- Crisafulli Government saves primary industries workforce program due to be axed under Labor.
- Fisheries scientific research funding was set to be scrapped by Labor from next week.
- Labor's $200 million forestry pledge unfunded or unaccounted for.
The Crisafulli Government has saved key primary industries programs due to be axed by the former Labor Government.
The 2025-2026 Primary Industries $817.2m Budget – an increase of $100m from last year – supports vital work the former Labor Government left unfunded from June 30.
Seven critical stakeholder organisations due to have embedded officers' funding cut will now continue to deliver this important work for another year.
The Crisafulli Government will help grow a skilled and essential primary industries workforce by prioritising $1.6 million to continue gains made under Labor's discontinued Queensland Agriculture Workforce Network program.
Industry peak bodies, the Department of Education and the Department of Trade Employment and Training will work hand in hand on addressing this serious challenge.
Research into fisheries was saved from Labor's chopping block with $13 million for scientific capability salvaged in this Budget and 38 public servants will keep their jobs.
The Crisafulli Government will deliver a landmark Queensland Future Timber Plan by the end of the year, which will ensure the State has the local sustainable timber needed to build homes.
For a decade, the former Labor Government failed to support the primary industries sector and Labor failed to mention future support in the Budget reply speech today.
Minister for Primary Industries Tony Perrett said Labor's limited life-funded programs were further proof of their lip service to primary industries for a decade.
"Industry knows Labor made decisions based on ideology, not science, but it defies logic that Labor was planning to do away with fisheries science all together," Minister Perrett said.
"No plan to fund scientific capability for fisheries, no money allocated to a $200 million promise to the timber industry and no plan to solve critical workforce shortages beyond next week.
"The Crisafulli Government promised to back primary industries and we're delivering as part of our ambitious goal to increase primary production output to $30 billion by 2030."
The Queensland Farmers' Federation (QFF) welcomed the Crisafulli Government's investment in workforce growth.
QFF CEO Jo Sheppard said the extension enabled nine officers to continue their frontline work delivering workforce and skills initiatives, whilst allowing Government and industry time to develop a longer-term strategy and build a stronger pipeline for the future.
"Our organisation and members look forward to the opportunity to work with the Government to develop an action plan to address the immediate workforce shortages of today and beyond, so Queensland agriculture can continue to grow and remain competitive on the global stage," she said.
