Fair compensation must be part of native veg regime

In Parliament this week Member for Northern Tablelands Richard Torbay called for proper compensation for farmers whose land is locked up through native vegetation legislation.
“It has been suggested to me that a fair compensation regime would include an element of stewardship,” he said. “ When the annual productivity loss to the farmer for locking up land is estimated, that compensation should be paid to care for and manage that land. Removing noxious weeds and feral animals and ensuring lower fire risk would be part of the process.”
He said farmers also wanted a more consultative regime where they could present their sustainable native vegetation plans to local Catchment Management Authorities on an individual basis, have them assessed and then open to inspection on an ongoing basis.
“That would be a big improvement on the confusion and fear that now pervades the issue,” he said. “ There are many stories of “Green Gestapo” tactics which, correct or otherwise, do not help to instil an attitude of willing stewardship in farmers.
“Preserving native vegetation means, for many, submitting to what is perceived as a police state of satellite surveillance, neighbours invited to report on neighbours, officials marching onto properties without notice, confusion about legislative requirements at all levels, and lack of consultation. Many farmers are either afraid of or openly contemptuous of the officers who have been given the unfortunate task of implementing these unworkable regulations.”
The MP said farmers had been asked to shoulder an unfair share of the burden of maintaining native vegetation and reducing the nation’s greenhouse gases with no compensation, at a time when governments were cutting back on natural resource funding and the energy sector was actually increasing its emissions.
“Land clearing legislation has created a bureaucratic morass,” he said “It is difficult to interpret, and its administration has been uneven thanks to over-stretched departments. The penalty system does not scale well. Unfairly heavy penalties can be delivered against minor transgressions, yet the system has failed to prevent some major transgressions. The complexity of the legislation has meant some well-intentioned farmers have broken the law, despite taking advice, and driven many more to covert action because they fear the consequences of asking advice.