Mr LAWLOR (Southport—ALP) (4.50 pm): In participating in the debate on the South-East Queensland Water (Distribution and Retail Restructuring) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill, I want to address the success of the government’s consumer price index cap and price monitoring and its continuation for the new council operated water businesses being established. This bill provides [...]

I support the Strategic Cropping Land Bill. I would like to address the aspect of extensive consultation that was undertaken in the development of the strategic cropping land policy. In recent times Queensland’s cropping land resources have been subject to increased land use competition across some of the state’s most important economic sectors—the agriculture and resources sectors and the urban development sector. This competition has seen community concerns increase in relation to the effects of development on our best cropping land. In order to achieve a balance between competing interests, the government has undertaken extensive consultation with key stakeholders during development and implementation of the strategic cropping land policy and considered all public feedback. The Queensland government is committed to adopting best practice regulatory principles and to ensuring that new regulatory arrangements are developed in a rigorous and transparent manner.