The NSW Government has put a positive spin on new data that shows woody vegetation clearing has doubled in eight years in the state, saying it shows farmers are "managing the land".
The data discloses that farm clearing has risen from 8,600 hectares in 2009-2010 to 20,200 ha in 2016-17, when the new native vegetation act and codes came into being.
A spokesman for NSW Agriculture Minister Adam Marshall said the data showed farmers were "managing the land properly" and wanting to enter into native veg agreements to preserve parts of their farm for the environment. In the same year 2016-2017 almost 122,000 hectares had been set aside on farms for the environment.
"The clearing that is done is often good clearing that gets rids of areas that need thinning or improving. We now have a situation where farmers can manage their land without their hands tied behind their backs.
"The fact that 122,000ha has been set aside is a very impressive outcome for the environment."
Federal Labor had indicated it would introduce Queensland style tough clearance laws into NSW if it was elected.
Statistics from the Local Land Services shows nearly 900 native vegetation agreements had been signed off in the last two years in NSW.
John Ellicott
journalist and author
journalist and author
