Native Veg Act: it's time

Yesterday the realease of an“Issues Paper”, a week after the alleged murder of a government officer whose job it was to enforce this law, fell on cynical ears.

Leader of the NSW Nationals Andrew Stoner promised a review of the Native Vegetation Act when he brought his party to power in 2011.

After the recent Cabinet reshuffle, he boasted his Nationals’ colleague Kevin Humphries would share responsibility for this key issue, but when the blood spilled, the pair would say nothing and Liberal Environment Minister Rob Stokes was left to pick up the pieces.

The issues paper is a step toward the review, which will see three Acts – Native Vegetation Act, the Threatened Species Conservation Act and the Nature Conservation Trust Act, plus parts of the National Parks and Wildlife Act – rolled into one.

But it’s 20 years too late.

Farmers are sick of carrying the environmental cost for society on their shoulders.

Their message is clear: trees are the focus at the expense of all else, even productive grasslands, a functional landscape and the people who call it home.

Trust has been lost between farmers and the government, and stuck in the middle are the Office of Environment and Heritage compliance officers left to enforce the impossible.

Nobody wanted to see last week‘s Croppa Creek shooting tragedy.

Ian Robert Turnbull, 79, stands accused of murder; if proven, an inexcusable crime.

But this sad and harrowing incident has brought the spotlight back on farmer anger about what has long been recognised as unworkable policy.

Changes to the Act in 1997 and 2003 failed to bring balance and self-assessable codes (which are still under review) have done little to address farmers’ concerns about the Act.

Still, yesterday a step was taken and by the metropolitan-based minister.

Farmers and compliance officers forced to do the government’s dirty work should hear no more excuses.

To the NSW government, we say, fix this legislation or your time is up.