Attempts by the federal government to stop potentially unlawful clearing in Queensland were reversed after political intervention, with a highly unusual apology letter sent to every landholder suspected of planning unlawful clearing at the direct request of the minister, documents obtained by the Guardian under FOI laws reveal.
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| The abrupt line between pristine protected rainforest and land cleared by early settlers for dairy pasture in north Queensland. |
In December 2015 and January 2016, the federal department of environment took the exceptional step of asking 51 landholders with approval from the Queensland government to clear their land, to explain why the clearing wasn’t unlawful under federal environmental law.
But within two months, the department issued the unusual apology letter to every recipient of the initial letter, Guardian Australia can reveal.
Read Michael Slezak’s story from The Guardian - “Lobbying by MPs forced government to back off on land-clearing enforcement.”
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