Blair says any legal clearing in invalid law period 'safe'

The court found, after an application by the Nature Conservation Council, that the appropriate ministerial tick from the Environment Minister had not been made.

It led to calls from the Labor Party that environmental concerns had not been considered in the new native vegetation code and that the laws should be redrafted.

But Primary Industries Minister Niall Blair quashed any calls for any re-writing of native vegetation laws, and said a simple resigning of the code by the Environment Minister would solve the problem.

Mr Blair also moved quickly to assure farmers that anyone who had acted under the old clearing code would be considered to have acted lawfully.

“Farmers who have used the Land Management Code in good faith can rest assured they will be considered to have acted lawfully,”  a spokesperson for Mr Blair said.

“The Office of Environment and Heritage have confirmed they will not take compliance action against landholders who have acted in accordance with the 2017 Code, providing landholders have complied with the conditions on their certificates and clearing is consistent with the notifications and certificates issued under the 2017 Code.”

The Government said the “Labor Party have always been opposed to the reform and have committed to scrapping the laws and reinstating the Native Vegetation Act”.

“This would be a major backward step for both biodiversity, rural and regional landholders and the broader NSW community. The Native Vegetation Act was assessed as flawed and a failure by an extensive independent expert panel review that concluded that it did not deliver on its biodiversity objectives and treated farmers unfairly. The NSW Government is committed to implementing the Land Management Code under the wider Biodiversity reform.  

“The Land Management Code was remade on Friday 9 March and commenced on 10 March. The new Code is identical to the code made in August 2017.”

The LLS said: “Landowners may proceed to manage native vegetation on their land in accordance with the Code. Landowners with certificates already issued should continue to comply with the conditions of those certificates. The Office of Environment and Heritage will not take compliance action against landholders who have acted in accordance with the 2017 Code, providing landholders have complied with the conditions on their certificates and clearing is consistent with the notifications and certificates issued under the Code.”

Mr Blair’s office said the content  of the reforms were “well-known, considered, understood and agreed upon. The 2017 code was made by the Minister for Primary Industries with the concurrence of the Minister for the Environment after extensive public consultation and development over many months and through detailed and comprehensive engagement between agencies with ongoing monitoring and oversight of the respective portfolio Ministers. The court's decision was based around the last procedural steps in which Ministers legally executed the making of the code.”