MUCH anticipated strategic regional land use plans for the Hunter and Gunnedah are underway but the level of disquiet about the Coalition Government’s promised balanced approach to agriculture and mining is growing.
Responding to questions at a budget estimates committee hearing this week, NSW Primary Industries Minister, Katrina Hodgkinson, said $2.6 million would be spent by the Department of Primary Industries (DPI) to develop a land use agricultural mapping policy.
But the Coalition appears to have toned down its strident pre-election assertions that mining and coal seam gas development would not occur on prime agricultural land.
“The NSW Government was elected on a commitment to introduce its strategic regional land use policy which was built on the premise that mineral and petroleum resource industries can and do co-exist with agricultural production and environment protection,” Ms Hodgkinson said.
“This overall intention is being balanced with developing strategies to manage the projected growth of the coal and coal seam gas industries to effectively deliver reliable energy in a carbon constrained economy.”
She explained one of the first tasks of the newly established Office of Agricultural Sustainability and Food Security, which would report to the Director General, was to allocate funding, and “recruitment action is underway”.
Meanwhile, the DPI was working with the Department of Resources and Energy, the Department of Planning, and the Office of Water “to map strategic agricultural land and contribute to regional land use plans for priority regions of the Upper Hunter and the New England North West”.
Agriculture NSW had 12 staff in Orange working on mapping and drafts would be released for comment; DPI director general, Richard Sheldrake, said the plans were almost complete and a Mid West plan would start early next year.
In the interim all proponents of mining and CSG would have to prepare an agricultural impact statement (AIS) assessing potential impacts on agriculture resources or industries, and a “merit based assessment” based on the proponent’s advice would be undertaken.
Both Muswellbrook Shire Council and the Upper Hunter Shire Council want the Government to adopt their existing land use policies.
Muswellbrook Mayor, Martin Rush, said his council’s draft land use plan identified sufficient areas for the growth of the coal industry to satisfy the export capacity of the Hunter Port without creating further land use conflict.
“Muswellbrook Shire Council’s draft land use plan, if adopted by the State Government, will mean coal mining proponents will have to compete for the orderly and staged release of land available for the expansion of the coal industry,” Councillor Rush said.
“Development in that way is not unusual or novel – the orderly, staged and regulated release of land for development governs all other industries.
“It is high-time that the coal industry was appropriately regulated in the same way,” he said.
“For far too long the coal industry has been able to avoid regulation in relation to cumulative land-use planning.”
Singleton Council Mayor, Sue Moore, said she had reservations about the Government’s progress but would wait to see draft policies.
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