THE National Farmers’ Federation says it is “bitterly disappointed” by a deal between the Government and the Greens to pass changes to federal environmental laws through the Senate.

Hamish McIntyre

Changes to the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation act were introduced to the parliament on 30 October, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese today confirming the Government had struck a deal with the Greens to pass them through the senate.

This is despite the legislation being referred to a Senate Inquiry which was ongoing until 5 December.

In a response to today’s announcement, National Farmers’ Federation president Hamish McIntyre said:

“Farmers have been left bitterly disappointed by the deal between the Government and the Greens on environmental reform.

“The Prime Minister has confirmed the Government has made a deal with the Greens on the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act 1999, through the environment protection reform bill process.

“As stewards of more than half of Australia’s environment, farmers understand the importance of doing the right thing by the land.

“They’ve also historically borne the brunt of complex federal environmental laws, often at odds with state obligations.

“That’s why the NFF has supported genuine reform, but not this deal.

“Our key concern is the announcement of ‘closer controls’ of ‘high risk land clearing’. The specifics of this remain unclear, and we are urgently calling for clarity.

“The introduction of reduced regrowth thresholds to the long-established ‘continuing use’ provision will promote poor environmental outcomes and increase bushfire risk.

“It will interfere with routine vegetation management of regrowth to prevent bushfires, keep land productive, and manage weeds.

“The misunderstanding of agricultural practices is bitterly disappointing.

“The NFF will continue to try to make these reforms as workable for the farm sector as possible.”

NSW Farmers say reforms fail farmers and environment

Renewable developments may be fast-tracked, land use restricted and a new environmental watchdog established under the amendments to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act set to pass the Senate today.

While the reforms were intended to protect the environment, NSW Farmers President Xavier Martin said the role of agriculture in conserving the landscape had been ignored in the Federal Government’s quest to rush through reforms before the year’s end.

“Senator Watt has declared that any deal will do, so long as the laws are in place before we put Christmas lunch on the table,” Mr Martin said.

“This rushed deal with the Greens does not achieve the long-term consensus we need for effective environmental law, and it won’t actually conserve our landscape either.

“The environment and how farmers protect it is simply too important to sacrifice to tick a box, and the impacts of this rush job will be felt by farmers and the landscape for generations to come.

“Once again, green tape slammed through by those far away from our farms will restrict our ability to care for and conserve the environment.

“They’re wrecking the environment in the name of saving the environment – and it’s not just farmers, but all people that rely on our productive landscape for their food and clothing, who will pay the price.”

“Rushed legislation is bad legislation” – AgForce

Queensland’s peak representative body for rural producers said these reforms will lock up productive land, constrain producers’ ability to care for their country, punish farmers participating in carbon projects and ultimately drive up food prices for Australians.

“Canberra has tied farmers’ hands and now the whole country will feel it at the checkout,” AgForce General President Shane McCarthy said.

“You cannot restrict land management and expect food production to remain stable. Someone pays — and it’s always the consumer.”

Mr McCarthy said AgForce is gravely concerned about the 15-year limit on ‘continuing use’.

“At the heart of this debate is a little-understood concept known as ‘continuing use’. For 25 years, this provision has recognised that agriculture operates in cycles — grazing, rest, pasture renovation, regrowth management, cropping rotations, fallowing and recovery,” Mr McCarthy said.

However the Federal Government’s reforms allow land that has been legally and sustainably managed for generations to be reclassified after 15 years, regardless of rainfall, growth rates, drought cycles or landscape type — effectively removing a producer’s ability to return that land to productive use.

“As long as governments pit agriculture against the environment instead of treating them as partners, policy will fail,” Mr McCarthy said.

“The 15-year rule removes the flexibility needed to deliver both environmental and agricultural goals.”