WHILE the Federal Government is about to legislate massive changes to the way agricultural practices are regulated, vital details about how they will work on the ground are still missing.

Last week the Federal Government announced it had done a deal with the Greens to overhaul the country’s environmental laws, making changes to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act). The laws are now passed parliament and heading to the Governor General for the final sign-off.

The changes are set to bring on the formation of a new Environmental Protection Agency, to enforce the laws. Environment Minister Murray Watt said the move will make ongoing clearing permits for regrowth 15-years-or-older able to be revoked and remove exemptions for “high-risk land clearing”.

In a statement provided to Beef Central, Minister Watt’s office said the changes do not necessarily mean clearing permits will be revoked – it will just need to undergo an assessment.

Speaking on ABC Radio National, Minister Watt said the current exemption for agricultural land clearing has been removed to bring ag “in line with other industries”.

“Farmers are currently able to clear agricultural land, even if it has a significant impact on threatened species or other protected matters, without needing any assessment or approval under the EPBC Act,” Minister Watt said.

“Now, that’s different to every other industry. If mining companies, if renewable companies, if housing developers want to clear land in a way that’s going to have a significant impact on the environment, they need to get an EPBC assessment and approval.”

Minister Watt’s point has been refuted by industry sources, as the industries he mentioned would trigger a material change of land use. They belive clearing regrowth for grazing should not change the land use classification.

Central Queensland producer David Hill said he was concerned the phrase “high risk land clearing” would implicate producers clearing brigalow regrowth on properties like his at Clarke Creek.

“It is my understanding that the Department is unable to give full clarity on the amendments. There are concerns that the ruling on MNS will mean that ecosystems classified as endangered, like brigalow, will lose their exemption from the 15-year rule as well,” Mr Hill said.

“But this is what happens when there is no information. The Governor General is going to sign off on this in the next couple of days and here we are as freehold landholders and we don’t know what the future holds.

“We have always been told that brigalow was the top of the wishlist for the ideology driven activists trying to stop clearing and the next on the list was mulga.”

Mr Hill and other producers in Central Qld (Ian McCamley and Peter Quinn) have been trying to get on the front foot with incoming legislation like the EPBC changes, demonstrating the importance of clearing regrowth by inviting industry leaders, supply chain managers and Government figures to their properties. The invite has also been extended to Minister Watt.

They have also been doing media articles like the video below.

“We know that any of the regrowth in this country is not going to go back to its original state, it will turn into a whipstick monoculture – which is a disaster,” Mr Hill said.

“We wanted this decision to be based on science, no pseudo-science.”

What process was followed?

The Federal Government last week shocked many in the agricultural industry when it announced a deal had been done with the Greens to pass the bill through the senate.

Minister Watt tabled the bill earlier this year, it was passed through the House of Representative and sent to the Senate where a Senate Inquiry was set up to report back in March next year.

The NFF and AgForce both made submissions to that inquiry highlighting how the lack of detail in Minister Watt’s bill was concerning.

Many of those groups were also urging Labor to not rush the bill and to negotiate with the Coalition to find a passage through the Senate.

So, it was a surprise to many when Labor announced it had done a deal with the Greens to pass the bill through the Senate that night.

The EPBC Act has been in place since 1999 and was independently reviewed in 2020 by Professor Graeme Samuel AC, in which 12 recommendations were made.

Professor Samuel has been part of the formation of Labor’s bill and has welcomed it. He also criticised the Coalition for not engaging in final formation of the bill.

Mr Hill said it was hard to understand those criticisms, as Professor Samuel’s review of the laws had minimal engagement with the agricultural industry.

“If you look at the long list of organisations they consulted with, traditional owners, environmentalists, coal, gas and the only agricultural lobby group was the National Farmers’ Federation,” he said.

“The Prime Minister last week was quoted congratulating Minister Watt ‘for the work he has done consulting right across the country’. I would like to see evidence of any consultation with the beef industry specifically. I would like to see how this law benefits the industry my family has been involved in for generations, given they said it would be good for the environment and productivity.”

Where to next for the new EPBC act?

In an alert to its members, AgForce warned that while the state government has the power to regulate vegetation, the EPBC Act can override Qld legislation including Category X land which is unregulated.

Given the prevalence of ‘Matters of National Environmental Significance’ (MNES) or ‘protected matters’ across Queensland, many properties may be captured unless bilateral agreements provide clear safeguards.

AgForce general president Shane McCarthy said the next step will be to work out how the new Environmental Protection Agency will be set up with the Federal Government.

“What works down Southern Victoria definitely does not work in Northern Qld. They are just so vastly different areas of vegetation, soil types and all the rest,” he said.

“Broad brush legislation has never worked in the past and there is no indication that it will work in the future.”

Minister Watt said the Government will work closely with states and territories to align implementation detail and comparable settings. His office also said it will negotiate with other stakeholders in that process.