Queensland election: Palaszczuk backpedals on tree-clearing legislation

Annastacia Palaszczuk has back-pedalled on a controversial element of her proposed crackdown on tree clearing.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk in Cairns. Picture: AAP

Annastacia Palaszczuk has back-pedalled on a controversial ­element of her government’s proposed crackdown on tree clearing, but will stand firm on most of the hardline green policy.

After days dogged by Adani protesters angry at Labor’s backing of the Galilee Basin coalmine, the Queensland Premier yesterday initially said her vegetation management legislation would stay “exactly the same” after the election.

Labor’s attempts to tighten the laws, which would have included a ban on broadscale clearing and a reverse onus of proof element requiring farmers to prove their innocence when accused of illegal clearing, were defeated by the state’s hung parliament last year.

On the campaign trail in Cairns yesterday, Ms Palaszczuk said all elements of the legislation would remain when Labor pressed for the reforms after the election — including the reverse onus of proof.

But the Premier’s office later clarified that Labor would dump the reverse onus of proof provision. “The intent and effect of the legislation will be the same, however the requirement for reverse onus of proof won’t be included because the improvements we’ve made to compliance and monitoring, including more frequent monitoring of high-resolution satellite imagery, means the same outcome will be achieved,” Ms Palaszczuk’s spokeswoman said.

The concession did not impress farm lobby group AgForce’s general president Grant Maudlsey, who said Labor should abandon the entire policy, not just remove “one indefensible element”.

“Reversing the onus of proof would have made farmers guilty until they proved their innocence and was opposed by the Queensland Law Society,” Mr Maudsley said. “Dumping the reverse of onus of proof was long overdue but Labor shouldn’t just stop there.”

Tree clearing is an election battleground, with both the Liberal National Party and Pauline Hanson’s One Nation pushing for restrictions on farmers to be relaxed to allow wide-scale clearing for high-value agriculture.

Opposition Leader Tim Nicholls said the government was pandering to green voters and Labor’s left-wing faction.

“Doesn’t that show just how much Annastacia Palaszczuk, under the thumb of Jackie Trad and inner-city Greens, will go to cause pain and trouble for our farmers,” Mr Nicholls said.

“That will be a body blow for people in agriculture in regional Queensland.”

In Cairns, Ms Palaszczuk announced a $134 million funding boost for tourism, including an extra $48m to provide incentives for airlines to bring more direct flights to Queensland.

LNP leader Mr Nicholls — stranded in southeast Queensland because of a shortage of aircraft while Ms Palaszczuk spent days in the regions — was in the LNP-stronghold of the Sunshine Coast, promising to spend $300m to duplicate a congested Sunshine Coast railway. It will mean up to 150 extra train services a week between Brisbane and Nambour.

The pledge was a repeat of a pledge made in the LNP’s unsuccessful 2015 election campaign, although this time it was $300m instead of $532m.

Mr Nicholls said the remaining $300m was expected to come from the federal government’s rail infrastructure fund.