The Member for New England, Tony Windsor, is the only politician who 'gets' the carbon credits for soils issue. That's because he listens and he is not forced to toe the party line. His press release which reported his question in the House of Representatives in November, after he attended the National Carbon Forum in Canberra, is the most well-informed comment made by a public figure about soil carbon.
His release included the following: "Mr Windsor believes that the potential to use carbon credits to reward agricultural practices could not only improve Australia's soils, but also store carbon in the soil rather than the atmosphere and could be one of the solutions that the Federal Government is looking for.
"'With appropriate changes to land management, agricultural soils have the capacity to sequester and store large volumes of carbon, thus improving microbial contact, biological activity, fertility, soil structure, stability, resistance to erosion and ultimately biodiversity, productivity and profitability.
'Increasing soil carbon can significantly reduce the impact of dryland salinity, reduce sedimentation rates in rivers and streams, improve water quality, improve air quality, and decrease the impact of the Greenhouse Effect, global warming and climate change."
Tony was a farmer before his parliamentary career. He has defeated National Party candidates for the State seat of Tamworth and the Federal seat of New England. His hold on these seats is such that former Deputy Prime Minister John Anderson approached him through business identity Greg Maguire with the offer of a diplomatic post if he would surrender his seat. The Honourable John Anderson denied the allegation.
Tony can be reached at Tony.Windsor.MP@aph.gov.au with information and support.
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