FRANK and honest discussions regarding native vegetation management were the order of the day at a NSW Farmers roundtable event on Tuesday.
Held in Tamworth, the meeting focused on six main issues including the outcomes of the Threatened Species Scientific Committee's (TSSC) listings, issues with the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBCA) and directions in the land management code.
Arguably, the most talked-about issue was the TSSC listings, which were introduced last year and classified areas with native vegetation such as White Box, Yellow Box and Redgum wood species as critically endangered communities.
Producers from across the state's North West attended the meeting to share their concerns regarding the listings, with a number of representatives from governing bodies such as NSW Local Land Services chief executive officer David Witherdin, and Biodiversity Conservation Trust chairman Niall Blair.
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NSW Farmers conservation and resources committee chairwoman Bronwyn Petrie, Tenterfield, said the latest TSSC listings impacted one third of the state's producers and meant "farmers could no longer control their regrowth.
"The TSSC's NSW listing doesn't match the federal government's listing, which is very precise and has a viability condition requirement, it is very wishy-washy and it just paralyses a third of NSW farming land," Mrs Petrie told The Land.
"Even if you have any past history of those native vegetation communities on your property you are really restricted and because of they way the listing is worded, it means you can't even control your regrowth, all you can do is fence lines, roads and infrastructure.
"This is a terrible outcome because it puts so much uncertainty on farmers, massively reduces their farm values and inhibits their production.
"It is just ridiculous, it needs to have a condition score on it so that if you have a highly-disturbed eco-system, like any normal threatened species, it's not affected with your normal routine activities on your farm."
Former NSW Primary Industries Minister and current Biodiversity Conservation Trust chairman Niall Blair said the event had provided a beneficial platform for both producers and government representatives.
"It has been really constructive because there is nothing better than getting feedback from people who have skin in the game," Mr Blair said.
"We can get as many reports to a board as possible but to hear from landholders that have engaged with our services, participated in some of our programs and to give us feedback is just fantastic.
"The beauty about this event was that we were able to compare notes and talk about some of the challenges people face."
Mr Blair said reforming the listings would take time but the government was always happy to listen.
"I think we have agreed on some areas that we know we can focus on collectively to try and get some better outcomes for landholders," he said.
"Everyone believes in private land conservation and they think farmers should be rewarded for the bio-diversity uplift they provide the rest of the state.
"When everyone is pushing for the same outcome, I think you have a better chance of getting the systems and the processes in place to achieve that."
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Billy Jupp
Billy is a Senior Livestock Journalist for the Queensland Country Life based in Toowoomba. He has worked for a variety of different ACM mastheads during the past five years including the Namoi Valley Independent, Northern Daily Leader and The Land.
Billy is a Senior Livestock Journalist for the Queensland Country Life based in Toowoomba. He has worked for a variety of different ACM mastheads during the past five years including the Namoi Valley Independent, Northern Daily Leader and The Land.
