Senator Barnaby Joyce has announced that the report from the Senate Inquiry - Native Vegetation Laws, Greenhouse Gas Abatement and Climate Change Measures, has been released.“If a small part of the community was being asked to pay for the benefits enjoyed by the whole country, most Australians would agree that it would be unfair. The recent Senate Inquiry into vegetation management heard that this is exactly the case for landowners who are being asked to pay the price for the benefit of the community at large. It should be remembered that each Australian farmer feeds 150 Australians and 650 people overseas. These people just don’t need to be saddled by the extra burden of having to bear what the Senate committee identified as economic, personal and family costs” said Senator Barnaby Joyce who was part of the Senate Inquiry committee.
“Many landowners are in the untenable situation of having land values drop to the point where selling out is not an option. They still have to maintain the land and try to be productive and yet they are not being allowed to utilise the land profitably.”
The Senate Inquiry committee has come to the conclusion thatCOAG should re-examine the native vegetation laws with a view to establishing a balance between managing environmental objectives and maximising agricultural production. Senator Joyce said, “It is interesting to note that even though the Senate has recommended a review of the laws which have created a huge amount of stress and financial hardship to farmers, the NSW government is reportedly starting a new round of clearing compliance measures which include sending satellite photos of alleged infringements to landowners. Surely the NSW government should be taking note of the inquiry findings before adding more stress and uncertainty to farmers.”