Black Summer bushfires: Controversial land clearing measure approved by NSW cabinet
A divided NSW cabinet passed the measure, with landholders able to clear native vegetation up to 25m from their home.
The Berejiklian government will grant landholders the right to clear native vegetation up to 25 metres from their home following a lengthy meeting of cabinet where the issue was discussed on Tuesday night.
The controversial measure was approved by consensus after ministers spent approximately 45 minutes debating the topic, one of several environmental issues that have divided the government on ideological lines.
The policy was queried by numerous ministers, including Shelley Hancock, whose south coast seat was ravaged by fire, and Bronnie Taylor, the Nationals upper house MP and Mental Health Minister.
Other ministers, whose seats were similarly decimated during the historic Black Summer bushfires, did not partake in the discussions, according to an official familiar with the matter.
The Australian obtained a leaked cabinet submission this week outlining how the government proposed to extend vegetation clearing around homes from 10 metres to 25 metres, a target that fell short of the 50 metre buffer sought by some Berejiklian government ministers, including Deputy Premier John Barilaro.
Emergency Services Minister David Elliott, who brought the submission to cabinet, argued that the 25 metre benchmark was approved by the NSW Rural Fire Service Commissioner Rob Rogers.
A source said that in order to pass the measures some exemptions had to be accommodated.
It is understood Environment Minister Matt Kean, one of at least two ministers who disapproved of extending the land clearing buffer, will retain veto powers in cases where sensitive vegetation is at stake.
The code of conduct governing the land clearing process, which is yet to be written, will also have to be cabinet-approved.
“He gets the right to veto anything environmentally sensitive,” said an official familiar with the discussions.
A second official said the Rural Fire Service Commissioner would retain the power to extend the amount of land that can be cleared in certain circumstances.
The step to increase the amount of vegetation that can be cleared was prompted by the historic Black Summer bushfires, which extended over four months during 2019-20 and killed 34 people nationwide.
A subsequent inquiry found that fuel loads were in part responsibility for the ferocity of the blazes, as well as other factors, including climate change.