THE state’s peak farming body has fired a shot across the bow of the Coalition Government, saying unequivocally that it cannot support policies and proposed legislation on agriculture and mining in their current form.
NSW Farmers Association President, Fiona Simson, who sits on the Government’s stakeholder reference group, convened to progress strategic land use policy, said “this process is being driven by Department of Planning bureaucrats”.
A leaked document from the group revealed NSW Farmers questioned the worth of the stakeholder group, believed the agricultural impact guidelines were “entirely inconsistent” with previous commitments made, and the aquifer interference policy needed “wholesale changes” to gain the support of NSW Farmers.
Ms Simson said she wasn’t surprised the document was made public as NSW Farmers had insisted on having its position statement in the minutes of a recent meeting.
She said NSW Farmers was not the only stakeholder unhappy with progress.
“In my opinion, there are many stakeholders dissatisfied and concerned about this process.
“We are about balance and we participate in good faith, and I have strongly defended the reference group and believed in it – but the devil is in the detail,” she said.
Ms Simson called on the Coalition to step forward and ensure that its pre-election commitments were fully delivered, saying it promised a transparent and robust way forward.
Stakeholders were given a narrow window on which to comment on critical policy documents, and felt that there was little consultation.
And NSW Farmers would not support a proposed ‘gateway process’ for identifying agricultural land.
“It is this new thing they have dreamed up, meant to be for deciding whether mining can occur on a piece of land, but it does not kick in until after the exploration phase, there are no socio-economic features, it is only predicated on biophysical features, and there is no consideration cumulative impacts or the capacity of the region,” Ms Simson said.
“This process is being driven by the department of planning and the government needs to take control – cabinet and ministers must intervene to ensure that promises are met.”
“The government needs to say, we made this policy, now let’s adhere to it and get balance back into it. At the moment, it is not working.”
The stakeholders reference group includes the Association of Mining Related Councils, the Total Environment Centre, the NSW Aboriginal Land Council, the NSW Minerals Council, the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association, the Construction Forestry Mining Energy Union, the Nature Conservation Council of NSW, the NSW Irrigators Council, the Hunter Valley Wine Industry Association, and Thoroughbred Breeders of the Hunter Valley.
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