Rail plan abandonment will hurt Queensland beef sector

Trouble will descend on Queensland's beef industry if the government abandons livestock rail services, according to AgForce, a lobbying organisation for the beef cattle sector.

About 900-1,200 jobs will be lost at slaughterhouses around Brisbane, and the jobs will go to other states and overseas because it is cheaper for graziers to send western cattle to South Australia for processing and northern stock to ports for live export, said AgForce.

Rail changes the delicate balance of cattle markets and production decisions by producers, said AgForce policy director Oscar Pearse.

Graziers were concerned that livestock rail services would be abandoned after some trains were cancelled and Transport Minister Rachel Nolan said the service would cost Queensland Rail about A$25 million (US$21 million) per year.

The minister's spokesman said the US$21 million loss was an implicit and large subsidy from taxpayers.

The government was working on a transport strategy, with the aim of putting livestock and grain on a commercial basis. Nolan was meeting slaughterhouse owners, and the positions of AgForce and the government would be clearer next month.

Queensland is the only state still hauling livestock by rail.