The bill is aimed at so called "vegan vigilantes" who trespass on the agricultural properties, but a host of legal and environmental groups said the "sloppy legislation" would have unintended consequences.

Agriculture Minister Adam Marshall maintained the bill would have no impact on legal peaceful protesting, however "acknowledged that legitimate concerns were raised by some members and stakeholders".

READ ALSO

"Accordingly, as I have already made clear, the government will introduce amendments to address those concerns to make it crystal clear what this bill is about - agricultural lands," he said.

The bill's wording will be changed so the new penalties of up to $22,000 and three years in prison only apply to agricultural land.

Despite the amendment, independent politician Justin Field is concerned the "draconian" penalties still apply to public land such as travelling stock routes and state forests.

"The government's half-baked back down shows they clearly over-reached with their original proposal and is an acknowledgement that they would have unfairly constrained the rights of citizens to engage in protests, even on public land," he said.

"If these laws are required to protect farms, they should be focused on farms and private land and the penalties must be proportionate with the offence. That's clearly still not the case."

Want to have your say? Click here to write a letter to the editor