Shane McCarthy, AgForce General President. 7 October 2025.
Vegetation management remains one of the most defining issues facing agriculture in Queensland. For two decades or more producers have tried to work with constantly shifting rules, complex mapping and regulations that all too often work against sustainable management of their land rather than enabling better outcomes.
In the recent weeks, Chair of the AgForce Vegetation Management Committee and Land Tenure Working Group, Grant Maudsley, and policy advisor, Anna Fiskbek, have been meeting with Ministerial staff.
Topics covered included the need for vegetation management and land tenure reform. It has been 20 years since changes were made to the vegetation management framework under Beattie era and members are consistently raising concerns on both remnant vegetation and unregulated vegetation (Category X).
Specifically, there is concern as to the ability for producers to appropriately manage vegetation in order to restore the area’s floristic integrity via either a Development Application (full or Fast Track 5 Application) or the Encroachment Code. Grant and Anna also raised the flow on effects from the misdescription of regional ecosystems and how mixed polygons on the regional ecosystem map can prohibit producers from being able to appropriately manage their properties. Grant and Anna also raised the consequences of the current blanket ’15-year rule’ where a PMAV is not locked in that automatically categorises country that was previously unregulated to high value regrowth once 15 years has elapsed since that area was least cleared, despite that in many circumstances there is in fact no regrowth in that area at all.
Other topics included the permitted width of firebreaks and amendments to the regulation so that fenclines are considered infrastructure. The use of suitable soil types to aid the applicability of the Agricultural Efficiency Code and other pathways to allow for the expansion of cropping area beyond unregulated grasslands and Category X areas was also discussed.
Significantly, discussion was also had on all term lease land in Queensland and the precarious state of the land rent trap cycle that currently exists, where the government currently forgives more rent than it charges through the rent cap negotiated in previous administrations. This issue is complex with Native Title discussions generally a necessary part of the freeholding process, which in many cases is cost prohibitory for the average producer.
Your previous policy groups have done a power of work behind the scenes for many years, much of it goes unnoticed publicly but will be heard within the halls of power at 1 William St. Importantly the passion of policy discussion from ground up and policy group members is always at forefront of policy staff minds when prosecuting your case. We all remember how important this basic function of AgForce is.
I also wish to compliment ministers for their understanding of the need for sensible and long-lasting discussion and policy creation the most fundamental issues affecting producers across the state.
Much of this current legislation was created In an environment where renewables, offsets, carbon sequestration insetting/offsetting/sale, Agtech solutions, GHG reporting, natural capital, EUDR rules and many other complicating factors were not even thought about. Producers could be forgiven for feeling overwhelmed by noise and pressures external to their immediate control. What Queensland needs is vegetation laws that reflect modern realities not outdated assumptions. Certainty, clarity and fairness must be restored so that landholders can invest confidently in the future. Be assured AgForce will continue to prosecute this cast strongly in the halls of Government, I see our role is to keep unnecessary red tape out of your way so that you can get on with the job of producing food and fibre in manner that suits your land, climate and community because remember Every Family Needs a Farmer.