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Sugar Corporation and Queensland Sugar Limited). A land assignment system was introduced
whereby cane could only be grown on cane assigned land. Growers were required to deliver cane to
designated mills and mills were required to accept all cane grown on assigned land within a mill area.
Aspects of the cane supply such as delivery and pricing arrangements were specified in accompanying
regulation.
The benefits of government regulation include the establishment of rules to manage industry
participants and the provision of certainty which allowed the industry to form. The potential
drawbacks include inflexibility which prohibited allowances for changing conditions over time. This
also impeded progress and innovation to respond to a changing environment. In 2004 the industry
through the introduction of the Queensland Sugar Industry Reform act became partially deregulated
permitting sugarcane growers to freely enter into supply contracts with the mill of their choice. In
2005 the Queensland Government entirely deregulated the marketing of Queensland’s raw sugar
exports allowing the industry to graduate from statutory relationships to contract based commercial
relationships.
A review of the development of sugar industry legislation is provided below. Legislation has been
strongly influential on the relationship between the growers and milling companies, how they do
business and manage the supply chain.
Legislative and review timeline (Source: Sugar Industry Oversight Group, 2006)
1893 Sugar Works Guarantee Act authorises the funding of central sugar mills with financial backing by the
Queensland Government.
1901 Australian Government places protective import duties on sugar.
1915 Queensland Government passes Sugar Acquisition Act and Regulation of Sugar Cane Prices Act, which
legislate and establish regulatory controls over production levels, marketing and pricing. Though not to the same
extent, regulatory controls are also imposed on wages and working conditions within the sugar industry.
1923 Sugar Board in Queensland, established under the Sugar Acquisition Act 1915, takes over the authority to
acquire and market all raw sugar produced in Queensland.
1925 Queensland legislation establishes the basis for the future CANEGROWERS organisation.
1937 First International Sugar Agreement is negotiated, but does not come into force due to World War II.
1951 Commonwealth Sugar Agreement is reached with the United Kingdom.
1969 International Sugar Agreement commences for a five-year term, Australia still participates in the
International Sugar Organisation.
1974 Commonwealth Sugar Agreement is terminated.
1978 Industries Assistance Commission (IAC) conducts an inquiry into the industry.
1983 IAC conducts a second inquiry into the industry and concludes that government assistance to the industry
should be substantially reduced; recommendations were not accepted by Australian Government.
1985 Sugar Industry Working Party undertakes a review and makes recommendations similar to those of the
IAC. The flexibility of some regulatory controls is increased.
1986 Report by the Bureau of Agricultural Economics, Efficiency of transport, milling and handling in the
sugar industry; states’ regulatory regimes are considered to have inhibited the efficiency of the Australian sugar
industry.
1989 Embargo on sugar imports is dismantled and customs tariff is imposed. Senate standing committee inquiry
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