THE Palaszczuk Government used the cover of darkness to introduce its new vegetation management laws into parliament last night.
The vote was deadlocked with Labor gaining the support of independents Billy Gordon and Rob Pyne.
The decision forced independent speaker Peter Wellington to use his casting vote. He moved that the decision go to the Agriculture, Resources and Environment Committee.
The controversial Vegetation Management (Reinstatement) Admendment Bill was not listed on the government’s agenda of business for Thursday but was introduced just before 9.30pm in a move that appeared designed to catch the opposition off-guard.
The controversial bill seeks to eliminate the common sense reforms made to the Vegetation Management Act by the former LNP government.
The bill has now been referred to the Agriculture, Resources and Environment Committee, which will report back to parliament on June 30. Labor had wanted to fast track the committee’s report to April 15. However, after a marathon five-hour debate, independents Billy Gordon and the Katter Party sided with the LNP to give that committee time to scrutinise the proposed laws including its impact on farmers.
LNP opposition natural resources spokesman Andrew Cripps had attempted to scuttle the bill by voting down the bill at its first reading, on the basis the Palaszczuk Government had failed to deliver on a repeatedly promised roundtable consultation process.
“This bill is more punitive, more restrictive and impinges on more property rights of more landowners in Queensland than the vegetation management framework prior to the amendments put in place by the LNP in 2013,” Mr Cripps said.
If passed the news laws will be a major blow to how farmers manage vegetation on their land and to the development of agriculture in northern Queensland.
In a nutshell the Vegetation Management (Reinstatement) Amendment Bill will:
- Reverse all the LNP amendments from 2013 except self-assessable codes, which are being reviewed separately.
- Eliminate development for high value agriculture and high value irrigated agriculture.
- Limit regrowth management on freehold and indigenous freehold land.
- Reintroduce a reverse of onus of proof on landholders meaning they will no longer able to plead mistake of fact as a defence.
- Introduce Category R restrictions beyond the Wet Tropics, Burdekin and Mackay/Whitsunday to include Eastern Cape York, the Fitzroy Basin and Burnett/Mary catchments.
The Labor-aligned Wilderness Society said Queensland was clearing about 300,000 hectares of bushland each year, and millions of animals, including many koalas, were being killed.
Wilderness Society campaigns manager Tim Seelig said he expected hard-core Nationals in the LNP and their supporters would try to run a scare campaign about the Palaszczuk Government’s new laws
“...but protecting native woodlands will not lead to the end of agriculture or prosperity as has been claimed,” he said.
Green groups do not acknowledge data contained in the Statewide Landcover and Trees Study (SLATS) showing that despite the clearing, tree coverage across Queensland increased by 437,000ha as identified by AgForce.
The Agriculture, Resources and Environment Committee is chaired by Glenn Butcher (ALP Gladstone) with Stephen Bennett (LNP Burnett), Julieanne Gilbert (ALP Mackay), Robbie Katter (KAP Mount Isa), Jim Madden (ALP Ipswich West), and Ted Sorensen (LNP Hervey Bay).
