Hi Folks
Glad to see the large response to my email regarding landclearing, an issue
which will affect us a great deal.
Several have asked me what to do about it. Politics aside it would be quite
easy to solve on leasehold. Much more difficult on freehold.
1) Remove tax subsidies to farmers who clear re-growth. Everything is
regrowth and regrowth is very good habitat.
2) Change land clearing guidelines so no permits are issued on
leasehold on state-forest land as the main objective to grow trees. Ban
clearing on endangered ecosystems. Increase retention of remaining habitats
in clearing guidelines.
3) Landcare is not a conservation initiative but a land management tool
to improve the produtivity of the farm. Bushcare is about preserving
remaining vegetation. Allocation of new funds should be directed to
bushcare. It is cheaper not to cut down trees than plant new ones.
4) Acquisition of leasehold land when leaseholds are up to renewal. A
lot of leases do expire and there is no reason to renew them if the land is
forested. If renewed leasehold conditions should not allow removal of regrowth.
5) The raise of One Nation is a symptom of the stress on the land.
European methods of land management is unsuitable to Australia. Drought, El
Nino, erosion etc over long time have made a lot of farms uneconomical.
6) Corrupted world market caused by heavy subsidies to farm production
in other OECD coutries have pushed down prices on farm products and
consequently farmers have to increase land under cultivation in order to
survive. The paradox is that land clearing increased sharply when meat
prices dropped. The consumer must pay the full external cost of meat
production.
7) Demands of suburban lifestyles have led to large scale landclearing
for urban development. It is time to rethink the European lawn concept on an
acre block with a masion house. First the Integrated Planning Act in Qld
must be amended so clearing of land is regarded as a development and should
be assessed by independent authority from the local government. Real estate
folks and builders have too much say on local council boards. Consequently
planning issues shold be carried out by say the Department of Environment
instead of local government. It is totally outratious that some folks with
close association to a council can make a capital gain from rezoning. THAT
IS CORRUPTION WHEN IT IS WORST. All capital gains made from rezoning must be
taxed 100%. There is a need for sustainable building design codes and
planning guidelines.
Unfortanually our pollies are more concerned about satisfying the immediate
cry from the bush after the Qld election instead of looking at the root
cause of the problem.
Niels Poul Dreyer
10/35-37 Denman Camp Road
Scarness, Qld 4655
Australia
61.7.41.248132
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