He also congratuled the landholders at Monday’s meeting in Rockhampton in forming an alliance to tackle the issue head-on and make all Queenslanders aware of what was at stake.
“It’s extremely important that people understand what this is – it’s yet another incursion by the government into the private asset held by the individual, without payment,” Senator Joyce said.
“People across Queensland, whether they’re from an urban environment or rural enviroment, must stop seeing this as some sort of environmental crusade and call it for what it is.
“It is the government putting their hands on your asset and taking away the value of your asset without ever paying you for it.
“If the State Government feels so strongly about regrowth then they’re welcome to put out a tender and see how much they can buy.
“But if they don’t want to buy it, then it doesn’t mean that much to them, so stay away from it, because it’s called theft otherwise.
“Freehold title is the storage of wealth – it is where people store the efforts and labours of not only their generation but most likely of the generations that went before them.
“And when you take away the capacity for wealth to be stored in land, you completely undermine all the effort that went into the creation of that wealth as personified by the land.
“Therefore you have taken away the fundamental building block of commerce – that is, what is the point of going to work if someone can steal the asset off you.
“It’s not only a slap in the face for the person who owns the land, it’s a slap in the face for those who managed it before them.
“It is the skin cancers on your face, it’s the callouses on your hands, it’s the marriage break-ups, and restless nights, not only of your generation but the generations who went before you.”
Senator Joyce said rural Queensland shouldn’t waste its time trying to attract green preference, but agreed talking to Queensland’s rational urban constituents and engaging in a “philosophical battle” was a better move.
“The Greens will always support the Labor Party – they proved at the last election that they’re quite happy to build Traveston Dam in their path of supporting the Labor party. They’re fraudulent in their own desires,” Senator Joyce said.
“Rural Queensland needs to say to urban areas, ‘how would you feel, if by edict of the government, they said from now on you’re not allowed to use your second bedroom, and you can only use your kitchen with one eye closed’ or to say ‘as of tomorrow you can’t mow your lawn’.
“People would say that’s outrageous because it takes away the intrinsic value that’s represented in your house, and so paying off that mortgatge is kind of pointless.
“The State Government is putting incumberance after incumberance after caveat that waters down the meaning of what that asset is.”