Sugar deregulation and the removal of farmers’ water allocations in several states could prove to be a tragedy for the National Party.Investment in cane harvesters is a key industry barometer. Orders used to be around 160 p.a. until partial deregulation in 1996. In 2001 only 15 were sold. In 2002 it dropped to nine, and this year only five have been ordered, just one for Queensland.A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Federal and Queensland governments was signed last September 25 by …
