Bankwest called in receivers Korda Mentha to take control of Mr Wharton's two Gulf-region properties, Runnymede near Richmond and Red Rock, Einasleigh.

Queensland Country Life understands the two parties met in Brisbane last week. Mr Wharton has declined to comment. Bankwest is one of nine signatories to the Queensland Farm Finance Strategy which requires independent mediation before foreclosure in any dispute over farm finance.

The strategy appears to have been used as a pattern by the Victorian Government which has introduced a similar arrangement for independent me- diation, the Farm Debt Mediation Scheme. Unlike the QFFS, which is a voluntary arrangement endorsed by the Australian Bankers Association, the Victorian scheme makes it compulsory for banks and other creditors to offer mediation to farmers before starting debt recovery proceedings on farm mortgages.

Under the Victorian FDMS, a farmer has 21 days to respond to an offer to mediate, otherwise the creditor can start action as normal. Farm debt mediation is a structured negotiation process where the mediator assists the farmer and the creditor to reach agreement about current and future debt arrangements.