Controlling land clearing

Landclearing in the Daly River catchment. Photograph: Stuart Blanch

The Northern Territory (NT) is home to the core of the world’s largest tropical savanna on Earth. The woodlands and grasslands of the NT store billions of tonnes of carbon. Land clearing laws in Queensland and NSW helped cut those states’ carbon pollution levels significantly over the past decade.

Stopping major land clearing is fastest and cheapest way to achieve deep cuts in carbon emissions, as well as protecting wildlife, soil and river health. Not only will this protect the unique environment of the NT, but underpins the livelihoods and prosperity of river communities and businesses now and for future generations.

In December 2008 the NT Labor Government committed to pass a Native Vegetation Management Act that is ‘world’s best’ practice by mid 2010, including placing caps on land clearing. But to date this has not been delivered, despite key stakeholders, including members of the Daly River Management Advisory Committee, Amateur Fishermens' Association of the Northern Territory and Traditional Owners in the Daly River Catchment supporting a streamlined and effective approach to regulating the clearing of native vegetation.

Outdated processes

The existing parallel processes under the Planning Act and Pastoral Lands Act is duplicative and outdated. The NT Climate Change Policy commits to maintaining native vegetation as a carbon bank, and maintaining the NT as a low land clearing jurisdiction. The consultation draft Native Vegetation Management Bill was provided to key stakeholders, including NT Cattlemens Association and NT Agricultural Association, in March 2011.

Passing a Native Vegetation Management Act and capping land clearing at low levels is the single most significant environmental reform NT Labor could achieve in this term of Parliament.

We are campaigning for all political parties to commit to stopping major land clearing by:

• Committing to pass a strong Native Vegetation Management Act,
• Announcing annual and long term caps on clearing that ensure annual rates of clearing are very low and trend downward over time, and
• Ensuring Indigenous communities are not excluded from potential future sustainable development through ‘Indigenous reserves’ within the caps.