Native vegetation threatned by new draft land clearing legislation

When clearing laws were relaxed in Queensland,
 so much was cleared it looks set to completely
 undo greenhouse gas emissions cuts made
 under the federal government’s Direct Action policy. 

Land clearing regulations are set to be relaxed in NSW, as the government releases draft legislation that would allow farmers to clear native vegetation without approval in many cases, and give others access to “offsets”.

It has also committed $240m over five years to pay farmers not to clear land, followed by $70m a year thereafter.

The government said the changes would improve biodiversity, even though they will allow protected areas to be cleared.

Three laws would be scrapped under the proposal: the Native Vegetation Act, the Threatened Species Conservation Act and the Nature Conservation Trust Act. Parts of the National Parks and Wildlife Act will also be repealed. The legislation will be replaced with two new acts: the Amended Local Land Services Act and the new Biodiversity Conservation Act.

The moves largely follow recommendations of a review completed in 2014.

Read The Guardian story - “NSW land-clearing law will let farmers clear native vegetation with no approval.”