Rural Land Use Policy Summary

Clean, green, secure agriculture

The Greens support an efficient and ecologically sustainable agricultural sector as a vital component of revitalising regional NSW and ensuring the security of a clean food supply.

The drought is destroying large tracts of farm land and much of NSW lies fallow. Many farmers have lost their land to the banks. Improved understanding of rainfall patterns suggests that other farming land should undergo significant change of agricultural use or be withdrawn from
production.

While farming practices in NSW are evolving towards more sensitive and sustainable use of agricultural land, there are still serious deficiencies which need to be addressed, including erosion, salinity, acidification, nutrient loss, chemical pollution, soil structural decline, weed infestation, the clearing of native vegetation and loss of biodiversity.

The Greens will work for:

• withdrawal or protection of land unsuitable for farming, or of significant ecological or spiritual value and ensuring land-holders are adequately compensated;
• incentives for farmers to move to ecologically and economically sustainable farming methods, programs to restore degraded ecosystems and habitat, and the establishment of community banks to provide low-interest loans to small farmers;
• reducing the dependence of agriculture on synthetic chemical fertilisers and pesticides and providing accurate information to farmers and consumers on their use;
• a moratorium on GE food crops and legislation that ensures that those liable for genetic contamination are prosecuted and those affected compensated. Protection of the genetic diversity of all production species;
• irrigation water pricing that takes into account the full economic, social and environmental costs of providing that water, and assessment of all irrigation licences and extractions to ensure adequate environmental flows;
• support for Landcare groups to tackle issues such as weed and feral animal control, riparian management, and revegetation of eroded and denuded lands;
  
• enforcement of standard food labelling which clearly shows consumers which products are organically certified and which contain GE components; and
• protecting Sydney Basin’s horticulture industry and other productive and strategic farm lands adjacent to population centres.