Media Alert

  Wednesday, August 20, 2003

 

MEDIA ALERT  MEDIA ALERT  MEDIA ALERT  MEDIA ALERT MEDIA ALERT

 

QDO & nrac tour The drought stricken TABLELANDS

 

The National Rural Advisory Council (NRAC) will tour the Atherton Tablelands Exceptional Circumstances drought assistance application area this Thursday and Friday the 21st and 22nd of August 2003, as they make a full assessment of the application.

 

Queensland Dairyfarmers Organisation CEO Adrian Peake will be on the tour facilitating meetings between affected dairy farmers and NRAC members and he will be available for media interviews on Friday during the tour.

 

Mr Peake said the EC application covers the shires of Atherton, Eacham and the north-eastern section of Herberton, with a buffer zone covering dairy and pork producers in the rest of the Herberton and Mareeba shires.

 

“A series of failed wet seasons has hit Tableland dairy farmers hard and they are continuing to battle drought conditions. They have suffered reduced milk production, astronomical feed costs and compounding financial losses”.

 

Mr Peake said dairy farmers will be relating their drought experiences first hand to NRAC members during the tour.  “The strong messages the farmers have about the severity of the drought and the inability of anyone to even hope to prepare for these extreme seasonal conditions will reinforce the strong case the QDO has mounted in its EC application for the dairy farmers of the region”.

 

Mr Peake said Far North dairy farmers are still anxiously waiting to hear if the EC application will be declared a prima facie case and enable much needed interim assistance to follow into the region while the formal application assessment process is finalized and a recommendation is made to the Federal Minister for Agriculture.

 

Mr Peake will be available for media interviews during the NRAC tour on Friday the 22nd between 9:30 and 10:30 am.

 

To organise an interview with Adrian Peake contact him on

digital mobile  0408 989 102  or CDMA mobile  0412 159 228  or QDO Office  07 3236 2955

or ring QDO Media Liaison Sally Nicol on 07 46 776 215 or 0417 758 353