IPA To Tour Southwestern Queensland Communities That Are Vital To Australia’s Prosperity

“Southwest Queensland is responsible for producing our food, energy, and the resources vital to our nation’s prosperity. Yet, the region is constantly under threat from policies designed to destroy local jobs,” said Daniel Wild, Deputy Executive Director of the Institute of Public Affairs.

Next week, the IPA will visit Kingaroy, Dalby, Chinchilla, Roma, Toowoomba, and Warwick to discuss new research and listen to the experiences of those most affected by the policy of net zero emissions by 2050, green legal activism, and green tape.

The IPA will also hold a special town hall discussion, open to the community, on Thursday 15 December 2022, in Toowoomba at 6:00pm, to share our latest research.

“Make no mistake, Southwest Queensland will incur some of the greatest costs of net zero targets, and green tape hurdles. Meanwhile, ever-growing government bureaucracies continue to drag down local famers and businesses,” said Mr Wild.

“Mainstream Australians are waking up to the damage elites in Sydney, Melbourne, and Canberra want to inflict on their livelihoods and their way of life through net zero, green tape, and green legal activism. Despite this, every major political party continues to support them.”

A landmark report released in April by the IPA, The Economic and Employment Consequences of Net Zero Emission by 2050 in Australia, identified:

• At a minimum, all coal, gas, and oil projects in the construction pipeline must be cancelled to achieve Australia’s net zero target.
• Net zero will cost the Australian economy around $274 billion in lost economic output.
• Net zero will stop the creation of over 478,000 jobs all across Australia.

IPA research shows Southwest Queensland and the Darling Downs is, and will continue to be, the region most exposed to these policies. 

“IPA research has previously identified that the policy of net zero is a threat to over 13,900 current local jobs in the federal electorate of Maranoa, equivalent to over 21% of all local employment,” said Mr Wild.

“There is a palpable fear in regional communities that they are not being listened to by their representatives. Today, a typical worker in regional Australia is over three times more likely to have their job put at risk by net zero than a typical worker in the inner cities.” 

The IPA’s research tour of the Darling Downs and Southwest Queensland follows its highly successful tours of North Queensland and the Hunter Valley, other key net zero and green tape impact zones.

“The IPA is committed to undertaking and communicating research to local communities that are being impacted by the policies created by the south-east elites,” said Mr Wild.

To register for the IPA’s Toowoomba Regional Research Event click here.