Extract from The Guardian
An investigation says the former Newman government wrongly applied
its own relaxed tree clearing laws when it approved the razing of more
than 300 sq km
The Queensland
Labor government has called on federal environment minister Greg Hunt
to halt Cape York land clearing it claims should never have been
approved by its Liberal National party predecessor.
An investigation ordered by deputy premier Jackie Trad found the former Newman government wrongly applied its own relaxed tree clearing laws when it approved the razing of more than 300 sq km of woodlands on the Olive Vale property days before the state election.
But the Queensland government claims it has no power now to halt the project, which the Wilderness Society says has already seen thousands of hectares cleared by bulldozers and chains.
The government has made a referral to environment minister Greg Hunt, whose department was already investigating Olive Vale for possible breaches of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.
Conservationists claim the property – on which owner Ryan Gobal plans to grow sorghum to feed cattle and raise its herd to 25,000 beasts – is home to 17 endangered species, including possibly Australia’s rarest bird, the buff-breasted button-quail.
Wilderness society Queensland campaign manager Tim Seelig said Hunt had the authority under the EPBC act to “put an immediate stop to the clearing”.
“This is a key test whether minister Hunt is prepared to use his powers to stop acts of vandalism to protect our precious natural environment,” Seelig said.
The federal environment department declined to comment on Olive Vale this week, a spokeswoman saying an investigation was ongoing.
Seelig said while Trad “should be congratulated for moving quickly to undertake an investigation … overall, the Palaszczuk government has been slow to act despite its promise to stop such clearing”.
He said the government should stop applications and granting of permits to clear land for “high value agriculture”, which the Newman government legislated to allow before approving the clearing of over 132,000 hectares across the state.
The state and commonwealth should work to revoke all permits already granted, he said.
The investigation by Trad’s department found the Olive Vale permit – the single largest issued by the LNP – should not have been allowed even under this provision.
It cited an unclear timeframe for the clearing, unsuitable soils and a poor business case for the crops being financially viable.
Conservationists claim the sorghum cropping on Olive Vale is a pretext for clearing land for grazing, which the LNP in government said its laws would not allow.
The Wilderness Society says the Olive Vale woodlands are “world heritage quality”, and include catchments feeding wetlands of national significance and flowing into the Great Barrier Reef.
“The findings of the Queensland government’s investigation puts in serious doubt the credibility of all permits granted over the 132,000 hectares approved for clearing across the state. All permits should be investigated,” Seelig said.
“The Palaszczuk government now needs to move quickly to reinstate strong land clearing controls across the state, as it promised in the recent state election.”
An investigation ordered by deputy premier Jackie Trad found the former Newman government wrongly applied its own relaxed tree clearing laws when it approved the razing of more than 300 sq km of woodlands on the Olive Vale property days before the state election.
But the Queensland government claims it has no power now to halt the project, which the Wilderness Society says has already seen thousands of hectares cleared by bulldozers and chains.
The government has made a referral to environment minister Greg Hunt, whose department was already investigating Olive Vale for possible breaches of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.
Conservationists claim the property – on which owner Ryan Gobal plans to grow sorghum to feed cattle and raise its herd to 25,000 beasts – is home to 17 endangered species, including possibly Australia’s rarest bird, the buff-breasted button-quail.
Wilderness society Queensland campaign manager Tim Seelig said Hunt had the authority under the EPBC act to “put an immediate stop to the clearing”.
“This is a key test whether minister Hunt is prepared to use his powers to stop acts of vandalism to protect our precious natural environment,” Seelig said.
The federal environment department declined to comment on Olive Vale this week, a spokeswoman saying an investigation was ongoing.
Seelig said while Trad “should be congratulated for moving quickly to undertake an investigation … overall, the Palaszczuk government has been slow to act despite its promise to stop such clearing”.
He said the government should stop applications and granting of permits to clear land for “high value agriculture”, which the Newman government legislated to allow before approving the clearing of over 132,000 hectares across the state.
The state and commonwealth should work to revoke all permits already granted, he said.
The investigation by Trad’s department found the Olive Vale permit – the single largest issued by the LNP – should not have been allowed even under this provision.
It cited an unclear timeframe for the clearing, unsuitable soils and a poor business case for the crops being financially viable.
Conservationists claim the sorghum cropping on Olive Vale is a pretext for clearing land for grazing, which the LNP in government said its laws would not allow.
The Wilderness Society says the Olive Vale woodlands are “world heritage quality”, and include catchments feeding wetlands of national significance and flowing into the Great Barrier Reef.
“The findings of the Queensland government’s investigation puts in serious doubt the credibility of all permits granted over the 132,000 hectares approved for clearing across the state. All permits should be investigated,” Seelig said.
“The Palaszczuk government now needs to move quickly to reinstate strong land clearing controls across the state, as it promised in the recent state election.”
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