Vegetation management
Vegetation Management
To have your say on the Vegetation Management Framework Amendment Bill 2013 please log in via the Members Login button (located at the top right of the screen) and scroll down.
If farmers are to manage their natural resources – land and water – in an environmentally sustainable way, then they must have certainty about their long-term access to those resources.
Vegetation management is a core policy area for AgForce as the security of Queensland's agricultural resources is increasingly challenged by government policy, pressure from 'green groups', mining and urban development.
Security for the future
AgForce continues to lead the debate to ensure certainty for primary producers in managing their land. AgForce's long-standing policy supports sustainable land management and recognises that many landholders across Queensland already manage their land appropriately. AgForce believes there is a need for any legislation to have a better understanding of the immense diversity of ecosystems in Queensland so there can be an equitable balance between conservation and a sustainable future of food and fibre production.
AgForce does not support a regulatory approach to dealing with further changes in vegetation management. Such practices have been utilised by both the State and Federal Government in the past, through restrictive regulations of land clearing, and has created significant limitations to future farm productivity.
The agriculture sector is willing to make a further contribution to landscape and biodiversity outcomes. AgForce believes work must begin immediately to develop alternative, voluntary measures that correct the current policy and give producers certainty about their role in managing land for positive environmental outcomes for the broader community.
In a 2010 senate inquiry submission, AgForce proposed a framework which provides investment certainty, creates financial incentives for adopting environmental and biodiversity practices; is based on sound science but entails a low administrative burden; acknowledges previous good practice; supports partnerships with other renewable sectors and is governed by a voluntary partnership approach.
To read AgForce's vegetation management submission please log in via the Members Login button (located at the top right of the screen).
AgForce is currently working with the Department of Environment and Resource Management (DERM) to rectify some impractical aspects of the Vegetation Management Act 1999, for example thinning and encroachment.
AgForce Vegetation Management Committee
In 2012, AgForce reinstated the AgForce Vegetation Management Committee to gather information on the limitations of the Vegetation Management Act 1999. The Committee draws together expertise from across the state’s bioregions and will be integral in assisting the LNP Government understand what AgForce considers to be the key failings of the Act. The Committee will oversee a consultation process with members across the state ensuring that all members have the opportunity to provide feedback on the legislation, its regulation and associated codes and suggest a way forward for the future.
Have you checked your map?
AgForce urges members to check their regional ecosystems and regrowth maps, which may be different now that the moratorium on clearing certain kinds of regrowth has ended.
Need assistance or want to know more?
Funding to the AgForward initiative ceased on 30 September 2012. During the seven year initiative AgForward staff delivered free workshops across Queensland through funding from the State Government.
While AgForward is no longer delivering free vegetation management workshops, a limited number of workshops will be delivered through AgForce Projects Biodiversity Project. Visit the AgForce Projects website for upcoming dates.
If there are no workshops in your region please contact AgForce Projects for fee-for-service options.
To have your say on the Vegetation Management Framework Amendment Bill 2013 please log in via the Members Login button (located at the top right of the screen) and scroll down.
If farmers are to manage their natural resources – land and water – in an environmentally sustainable way, then they must have certainty about their long-term access to those resources.
Vegetation management is a core policy area for AgForce as the security of Queensland's agricultural resources is increasingly challenged by government policy, pressure from 'green groups', mining and urban development.
Security for the future
AgForce continues to lead the debate to ensure certainty for primary producers in managing their land. AgForce's long-standing policy supports sustainable land management and recognises that many landholders across Queensland already manage their land appropriately. AgForce believes there is a need for any legislation to have a better understanding of the immense diversity of ecosystems in Queensland so there can be an equitable balance between conservation and a sustainable future of food and fibre production.
AgForce does not support a regulatory approach to dealing with further changes in vegetation management. Such practices have been utilised by both the State and Federal Government in the past, through restrictive regulations of land clearing, and has created significant limitations to future farm productivity.
The agriculture sector is willing to make a further contribution to landscape and biodiversity outcomes. AgForce believes work must begin immediately to develop alternative, voluntary measures that correct the current policy and give producers certainty about their role in managing land for positive environmental outcomes for the broader community.
In a 2010 senate inquiry submission, AgForce proposed a framework which provides investment certainty, creates financial incentives for adopting environmental and biodiversity practices; is based on sound science but entails a low administrative burden; acknowledges previous good practice; supports partnerships with other renewable sectors and is governed by a voluntary partnership approach.
To read AgForce's vegetation management submission please log in via the Members Login button (located at the top right of the screen).
AgForce is currently working with the Department of Environment and Resource Management (DERM) to rectify some impractical aspects of the Vegetation Management Act 1999, for example thinning and encroachment.
AgForce Vegetation Management Committee
In 2012, AgForce reinstated the AgForce Vegetation Management Committee to gather information on the limitations of the Vegetation Management Act 1999. The Committee draws together expertise from across the state’s bioregions and will be integral in assisting the LNP Government understand what AgForce considers to be the key failings of the Act. The Committee will oversee a consultation process with members across the state ensuring that all members have the opportunity to provide feedback on the legislation, its regulation and associated codes and suggest a way forward for the future.
Have you checked your map?
AgForce urges members to check their regional ecosystems and regrowth maps, which may be different now that the moratorium on clearing certain kinds of regrowth has ended.
Need assistance or want to know more?
Funding to the AgForward initiative ceased on 30 September 2012. During the seven year initiative AgForward staff delivered free workshops across Queensland through funding from the State Government.
While AgForward is no longer delivering free vegetation management workshops, a limited number of workshops will be delivered through AgForce Projects Biodiversity Project. Visit the AgForce Projects website for upcoming dates.
If there are no workshops in your region please contact AgForce Projects for fee-for-service options.