TWO peak industry bodies have joined forces to refute comments by Australian Climate and Biodiversity Foundation chair Dr Ken Henry about land clearing and loopholes in Australia’s environmental laws.
During a Committee for Economic Development of Australia speech this week, Dr Henry claimed “irresponsible clearing” was occurring in Australia and current environmental laws and the proposed EPBC Act reforms would not close a deforestation loophole.
The National Farmers’ Federation and the Australian Forest Products Association (AFPA) disputed the claims by Dr Henry that misrepresent the facts about Australia’s forestry and farming sectors.
NFF general manager for natural resource management, Warwick Ragg said farmers and graziers were not in the business of deforestation in Australia.
“The management of Australia’s native forests, regrowth, addressing woody and noxious weeds is not deforestation,” he said.
“It’s disappointing and irresponsible to see these claims being made that undermine the genuine environmental and sustainability credentials of Australian farmers,” Mr Ragg said.
“The so-called ‘deforestation loophole’ doesn’t exist, the EPBC Act has never regulated clearing.
“Analysis of the current EPBC reform proposals shows that a resolution of the dual consent issue will assess both clearing and threatened species concurrently through bilateral agreements.”
Australian Forest Products Association chief executive Diana Hallam said Australia’s forest industries did not engage in deforestation, replacing every tree that is harvested.
“There are also no loopholes in the EPBC legislation, current or proposed,” she said.
“As the Federal Court confirmed only last year, Australian Regional Forest Agreements (RFA) are an alternative mechanism by which the objects of the EPBC Act can be achieved, by way of an intergovernmental agreement allocating responsibility to a State for regulation of environmental matters of Commonwealth concern within an agreed framework.
“It is important, therefore, to reiterate that entry into an RFA does not result in a regulatory void with respect to any particular forestry region on matters of national environmental significance.”
Dr Henry’s comments were also at odds with United Nations’ climate change mitigation science – where the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recently said: “A sustainable forest management strategy aimed at maintaining or increasing forest carbon stocks, while producing an annual sustained yield of timber, fibre or energy from the forest, will generate the largest sustained mitigation benefit.”
The Australian Conservation Foundation also stated in the media: “The majority of the 40,000 beef producers in Australia are deforestation free.”
Source: NFF