Sustainable Agricultural Communities Australia

SACA CALLS ON GOVT TO SCRAP MIS

 

30 May 2006

 

SACA seeks to represent long term, fair and sustainable outcomes for rural and regional Australia. This is in the national interest.

 

Robert Belcher the founding director and chair of SACA is in Canberra on the 31st May  and June 1st to address backbench committees and Ministers about the negative impacts on rural communities caused by Managed Investment Scheme plantation tax support. 

 

“We remain totally opposed to these schemes. They are unfair, result in inappropriate natural resource allocation, are not based on independent expert market analysis, have seen development in an ad hoc fashion, have inadequate infrastructure, and represent a future drain on national wealth.” said Mr. Belcher about the federal tax review of the MIS and the Governments proposals for change to the plantation support scheme.

 

The Prime Minister said recently that Governments should not involve themselves in areas that business does best .We at SACA agree. Governments should not destroy level playing fields and upset proper market forces, especially in commodity industries like timber production. The Government should cease supplying a subsidy to the plantation sector.

 

The MIS (plantation) prospectus promoters are gaining ownership of the nations land and water resources at an exponential rate. The tsunami of money from the tax avoidance managed Investment Schemes is funding a massive land grab.

 

Mr. Belcher said “the promoters are invading other agricultural industries who cannot compete and fear an inevitable supply glut, (grapes, avocados, mangoes, olives, nuts cattle etc.) Lets be blunt, the profits are made from the MIS not the product being produced. The land is owned by the promoter not the investor as a result of the scheme.”

 

Far from supporting small, medium and large business the Governments 2020 MIS arrangements amount to a form of Corporate Socialism.

 

“There is too much industry involvement in Government policy formation. The parasite has now assumed the proportion of the tail wagging the dog. If industry propaganda could be believed, why do they need any further government assistance, especially since they have already received billions to date. Why do they enlist legions of financial advisors receiving commissions 10-12% to direct investors their way? Is this ethical?” asked Mr. Belcher.

 

SACA Founder, Robert Belcher, calls on the Federal Government to reassess it’s views on plantations. “If plantations were seen as a means to reduce inevitable calls for carbon taxes and climate change policies we suggest they will be judged as a failure by future Australians.”

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sustainable Agricultural Communities Australia -

Founder & Chairman:  Robert Belcher (pron: Bell-sher)

Contact & messages: (02) 6458 0244  E-mail : rbelcher@warruga.com.au

Mobile contact - when in range : 0428 580 244