The member for Barwon Kevin Humphries reiterates the Baird government’s announcement that the Native Vegetation Act will be replaced by a new act.
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LEADER of the NSW Nationals Troy Grant, yesterday announced that we have accepted all the recommendations made by the Independent Biodiversity Legislation Review Panel and that a re-elected Baird government will implement them as an integrated package of reforms.
Importantly, this new legislative package will replace the Native Vegetation Act and associated legislation with a new comprehensive Biodiversity Conservation Act that will apply state-wide.
When we came to government, we inherited complex and ineffective laws that were failing to adequately conserve our native vegetation.
Independent advice to the government was that under Labor’s laws, the condition of most native vegetation in NSW had continued to deteriorate and threatened species were still declining.
At the same time, the farming community alone was bearing the burden of these ineffective laws.
The independent expert panel concluded fundamental reform was required to meet the aims of facilitating conservation of biodiversity and supporting ecologically sustainable development.
If the NSW Liberals and Nationals are re-elected, we will have draft legislation for public comment by November 2015. This legislation will ensure the whole community is responsible for the biodiversity impacts of development and land clearing. Land clearing laws will no longer just apply to farmers, but will apply consistently to all landholders across the state.
This commitment to reform is a key part of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) the NSW Liberals and Nationals today signed with the NSW Farmers Association.
The MOU also covers areas including strengthening biosecurity; additional support for agriculture and aquaculture extension services; flying fox netting; drought recovery and preparedness; pest animal management; the development of a cross-commodity quality assurance strategy; and a commitment to hold a roundtable on young farmer finance.
I acknowledge that the process to repeal the Native Vegetation Act has taken longer than first expected, but our insistence on an evidence-based, non-ideological approach to the issue has been vindicated.
We now have a roadmap to a more productive future for our farmers and, if re-elected, a clear timeline to release draft legislation by the end of the year.