yes, unfortunately the more that is cleared now, the worse the
droughts and wild weather events will be in the future, and the more
difficult it will become for future generations of farmers to thrive
and survive
i agree with everyones comments on the conservation credentials of
many farmers, and i think in my previous emails i probably failed to
make a distinction between the farming lobby and farmers per se, for
which i apologise
it is indeed the farming lobby who push for lessening of
environmental controls and they are a small, loud element who are
heavily motivated by the short term profit motive and are not
representative of all farmers
i think both a strong, simple enforceable law to prevent clearing by
the cowboys out there, and significant incentives for those who do
the right thing and more, is the answer
hopefully, with the introduction of incentives in nsw, those who
having being arduously looking after their veg against the odds will
finally get some rewards for it
On 9 Dec 2004 at 19:05, wrote:
> hi all
> the laws in queensland appear to be already having some effect on
> land clearing. anecdotal reports from western queensland tell me that
> any uncleared blocks have become difficult to sell because of the
> laws and some eco-minded people are actively seeking these blocks
> out, buying them on the cheap and hopefully preserving them.
> the recent drought there was the worst on record. i experienced first-
> hand the hardship some families faced. some had a choice between
> pulling scrub to feed stock or selling off herds that took decades to
> build up. others had to walk away from properties their families had
> held for generations. or all of the above.
> when the rains and even floods finally came, some of the survivors
> had no money left to replenish stock. watching all that feed go to
> waste was the last straw. there were several suicides.
> i am personally against land-clearing but i thought these
> observations might offer some perspective.
> i understand that farmers today are paying the price for over-
> clearing and other unsustainable practices in the past. many are open
> to new ideas.
> a final note: in some parts of far south-western queensland (gidgee
> and mulga country) old-timers told me how they could ride for a day
> and be lucky to find a single tree to shade under on the vast
> grasslands that existed ... before the sheep arrived.
> shane b
> vaucluse
>
>
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