LABOR MHR URGES RURAL REVOLT
01.04.1989
By: MORLEY P
Labor MHR urges rural revolt against Harper PRIMARY industry organisations were urged yesterday by Federal Labor MHR, Mr Brian Courtice, to call for the sacking of Queensland's Primary Industries Minister, Mr Harper.
Mr Courtice _ whose disclosure of a State Government memo on alleged drought relief abuse has led to a public accounts committee investigation _ said rural producers should ""rise up''.
The Cattlemen's Union, United Graziers, Grain Growers and Canegrowers associations could not afford to have an ""inefficient'' Mr Harper as their Government head.
Mr Harper had said he had been aware for two-and-a-half-years of problems with drought aid which Mr Courtice said was going into the ""hands of greedy graziers while the 95 percent of honest farmers suffer''.
""What we have in Queensland is the greedy few taking money and food out of the mouths of battling farmers entitled to assistance while the greedy sit back on their affluent verandas on their large properties protected by the inactivity of the Ahern Government,'' Mr Courtice said.
""It is a sad indictment that the public accounts committee has been left to probe the scandal _ something that neither Mr Ahern nor Mr Harper will do.''
The Opposition Leader, Mr Goss, said Mr Harper was using standover tactics against the author of the memo, public servant Mr J. J. ""Dan'' Daly, who has since been transferred out of his job.
Mr Harper said that Mr Daly's position in the drought secretariat had been upgraded and a more senior officer appointed.
On Thursday, Mr Harper said Mr Daly ""could well need to explain'' why, if abuses existed, they had not been earlier brought to the Minister's attention.
Mr Goss said: ""Mr Ahern should remove Mr Harper from Cabinet for dereliction of duty over the alleged rorts.''
Yesterday, Mr Harper said Labor was making ridiculous claims that were casting a slur on all primary producers, all of whom had been disadvantaged by ongoing drought.
He said that Mr Goss clearly did not understand the plight of some farmers and The Courier-Mail, along with other media outlets, had exacerbated the position by presenting false information.
Mr Harper denied that Mr Daly had been transferred for writing the memo.
He said there might be some basic facts in what Mr Daly had reported, but this was now a matter for the Solicitor-General's office which was studying seven cases to see whether there had been fraud.
Mr Harper denied that drought aid distribution was in a mess.
