CYNICISM and mistrust lingers but there’s a flicker of hope in the eyes of western NSW farmers that the state government could finally get native vegetation laws right.
Emotions were high during the Central West leg of the NSW Farmers-led consultation on draft land clearing reforms this week – particularly around the intricacies of the much-awaited satellite mapping that will underpin the new laws.
Association president Derek Schoen, NSW Minister for Primary Industries Niall Blair, and Barwon MP Kevin Humphries were among the heavies at Nyngan helping the policy team unpack the proposed laws for a room of 30 landholders.
Many at the Nyngan Town Hall – some with connections to the Tottenham lock-outs of the mid-2000s – said they had seen these talks before, only for the process to prove fruitless. But they were promised this would be different, with the Department of Primary Industries and Local Land Services at the heart of new clearing codes.
NSW Farmers and the Coalition are road-testing the draft laws with constituents over eight weeks to knock out any weaknesses before the law is introduced to parliament in the spring.
Alex Druce
Politics and rural issues journo in Sydney. Give me a yell at adruce@fairfaxmedia.com.au
Politics and rural issues journo in Sydney. Give me a yell at adruce@fairfaxmedia.com.au
