ANTI-farmer group WWF is again attempting to exploit its entrenched position within the Palaszczuk government to wind-back Queensland's vegetation management laws.
The controversial group last week issued Queensland's so-called tree-clearing map of shame in a bid to pressure Natural Resources Minister Dr Anthony Lynham into winding back common sense amendments to draconian laws introduced by the Beattie and Bligh governments through the Vegetation Management Act.
The so-called map of shame issued by WWF campaigner Martin Taylor details 94 locations where over the last three years vegetation has been cleared or approved for clearing.
Embarrassingly for the WWF, the map identifies a property east of Augathella which was previously claimed to represent an instance of inappropriate vegetation management. That site was subsequently investigated by NRM officers and found to be have not only have been developed in consultation with the department and but developed within vegetation management laws.
However, the blunder appears to have done little to rein in the WWF and its claims of widespread destruction.
"We have discovered many instances of clearing since mid-2014, some involving large areas, that suggest panic clearing is underway," Dr Taylor said. "The department has advised that 64 cases of unexplained clearing of native vegetation have been allocated for further investigation."
The release of WWF map follows the announcement of a five-point plan by the Palaszczuk government last week to review vegetation management laws. That plan includes a vegetation health check which revealed 97 per cent of farmers are complying with clearing rules and a new monitoring system.
It is understood the minority Palaszczuk government remains stymied in any attempt to significantly change vegetation laws without the support of speaker Peter Wellington or the Katter Party, who have previously indicated their support for landholders.
AgForce president Grant Maudsley said green groups had failed to engage with farmers, preferring to sit in Brisbane making accusations, which had proven false.
"During a drought we expect the use of mulga as a fodder reserve for sheep and cattle in hard-hit areas would be a larger than usual contributor to overall rates.”
