Qld: Snap ban on tree clearing would provoke revolt, oppn

AAP General News (Australia)
12-07-1999
Qld: Snap ban on tree clearing would provoke revolt, oppn

By Barbara Adam

BRISBANE, Dec 7 AAP - The Queensland government would face a rural revolt if it introduced
a snap ban on tree clearing on freehold land, the state opposition warned today.

Premier Peter Beattie enters a final round of negotiations with farmers and conservationists
late tonight to try to hammer out mutually agreeable tree clearing guidelines, after this
week vowing to resolve the issue by Friday.

Australian Conservation Executive director Don Henry, who will be at the meeting, said
Queensland accounted for 80 per cent of all tree clearing in Australia.

But Deputy National Party leader Lawrence Springborg said farmers would declare war
on the government if an overnight moratorium on tree clearing was introduced.

Mr Springborg said Mr Beattie had already made up his mind to introduce restrictions,
regardless of how negotiations progressed at tonight's meeting.

"I'm calling on the Premier today to rule out any possibility of introducing an overnight
moratorium on tree clearing," he told journalists.

Earlier this week, the opposition has called for an independent economic impact assessment
of tree clearing before any restrictions were imposed.

Mr Springborg said instead of regulating tree clearing, the government should introduce
a voluntary code of practice for farmers.

"When we (the Coalition) were in government, the level of freehold tree clearing was
half what it is today," he said.

"That's because people were comfortable that their own land management decisions were
being respected by the government.

Mr Beattie's weekend comments that Queensland was on fire as farmers panic cleared
land ahead of the yet-to-be-announced tree clearing guidelines have sparked outrage from
rural sectors, who claim the fires were the result of lightning strikes or regular pasture
rejuvenation burnoffs.

Mr Springborg said the Premier's emotional and unscientific assessment of what he saw
from the air showed he was treating farmers with contempt.

"Anybody who knows anything knows you don't use fire to clear timber," he said.

"It's done with bulldozers and chains and the only way you use fire is to clean up
the stacks, usually about 12 to 18 months later, after they've dried out."

Federal Agriculture Minister Warren Truss has also accused Mr Beattie of insulting
farmers by claiming the state was on fire because of panic tree clearing.

"Burning off is standard management practice ... before European settlement, Aborigines
used larger fires for traditional hunting practices," he said in a statement.

Earlier in parliament, Mr Beattie defended the observations he made after flying to
Charters Towers for a community cabinet meeting.

"I know exactly what I saw," he told parliament.

"I was in a very good position to see it."

AAP bja/arb/br c

KEYWORD: TREES NIGHTLEAD

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