We the people of QLD will not stand quietly and watch how our National Parks (our NATIONAL HERITAGE) are destroyed by politicians for no reason whatsoever. They have already opened them up for logging, mining, grazing of cattle, hunting and four wheel driving. Queensland has a staggeringly small area of nature reserves compared to it's size and compared to many other developed countries. Even these far too small areas are up for exploitation now. There is absolutely no reason to do this. It will not enhance tourism, on the contrary. Remnant native forest will NEVER regrow the way it was once removed. Some arguments to open up national parks for grazing include to save starving cattle. In Northern QLD, starving cattle has been around for years and nobody cared. Why is this country so overstocked with cattle that it can't be fed as soon as it gets drier? Drought is a natural occurence happening every few years and agricultural practices must be adapted to suit the climate and circumstances. People must be trained in responsible agricultural practices yet agricultural courses at unis and TAFE are almost non-existant these days. This is not good stewardship of the land and is largely caused by wrong politics. And why help only farmers who live adjacent to national parks? Cattle can be fed with dry food (hay etc.) perfectly well. Why not give the farmers a temporary allowance to buy some of this? Agriculture and protection of nature can go hand in hand! If the production in high yielding areas is intensified, those marginal regions that cannot be used without a huge energy input can be given back to nature. Germany is an example for this. It's size is only 1/5th the size of QLD, yet more wheat is produced there than in all of Australia. It has large, beautiful national parks too. Why is this not possible in QLD? Because there some people seem to be hell-bend on destroying every last tree and every last animal. What other being on this planet destroys the very environment it lives in? We've only got one planet. People wake up before it is too late. Please sign this petition.
