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Committee Members
Rod Young (Chair)
Helen Dalton
Mark Horan
Oscar Pearse
Bronwyn Petrie
Cameron Rowntree
John Ward
Lorraine Wilson

NSW Farmers'
Association Staff
E nswfarmers@
nswfarmers.org.au

P 02 8251 1700
F 02 8251 1750

Member Service
Centre
1300 794 000

 

CRM_NV_ThumbnailNative Vegetation

Latest News

Native Vegetation Updates

NSW Farmers will be releasing Native Vegetation Updates throughout the year as the native vegetation reforms continue.

  • Click here for a copy of the January 2012 update.

Native Vegetation Position Statement

Following the listening tour on native vegetation conducted in October, NSW Farmers has collated member views and formal policy on native vegetation reform into a single document to put to government as part of the current review of the Native Vegetation Regulation and to guide our broader lobbying on this issue.

The statement sets out the following principles which must be reflected in any new native vegetation laws:

  • Legislation which limits broad scale land clearing in the ordinary sense of the phrase
  • Regional landscape planning by landholders and CMA's to define parameters for environmental management
  • Legislation which balances conservation of biodiversity against the social and economic benefits of productive land use
  • A move away from PVPs and other instruments which affect the title of private land
  • CMA's which can advise farmers on best practice natural resource management on a proactive and informal basis
  • Strong emphasis on self assessment for development within the parameters of the landscape plan, with support from CMA's
  • Penalties that are commensurate with the nature of clearing offences
  • Flexibility to manage and protect grasslands subject to triple bottom line objectives
  • A best practice Soil and Pasture Management Code of Practice with incentives and support for participating landholders
  • Approvals must be supported by a cost effective, speedy and independent appeal process
  • CMA's that actively promote remediation of invasive native scrub

Click here to view a copy of the full NSW Farmers Position Statement...

Native Vegatation Survey

There is a Native Vegatation Survey currently being conducted by the NSW Government.

Click here to go to the survey...

Native Vegatation Priority Areas

The objectives of the Native Vegatation priority areas are to:

  • progressively improve the native vegetation system and legislation
  • develop effective invasive native species (INS) policy
  • develop effective private native forestry (PNF) policy
  • lobby for improved landscape vegetation management planning

Native Vegetation Reforms

The NSW Government has announced a review of native vegetation laws. To help us put forward a constructive position, NSW Farmers will be holding workshops around the state to discuss our position with members.

See below section for more information...

Native Vegetation Reading Material

NSW Farmers recommends downloading and reading the below material on Native Vegatation. We also encourage you to read NSW Farmers’ proposal and provide feedback via the Association's Member Service Centre or your elected representatives.

Senate Inquiry: Native Vegetation Laws, Greenhouse Gas Abatement and Climate Change Measures

The Senate Finance and Public Administration References Committee has released its report into Native Vegetation Laws, Greenhouse Gas Abatement and Climate Change Measures. The report makes three recommendations aimed at addressing current legislation’s imbalance between conservation and agricultural production and recognising the need for future regulatory activities to be reoriented to focus on stewardship initiatives. Click here for further information.

Native Vegetation Legislation - the great cost shift

The Association continues to fight against the government shifting the cost of public conservation on private land holders and failing to apply ‘triple bottom line’ sustainability principles when implementing native vegetation controls.

The Productivity Commission, in its major report, Impacts of Native Vegetation and Biodiversity Regulations (2004)  found that native vegetation legislation imposed unreasonable costs on farmers and was an inefficient way of achieving public conservation outcomes in rural Australia. To illustrate, economic analysis undertaken by the Commission found that prohibitions on broadscale clearing could reduce the present value of expected net returns (2003 dollars) to land, capital and management (over a 40-year period) in Moree Plains Shire (NSW) by $27–$84 million, depending on the productivity of newly-cleared land, and by $42–$124 million in Murweh Shire (Queensland). 

The Commission concluded that better environmental outcomes could be achieved at less cost to the community overall and landholders in particular. It recommended that a priority was to remove impediments to private conservation (imposed by the current laws); developing a formal process for equitably sharing costs; and properly considering social and economic impacts in relation to clearing approvals.

Governments Australia wide have continued to ignore these recommendations.

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