EU land clearing laws concern conservative QLD MPs

Conservative QLD politicians are crying foul over new land clearing laws in Europe they feel could have consequences for local farmers and graziers.

Land clearing in Strathmore, Queensland. Source: The Wilderness Society

Conservative Queensland MPs have raised concerns over the European Union’s new land clearing laws, with fears they will be used as a “trojan horse” to impose similar ones in Queensland.

The bill passed in the European parliament in early January 2023, will require EU members to verify if imported goods were produced on land linked to deforestation.

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Bans are to be imposed on a range of goods, including from coffee, paper and meat that has come from areas deforested from January 2020 onwards.

Complex land clearing laws and restrictions have left some Queensland farmers frustrated in recent years.

A Queensland Conservation Council report reveals that between 2014 and 2019, 2.1 million hectares of land was cleared in Queensland, 93 per cent for livestock pasture development.

By 2020, that figures had dropped and a joint statement released by Resources Minister Scott Stewart and Environment and the Great Barrier Reef Minister Meaghan Scanlon said there was a 40 per cent drop in deforestation for 2019-2020 compared to 2018.

AgForce CEO Michael Guerin said Queensland had a positive story when it came to land clearing, which the SLATS report revealed, and AgForce remained in contact with the state government over the future of the land.

“The figures certainly put pay to outlandish claims by greenies that the State is a ‘deforestation hotspot’ and shine the light on landowners who manage our natural capital assets in Queensland,” Mr Guerin said.

“With so much at stake these days (environmentally, climatically, socially, and economically), it’s never been more important to spread a positive message – landowners do indeed care for agricultural lands,” he said.

Rebecca Toombes from Wildlife HQ holds a koala during protest against deforestation outside the Queensland Parliament House in Brisbane, on Wednesday, May 2, 2018. The Queensland government has introduced new native vegetation laws to restrict land clearing by farmers on rural properties. (AAP Image/Dan Peled).

The introduction of the revised Vegetation Management and other Legislation Amendment Bill in 2018 resulted in mass protests among farmers who felt the rights to their own land had been taken from them.

That same year a federal inquiry into the actions of the state government during the devastating bush fire period was launched, linked to complex land clearing laws.

The wide-ranging probe examined whether green-inspired laws exacerbated the rate and extremity of the fires which seared the state.

Farmers march on Queensland parliament in opposition to proposed land clearing legislation. Photo: AgForce Qld.

Nationals Leader David Littleproud now claims Labor plans to use the new EU laws as a “stalking horse to impose new draconian laws on Australian farmers”.

“It’s obvious now that Labor intends using land clearing laws in the EU to make changes by proxy here in Australia, by signing up to agreements and enforcing extra legislation that will ensure more agriculture-destroying changes are on the horizon,” Mr Littleproud said.

Opposition spokesman for agriculture, fisheries and forestry, Gympie MP Tony Perrett said Australian farmers already practised environmentally conscious methods of agriculture.

“Farmers need certainty and should not to be used as political pawns in international trade negotiations,” he said.

A Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry spokesman said the department understood the EU concerns over the rate of global deforestation.

“The department will continue to engage with the EU to ensure that Australia obtains a low-risk rating, thereby minimising the potential impact of the new EU regulation on Australian cattle exporters,” they said.

Resources Minister Scott Stewart said the LNP had a history of opposing environmentally friendly legislation, including the 2018 land clearing laws.

“Our responsible vegetation management laws protect our valuable environment, habitats and the Great Barrier Reef and continue to allow landholders to sustainably manage and grow the farm operations behind our multibillion-dollar billion food and fibre industry,” he said.