“I’m seeking a meeting with the deputy prime minister to offer my support,” said McGrady.

McGrady said he has been encouraged by Anderson's advocacy of introducing clean air standards as a means of inducing fuel companies to produce ethanol blends for the Australian market.

“It’s an idea that should be considered,” McGrady said.

"Clean air standards for vehicles would require a reduction in the particles in fuel emissions. Adding ethanol increases the oxygen level, making fuel burn cleaner, with fewer particle emissions.”

“It could be a way to boost the demand for ethanol which in turn would benefit the sugar cane industry.”

According to McGrady, Anderson said the decision not to mandate ethanol production in 2003 was based on information from CSIRO that apparently underestimated the reduction in greenhouse gases that would result from ethanol use. With new evidence pointing to significant resultant reductions in greenhouse emissions, McGrady says the Queensland Government will continue to champion ethanol.

“Next month we’re hosting an international ethanol conference and we recently announced rebates to encourage service stations to convert fuel tanks to E10,” McGrady said.