Landowners ‘stupid’ if they don’t anticipate North Coast E-Zones

So heard NSW parliament last week, when a Shooters’ attempt to can controversial E-Zones on private land failed during a late-night planning debate.  

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Shooters, Fishers, and Farmers MP Robert Brown turned discussion on the Environment Planning Amendment and Assessment Bill to E-Zones with an amendment that would have removed E2 and E3 zoning from private land and sporting facilities, including rifle ranges.

“I have had discussions with many planning Ministers, and the question about (E-zones) in relation to private property has been one that I have not been able to resolve,” Mr Brown told the Upper House.

“I say again that it is unconscionable for a government that supposedly supports private enterprise and the concept of private property to not support this amendment.”

But the amendment was indeed sunk - Mr Brown forgoing a division - with government and the Greens talking the proposed changes down.

“I invite those members who think that we should get rid of E2 and E3 zoning to come forward and say which threatened species they want to go extinct in this State,” Greens MP David Shoebridge said.

Christian Democrat Fred Nile, who compared E-Zones to communism, said his party supported Mr Brown’s move in principal but not in practice.

Fellow CDP member Paul Green said many landowners weren't aware their homes or farms had been zoned E2 and E3.

“They love the land and they purchased their properties because they believed in their environmental value, which is why they live where they do,” Mr Green said.

“Members would not like it if someone came to their house and cornered off the lounge room or a quarter of the backyard. We would not stand for it.”

Greens MP Jeremy Buckingham suggested some landholders simply hadn’t checked properly.

“One would have to be stupid to move to Byron Bay and not expect to have environmental protection zones in that area,” Mr Buckingham said.

“It is why people move there. It is some of the most expensive land in the world because it has been accorded the protection it deserves.

“The vast majority of landholders recognise that, and that is why those protections will last for thousands of years.”

Liberal MP Scot MacDonald opposed the amendment on behalf of government.

Labor did not speak on the amendment.

Local councils can apply E-Zones to private land if they can show, with extensive proof, the primary use of the land was environmental conservation (E2) or management (E3) over two years.

But farm groups, as well as a number of North Coast and South Coast residents, have complained that ag land is still at risk of being ‘sterilised’ by the whim of green-tinged councils.

For land to remain zoned for agriculture, landowners need to show farming has been the primary use (including leaving the land fallow for management reasons) for two years. Certain farming practices can be carried out in E2 and E3 zones, but not all.

Landholders have reported huge value reductions in land placed under an E-Zone, while others are no longer able to build certain dwellings or subdivide their land as they please.

The Department of Planning is currently working to bridge understanding between councils and landholders on how E-Zones are applied and when they are allowed.