The National Farmers’ Federation (NFF) has urged lawmakers to ensure there will be no detrimental impacts to agriculture, as federal environmental law is flagged for fast-tracked reform.
The Federal Minister for the Environment and Water will introduce reworked reforms of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act to Parliament by the end of the year.
NFF President David Jochinke welcomed this measure but stressed the need for a genuine consultation process that delivered better outcomes for farmers, and ensured environmental protection.
“It’s promising to see the Federal Government has recognised the urgency of EPBC reform and that this has been made a priority item in this Parliament’s agenda,” Mr Jochinke said.
“The current EPBC Act is plagued with gaping holes and inefficiencies. For example, farmers who meet existing state regulatory requirements with flying colours can then be pinged for breaching federal environmental law.
“But the devil has always been in the complex detail of this legislation.
“We will be closely watching the development of standards for Matters of National Environmental Significance (MNES), and how bilateral discussions with states are resolved.
“We must ensure these reforms don’t have detrimental outcomes for agriculture, and that existing protections under continuing-use provisions are maintained and protected.
“The NFF and our members have been working with the Federal Government on this reform item for several years, starting with the Independent Review of Interactions Between the EPBC Act and the Agriculture Sector, prepared by Dr Wendy Craik, which contains recommendations that are vital to agriculture,” Mr Jochinke said.
Mr Jochinke said farmers must have their rights respected.
“The agriculture sector has been badly burnt by poor engagement from the renewables and transmission infrastructure rollout,” Mr Jochinke said.
“We need assurances that this will not be exacerbated or become common-practice, and that calls for special treatment do not codify poor outcomes for farmers in legislation.
“Similarly, offsets from other sectors cannot just be heaped onto productive agricultural land.
“Meanwhile, the elephant in the room is the fox in the paddock.
“All this reform will be for nothing if feral animals like cats, carp, foxes, pigs, and noxious weeds continue to march unchecked across the nation.
“We look forward to working with the Federal Government on this crucial reform item to deliver better outcomes for farmers,” Mr Jochinke said.
Ashleigh Whittaker
Stacey Davidson