Carbon farming projects can soon be stopped by Agriculture Minister if 'adverse' to communities.

Extract from ABC News

ABC Rural

By national rural reporter Kath Sullivan

Posted 1 hours ago

David Littleproud says "carbon farming must be a positive for agriculture".(ABC Rural: Sally Bryant)

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Australia's Agriculture Minister will have the power to stop new carbon farming projects from next week.

Key points:

• New rules will allow the Agriculture Minister to stop native forest projects on farms
• Government says it wants to balance managing land and storing carbon 
• Industry says there is no evidence of a need for changes

The Coalition government has created the rule allowing the minister to prevent new native vegetation projects if they are considered to be detrimental to farming and regional communities.

In a statement, Agriculture Minister David Littleproud and Energy and Emissions Reduction Minister Angus Taylor said new projects, beginning at a certain size, must get the Agriculture Minister's approval from April 8.

"The agriculture minister will have a power of veto to prevent native forest vegetation projects from going ahead if they have an adverse impact on agricultural production or regional communities," it said.

The minister's right to veto will apply to projects covering more than 15 hectares, or more than one third of a farm.

"We don't want to see entire farms locked up becoming havens for weeds and feral animals as families leave the land," Mr Littleproud said.

"I will not hesitate to act to protect community and agricultural interest over corporates and passive investors."

The government says it wants carbon farming to benefit regional communities.(ABC Rural: Angus Verley)

Under the changes, native forest regeneration projects must also report on pest and weed management compliance with state and local laws.

"It's important that we get the balance right between managing land, storing carbon, and ensuring the Emission Reduction Fund has a positive impact on agricultural production," Mr Taylor said.

The government proposed the changes last December, inviting submissions as part of a public consultation over the Christmas holidays.

At that time, industry group The Carbon Market Institute (CMI) opposed the changes because of "a lack of supporting evidence, inadequate consultation, constraints on landholder decision making, additional administrative burden, and stifled confidence among investors and service providers".

Mixed views on carbon farming in south-west Queensland.(Madellin McCosker)

CMI chief executive John Connor said the rules were "a direct intervention into landholder decision making and imposed excessive red tape".

"The changes are a response to undocumented concerns about adverse impacts on agricultural production or local communities," Mr Connor said.

The new veto rule will be reviewed by government by the end of 2023.

Australia's carbon scheme has been the subject of much criticism in recent months, following changes to the way credits are traded and testimony from a whistleblower who suggested the carbon market is a rort.

The new agriculture veto follows the federal governments recent announcement to provide $100 million of tax breaks to encourage farmers to sell carbon credits.