1 August 2019
Government caves into big agribusiness’ demands for amnesty on land-clearing prosecutions
The Berejiklian government has caved into the demands of big agribusiness by granting an amnesty to environmental lawbreakers under the old Native Vegetation Act.
Environment Minister Matt Kean and Agriculture Minister Adam Marshall announced today that the government would not prosecute Native Vegetation Act breaches if the actions would have been legal under the government’s new laws.
“The government has effectively made its deforestation laws retrospective and in the process has endorsed possibly hundreds of incidents of environmental lawbreaking,” Nature Conservation Council CEO Kate Smolski said.
“This decision undermines the rule of law and sets a dangerous precedent.
“We have seen a massive increase in habitat destruction since this Coalition announced it would scrap the Native Vegetation Act.
“Gladys Berejikilan's repeal of the Native Vegetation Act has been an environmental disaster.
“They have led to thousands of hectares of wildlife habitat being bulldozed at a time when more than 1000 native species now threatened with extinction in NSW.
“Even before the act was repealed in late 2017, there was a massive spike in clearing, presumably because the National Party gave big agribusiness an assurance that law breakers would not be prosecuted.
“Today the government has caved into the demands of big agribusiness and dealt another blow to nature and its already appalling record as environmental managers.”
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Forests and wildlife
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