Joyce slams coalition over Cubbie fall

Nationals Senate leader Barnaby Joyce has accused coalition colleagues of
contributing to the fall of Australia's largest cotton farm into administration.
Cubbie Station, located near Dirranbandi in southwest Queensland, will be placed
into voluntary administration at 5pm (AEST) on Friday, the Cubbie Group board said
in a statement on Thursday.
Cubbie, which has capacity to store more water than Sydney Harbour and irrigate a
range of crops, has been at the centre of a lengthy debate over whether its water
rights should be bought by the state or federal governments and used for saving the
ailing Murray-Darling river system.
Cubbie Group, which operates the 93,000-hectare property, is currently negotiating
with potential buyers after an international tender process failed to produce a bid
to match the $320 million in debts to National Australia Bank and Suncorp.
Senator Joyce, whose office is in nearby St George, accused Liberal colleague and
NSW senator Bill Heffernan of contributing to Cubbie's predicament.
"Cubbie has had to fight so many things, it's had to fight the drought and it's had
to fight the unnecessary and unwarranted speculation and inputs by political
figures," Senator Joyce told reporters in Canberra.
"They have managed to be part and parcel of sending a town broke. Congratulations.
"They ran away and just deserted it."
Cubbie Group chairman Keith De Lacy said corporate recovery specialists McGrath
Nicol had been appointed as administrators "in anticipation of the expiry of the
company's funding facilities on October 30".
"We are confident this approach will minimise disruption to Cubbie's operations," Mr
De Lacy said.
"We have discussed and have in-principle agreements with the voluntary
administrators such that the business can continue to trade and we will work with
them during the administration period.
"This will allow the value in the assets to be realised in an orderly way, in the
interests of all our stakeholders."
Mr De Lacy said it was important that the Cubbie Group continued as a going concern,
in the interests of employees and the communities of Dirranbandi and St George.
There have been calls over many years for the Queensland or federal governments to
buy Cubbie's water rights for environmental flows into the Murray-Darling Basin, but
the governments did not take part in the tender process.
Independent senator for South Australia Nick Xenophon said the financial crisis
affecting Cubbie Station was proof the enterprise was not sustainable and that state
governments could not be trusted with water policy.
"The Cubbie plan had so many holes in it, it was never going to hold water," Senator
Xenophon said.
"This is further proof that the Queensland government issuing of water permits has
been reckless and damaging to investors and the environment.
"The only way to avoid more Cubbies is for there to be an immediate national
takeover of our river systems, including the Murray-Darling Basin."
Queensland Farmers' Federation chief executive Dan Galligan said drought was the
main factor behind Cubbie Station's lapse into administration.
"Cubbie hasn't been able to pull a decent season for four, five years at least," he
said.
"It's disappointing to see any large regional employer in trouble like this.
"We'd be hoping it can still be operated as a going concern.
"We think there's a strong viability for an irrigation sector in that region."