THE Vegetation Management (Reinstatement) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2016 was introduced to Parliament on March 17 and has been referred to the Agriculture and Environment Committee.
Submissions in relation to the bill are due on April 25 and the committee is to report to parliament on the bill by June 30. Debate in relation to the bill is expected to be fierce.
In 2013, the previous state government made various amendments to the vegetation management framework in Queensland, including by permitting assessment of vegetation clearing applications for ‘high value agriculture’ (HVA) and ‘irrigated high value agriculture’ (IHVA) and restricting high value regrowth vegetation to leasehold land (excluding freehold and Indigenous land).
The bill seeks to revert to the previous state of play. Landholders may be particularly concerned in relation to proposals to:
1. Remove high value agriculture and irrigated high value agriculture from the purposes for which a vegetation clearing application can be assessed; and
2. Reinstate the ‘reverse onus of proof’, i.e. the requirement for a landholder defending proceedings in relation to a vegetation clearing offence to prove that it was someone other than the landholder that cleared the vegetation.
Some important questions
I have an existing PMAV, will the proposed changes affect me? No, property maps of assessable vegetation (PMAVs) in place before March 17 will not be affected by the bill. You can continue to clear vegetation identified as Category X vegetation on the PMAV.
I have an existing development approval for agricultural clearing, will the proposed changes affect me? No, the proposed changes to the vegetation management framework will not restrict vegetation clearing for HVA or IHVA provided that it is undertaken in accordance with a development approval in place before March 17.
Can I lodge an application for agricultural clearing before the bill commences? You could, but if the bill commences it will operate retrospectively so that an application for clearing vegetation for HVA or IHVA purposes, and the associated approval, will be deemed not to have been made and the clearing will be ‘prohibited development’.
Although it will not be an offence for a landholder to undertake the clearing in accordance with an approval issued for an application to clear HVA or IHVA made between March 17 and the date the bill commences, it is proposed the Department of Natural Resources and Mines (DNRM) must issue a restoration notice to the landholder. The restoration notice may require restoration of land in addition to the land that has been cleared.
How can I find out if the mapping will change for my property? To request vegetation mapping for your property, enter your property details at: www.qld.gov.au/environment/land/vegetation/map-request/.
- Melanie Simmonds is special counsel and Rodney Bell a specialist agribusiness lawyer with McCullough Robertson.
