Farmers told: "Get Real!"
A campaign by farmers to get compensation or remove land clearing laws will be fought all the way, Total Environment Centre said today. Farmers have already received millions of dollars and continued clearing rights over a lot of native vegetation.
“There’s been extensive clearing and we have to keep the best of what’s left but some farmers have never accepted that the wider community has a right to impose laws to prevent excessive land clearing of native vegetation. Their claim for compensation is a furphy as they deliberately avoid the truth that compensation has already been paid both financially and in the structure of the laws,” said Jeff Angel Director of the Total Environment Centre.
“In the case of the NSW laws the then Howard government provided tens of millions of dollars on the condition that NSW had land clearing laws. More was put in by the state. Similarly in Queensland there was a large adjustment fund. And both laws contain protections for clearing by farmers of native vegetation including regrowth, other than that deemed important for biodiversity.”
“Tony Abbot is going to have to be clear on his policy position. On the one hand he expresses sympathy for the farmers; while on the other he wants to plant lots of trees for carbon sinks. If you free up land clearing laws then the carbon emissions will overwhelm the potential carbon sequestration of tree planting”, Mr Angel said.”
“We also call on state governments and oppositions and the Rudd government to plainly state they will not be weakening land clearing laws.”
“Some farmers seem to think you can have a magic pudding and every time you complain you will get more money. They should get real.”
