POPULAR WORDS

The fuel subsidy scheme will be retained after fears it would be abolished to fund public service pay claims. Queensland rural lobby group AgForce has received written confirmation from Premier Peter Beattie the scheme will be retained, president Larry Acton says. Beattie last week threatened to bury the scheme in the wake of pay claims by nurses and police officers, a stunt Acton called an attempt to "prop up Treasury coffers". "That subsidy of eight cents a litre is substantial for primary producers and those who live in regional Queensland, who travel long distances to get anywhere," he says. "The Premier's comments in the media about the subsidy prompted us to write, along with other organisations like the RACQ, to the Premier seeking clarification. "Mr Beattie's prompt response this week in which he categorically rules out any abolition of the scheme is a welcome one."