20 September, 2016
Govt’s own report shows overwhelming opposition to proposals that increase land clearing
The Nature Conservation Council is calling on the Baird government to abandon plans to loosen land clearing controls after the government’s own analysis of public submissions revealed overwhelming opposition to its legislative package.
The government’s analysis found that at least 5,350 of the 7,166 submissions to the draft legislation were made by supporters of the Stand Up For Nature Alliance, which opposes to government’s plans to scrap the Threatened Species Conservation Act and Native Vegetation Act. [1]
Conservation groups, wildlife groups, scientific bodies and researchers made a further 175 submissions expressing a range of concerns, including the likelihood that the proposals would increase extinction pressure on threatened species.
“The results of this analysis show the Baird government has no support for loosening land clearing controls and putting our native wildlife under more threat,” Nature Conservation Council CEO Kate Smolski said.
“This is another example of Premier Baird pushing through changes without community support.
“Mr Baird has outsourced the state’s environmental policy to the most radical elements of the National Party and the NSW Farmers.
“Only 150 of the 7,166 submission received were identified as coming from the farming sector, which goes to show these changes are not being made in response to a groundswell of support from the farming community.
“These backwards reforms have been crafted to further the interests of a vocal minority who stand to make money from land clearing.
“The laws the government is proposing will further the short-term interests of big agribusiness and property developers, not the communities and wildlife in regional areas that depend on healthy soils, waterways and bushland for their long-term survival.
“Mr Baird should scrap this flawed package and either fund Local Land Services to make the Native Vegetation Act work as intended, or go back to the drawing board and come up with another way to provide workable, strong protections for nature in NSW.”
BACKGROUND
The report indicates that environment groups, scientists, environmental consultants, community groups, local councils and individuals, including some individual farmers, shared a wide range of concerns, including that:
- the proposed legislation puts development ahead of conservation (p9)
- the Biodiversity Conservation Bill should be amended to ensure that biodiversity is conserved or improved (p8)
- the Local Land Services Amendment Bill would not ensure adequate protection of biodiversity (p10)
- Endangered Ecological Communities could be cleared under codes (p15)
- the “improve or maintain” standard had been removed (p10)
- set-asides (biodiversity offsets) need to protected in perpetuity (p15)
- codes should be limited to low-risk clearing and not used for broad-scale clearing (p13)
- landholders lack expertise in identifying environmental values (p13)
- expanded clearing distances for allowable activities were not justified (p 12)
- the proposed codes would allow the clearing of paddock trees without approval (p14)
Individual farmers:
- “Some individual farmers expressed concern that the aim of the maintaining or improving native vegetation in New South Wales was not included in the objects of the Bill” (p8)
- “The Encroaching Native Vegetation Code allows clearing for 900ha in 1000ha and is self-assessable which can allow for dramatic land clearing rather than proper land management (p115)
[1] NSW Land Management and Biodiversity Conservation Reforms: Summary of submissions report,
www.landmanagement.nsw.gov.au/assets/Uploads/CS0045-Biodiversity-Submission-Report-Interactive.pdf
Media contact: James Tremain, 0419 272 254
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