Latest news with #landclearing
The Guardian
18 hours ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Minns government's environmental integrity condemned as ‘nonexistent' amid 40% surge in land clearing
The Minns government has lost its way on environmental policy, according to the New South Wales opposition, the Greens and a member of the crossbench, after government data revealed a 40% surge in land clearing across the state. The report is the latest headache for a state government under pressure over conservation concerns, including continued logging in a promised koala park in the state's north and the failure of a koala translocation project in the state's south. 'Where is Chris Minns on the environment? He hasn't delivered, he's had two years,' the NSW Greens environment spokesperson, Sue Higginson, said. Higginson said the government 'rode to power' on a promise to do better for nature but habitat destruction had continued, adding there had been no discussion about changing 'disastrous' native vegetation laws introduced by the former Coalition government. Sign up: AU Breaking News email 'Right now Labor's environmental integrity is nonexistent as we are still waiting for the establishment of the Great Koala national park and it is still being logged at an industrial scale,' she said. The 2023 land-clearing data, published Monday afternoon, shows 66,498 hectares of native vegetation was cleared for agriculture, infrastructure and forestry in 2023, which the Nature Conservation Council of NSW said was 'equivalent to bulldozing Sydney's Royal national park four times over'. Land clearing in the state has increased over several years as a result of John Barilaro-era laws introduced in 2017 that relaxed regulation of native vegetation clearing. In the years since, clearing across the state exploded, at one point reaching levels close to 100,000 hectares per year. While the 2023 data does not show clearing of that scale, the destruction of habitat increased significantly after a brief dip in 2022. Clearing of woody vegetation was up 55%, with 32,847 hectares cleared in 2023, compared with 21,137 hectares in 2022. Agriculture was responsible for 77% of all clearing, and the state's west and north-west, including the Cobar and Bogan shire council areas, were clearing hotspots. In June, the NSW State of the Environment report showed the trajectory of conservation indicators including the extent of native vegetation, the condition of habitat and the number of threatened species was getting worse. The Coalition environment spokesperson, James Griffin, said he was open to talks with the government about reforms to land-clearing regulations. Higginson said the Greens were also prepared to work with the government to rein in clearing. Griffin accused Labor of spending its time in opposition attacking the Coalition for its environmental performance, and since winning government in 2023, 'not only are these problems not being solved, they're getting worse'. Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion 'I'm passionate about the environment and this is an outrageous situation we find ourselves in,' he said. 'The key indicators on the state of the environment are going backwards, there's no marine conservation program to speak of and there is a complete lack of ambition on fundamental environmental issues,' he said. 'I have a great degree of sympathy for [environment minister] Penny Sharpe. I think she has been completely sidelined by Chris Minns who sees zero political benefit in the environment and so simply doesn't care.' The independent MP for Pittwater, Jacqui Scruby, said both major parties had failed. She said while Griffin criticised Labor, 'the reality is, his government chose to accelerate this disaster, tearing up the Native Vegetation Act in 2016 and unleashing a bulldozer bonanza that has only accelerated'. 'Labor promised to fix the mess – but nearly two years later, native forests are still being logged and critical habitat is still being destroyed,' she said. Scruby said she had recently visited parts of the proposed Great Koala national park on the mid-north coast. 'I saw fresh koala scratchings on trees just metres from clear-felling. It was gut-wrenching. These forests are supposed to be part of a koala sanctuary – but they're being logged while we continue to wait for Labor to act,' she said. In a statement, the NSW minister for the environment, Penny Sharpe, said her government would 'continue to work with the Natural Resources Commission and with farmers' on land clearing. 'Before the Coalition came into power, land clearing was down to around 10,000 hectares a year. The Coalition let this blow out,' she said. 'This will take time to work through, but we are committed to reducing excessive land clearing.' On Friday, the government took a step towards delivering one of its environmental commitments by formally gazetting the first 962 hectares of a promised national park for koalas on the Georges River in south-western Sydney. The new park, called Warranmadhaa (Georges River Koala national park), is located between Long Point and Appin. 'This new national park is one of the most important in the state for koala conservation, protecting almost 1,000 hectares of vital koala habitat in south-west Sydney and delivering on our promise to safeguard this iconic species,' Sharpe said. '$48.2m has been committed to establish and manage this park, ensuring long-term protection for the south-west Sydney's koalas.'
Associated Press
6 days ago
- Business
- Associated Press
Voyageur Services Limited Completes High-Priority Land Clearing for Hydro One's Holt Road Substation
Voyageur Services, in support of Aecon Power Division, successfully completes land clearing scope for Hydro One's Holt Road substation, Clarington, Ontario 'This project is a perfect example of what can be accomplished through urgency, alignment, and shared values'— Clint Keeler, CEO, Voyageur Services MISSISSAUGAS OF SCUGOG ISLAND FIRST NATION, ONTARIO, CANADA, July 23, 2025 / / -- Voyageur Services Limited, in support of Aecon Power Division, has successfully completed the land clearing scope for Hydro One 's upcoming Holt Road substation. The project was delivered on an accelerated schedule to meet a critical environmental deadline, ensuring work was completed before April 1st to avoid disruption to the nesting season of native birds and bats. The completion of this work exemplifies how companies can work in collaboration with First Nations and Indigenous businesses to undertake projects, while meeting critical project timelines and milestones. Building in partnership truly results in better projects. Mobilizing within hours of receiving the call, Voyageur executed the scope with a firm commitment to environmental protection, archaeological sensitivity, and Indigenous best practices. Specialized crane mats, provided by Northern Mat & Bridge, enabled heavy equipment access without disturbing the ground, ensuring full compliance with cultural and environmental standards. 'This project is a perfect example of what can be accomplished through urgency, alignment, and shared values,' said Clint Keeler, President of Voyageur Services Limited. 'We're proud of our team for responding so quickly and professionally—and we're thankful to our partners for their trust in our ability to deliver without compromise.' 'We are proud of the strong partnership between the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation and Hydro One, exemplified by the successful Holt Road substation project,' said Chief Kelly LaRocca, Chief of the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation. 'Through our majority ownership of Voyageur Services Limited via Noozhoo Nokiiyan LP, we are driving economic opportunities while upholding our commitment to environmental stewardship and cultural respect. This project showcases our community's ability to deliver exceptional results with integrity and collaboration.' The work was conducted safely, efficiently, and ahead of schedule. The site was fully cleared before the environmental cut-off date, allowing Hydro One's next phase of development to proceed without delay. 'This wasn't just about speed,' Keeler added. 'It was about doing it right—protecting the environment, respecting Indigenous archaeological best practices, and ensuring the work met the highest possible standard. Meeting those goals is what defined this as a successful project.' Voyageur extends its appreciation to Aecon Power Division, Hydro One, and Northern Mat & Bridge for their collaboration, trust, and shared commitment to meaningful project outcomes. Clint Keeler Voyageur Services +1 905-261-0406 email us here Visit us on social media: LinkedIn Facebook Legal Disclaimer: EIN Presswire provides this news content 'as is' without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.
ABC News
30-06-2025
- General
- ABC News
Wilderness Society and AgForce clash over land-clearing in Queensland
A not-for-profit environmental group is calling for more clarity and enforcement after releasing drone footage of land in central Queensland it says may have been illegally cleared under federal law. The Wilderness Society said it was alerted to instances of land clearing by users of its app, which it then documented with legally obtained drone footage filmed over 12 months. Queensland campaigns manger Hannah Schuch said the clearing was primarily for beef production at properties in the Marlborough and Emerald regions. "[The] freshly bulldozed native forests and bushland are likely to be home of dozens of threatened species, including the koala, the greater glider and the red goshawk," she said. But the state's peak body for agriculture labelled the claims misleading and said no-one had done anything illegal. "We're very conscious of our environmental credentials and of what we are allowed to clear and not allowed to clear," AgForce Queensland president Shane McCarthy said. The Wilderness Society said the clearing of hundreds of hectares of land was legal at the state level but had been done without the mandatory assessment by the federal government. Any act that has a significant impact on matters of national environmental significance, such as clearing the habitat of a threatened species, requires a referral under the federal government's Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC). The society's claims follow allegations made by the Australian Conservation Foundation that 90,000 hectares of land across the nation had been illegally cleared for beef production. The National Farmers' Federation has rejected that claim. A spokesperson for the federal Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water said an investigation into the Marlborough matter had been closed with no enforcement action taken. It said the matters in Emerald remained under investigation. Mr McCarthy said much of the clearing on beef properties was conducted to manage regrowth on previously cleared land. He said there was a lack of clarity in the EPBC Act. "We know of cases where people have got these notices in the mail to say 'there could be an endangered habitat, but we don't know where it is', and when the producers go down and actually look at the area … there's no chance of that being there," Mr McCarthy said. "There's a lot of confusion." He said landowners were conscious of animals on their land and would never knowingly clear a threatened species habitat. "Producers are the better stewards of that land … they live there, they manage it on a day-to-day basis," Mr McCarthy said. "They don't sit in an office down in Sydney or Melbourne somewhere and look at it on a map and then decide what should or shouldn't be done there. The Wilderness Society has called on the government to make sure the laws are understood properly and enforced. "It really shouldn't be up to citizen scientists and not-for-profit independent organisations to monitor what's happening on the ground," Ms Schuch said. The environment department said anyone found in breach of the EPBC Act could be fined, directed to remediate damage or face prison time. "The department routinely monitors and verifies compliance across our regulatory schemes and works to detect, disrupt and deter noncompliant activity," the spokesperson said. The federal government has been working on reforming the act for several years. Environment Minister Murray Wyatt has admitted the laws are "broken" and held a roundtable meeting this month to discuss reform. No change is expected before Christmas, but the minister is adamant there will be reform in the next 18 months.
ABC News
26-05-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
Defence Housing Australia fined for unlawful land clearing at Darwin's Lee Point
A Commonwealth-owned defence housing company has been fined more than $18,000 for unlawfully clearing land at a popular birdwatching area on the outskirts of Darwin. Defence Housing Australia (DHA) is planning to build a residential housing complex for military personnel and their families at the site at Lee Point, to support an expanding defence presence in the Northern Territory. The project has long faced opposition from environmentalists and some Larrakia people due to the risks posed to cultural heritage and threatened species, including the Gouldian finch. DHA resumed bulldozing trees at the site in April last year following a tense showdown with protesters that led to multiple arrests and sparked claims of unlawful land clearing. After a year-long investigation into the claims, the federal environment department has now issued DHA an infringement notice of $18,780 for clearing land at Lee Point in breach of its environmental approvals. The breach relates to clearing land outside of the approved stage of development. In a statement, DHA said it "takes compliance matters seriously and is committed to ensuring strict adherence with approvals across all development projects". "The infringement was issued following DHA clearing a small area between 30 April and 2 May 2024 that was not in compliance with its Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 conditions at the time," a DHA spokesperson said. "This infringement notice does not affect the validity of DHA's environmental approvals." Australian Conservation Foundation lead investigator Annica Schoo said she was pleased DHA had been fined, but frustrated the land was unlawfully cleared in the first place. "And yet they were still able to breach their environmental approval doing something that destroyed habitat — this exact habitat that everyone cares so much about." Environment Centre NT executive director Kirsty Howey said the fine was "little more than a slap on the wrist" and "shows how profoundly broken our environmental laws are". The controversial housing development has faced significant delays in recent years. DHA paused works for about 12 months in 2022 while then-environment minister Tanya Plibersek assessed the project's impact on the endangered Gouldian Finch. In August 2023, works were again paused for eight months after Larrakia elders made an emergency application to Ms Plibersek. Larrakia Danggalaba community leader Lorraine Williams is now calling on federal Environment Minister Murray Watt to revoke DHA's approval "to stop any further cultural and ecological destruction at Lee Point". Mr Watt has been contacted for comment.
RNZ News
13-05-2025
- General
- RNZ News
Bluff gorse stoush: Ex-councillor hasn't paid council bill
Images supplied by the council show gorse on Arnold's section, and beyond. Photo: Supplied via LDR A former Invercargill councillor says she has not cleared her bill with the council after they removed gorse from her land more than two years ago. Karen Arnold has been embroiled in a battle with the organisation since 2022 when her section at Theodore Street, Bluff, began failing inspections due to overgrowth. A report prepared for a March hearing showed it had drawn three "request for service" complaints and failed eight of 10 inspections. But Arnold disputes the issue, saying compliance notices from council were unlawful and breached the New Zealand Bill of Rights. Arnold said she would not pay her share of a $5320 bill for council contractors clearing the section following an October 2022 bylaw notice, despite receiving monthly reminders. "They keep sending it out, I've ignored it." Invercargill City Council group manager consenting and environment Jonathan Shaw said a decision was made to split the cost 50/50 with Arnold when she met with council in January 2024. The section was also the subject of a council hearing in March where [ Arnold unsuccessfully appealed] a bylaw notice from December 2024. Although the panel accepted it was unhelpful that gorse existed on co-owned council land at the boundary of the property, removal still rested with the owner. "They say that it's got to be cleared again, and I'm not going to do it and so it's going to be the same thing," Arnold said. "They'll go and clear it and then they'll charge me." The section backs onto Bluff Hill/Motupōhue, which is co-owned by the council and Department of Conservation. Arnold claims the council conceded it had failed on a range of issues at a January 2024 meeting where the council's chief executive and lawyer were present. That included that two compliance notices in 2022 and one from 2023 were unlawful and breached the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act, that the council did not manage its gorse under the regional pest management plan until prompted, and that they had a conflict of interest in dealing with her concerns. In response to questions, Shaw said the council did not accept that gorse was not being managed on its land at Bluff Hill prior to Arnold's complaint. The cancellation of a December 2023 notice for procedural reasons did not mean the compliance problems raised in the original notice were invalid, Shaw said. Two councillors on the hearing panel declared conflicts of interest but felt it did not warrant them stepping aside, he added. "The council staff involved in the decision considered the issues raised by Ms Arnold on each occasion in a fair and balanced manner. "This included preparing for and attending the hearing, which Arnold chose to leave partway through." Arnold was elected to council in 2013 and 2016, but stood down near the end of her second term. She was declared bankrupt in 2018 after losing a defamation suit against Stuff and then-mayor Sir Tim Shadbolt, RNZ reported. LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
