operating rules that were agreed with SunWater when the Paradise situation was first publicly raised and are appreciative that SunWater has recently recommitted to these undertakings. Not the least of which is quarantining the unsold Paradise water from the announced allocation process.
The Bundaberg scheme has significant lift and relift segments and is a high electricity requirement scheme with significant electricity costs incurred to deliver water to irrigators.
The ‘no-one is worse off’ electricity cost pass-through trial for irrigation customers in the regulated Bundaberg distribution scheme commenced in 2020 and because the current price path has been extended by 12 months, we requested that the cost pass through trial also be extended for a further 12 months to match the end of the current price path.
With respect to mining in the Bundaberg Regional Council footprint BAFFA suggested that sustainable food and fibre production take precedence over resource-based activities in our region, and we strongly recommend that this region’s future land use be classified as being only available for food, fibre, and foliage production.
BAFFA remain strongly opposed to any mining activity that threatens agricultural land, water security and the livelihood of our farmers in the Bundaberg region.