Rural Landuse Policy

Principles

The Greens NSW believe:

1. An efficient and ecologically sustainable agricultural sector is a vital component of the revitalisation of regional NSW;
2. Historically the clearing of native vegetation for farmland and the decline of remnant vegetation on freehold land have contributed to the extinction or threatened extinction of many native species;
3. Subsequent land-management practices have caused seriously damaging impacts on NSW ecosystems;
4. Farming practices in NSW are evolving towards a sensitive and sustainable use of agricultural land, and that there are still serious deficiencies which need to be addressed;
5. There is a central role for ecologically sustainable agricultural production in regional and national economies;
6. The agriculture sector remains in a sustained decline and it is the responsibility of governments to ensure that regional, rural and remote communities that have historically depended on agriculture are not seriously disadvantaged as the sector contracts.
   
   

   Goals

   The Greens NSW aim to:
7. Prevent and reverse land degradation such as erosion, salinity, acidification, nutrient loss, chemical pollution, soil structural decline, weed infestation and loss of biodiversity;
8. Ensure that appropriate land management practices, compatible with programs to restore degraded ecosystems and habitat are adopted such as minimum tillage regimes, stubble retention and usage of deep-rooted perennial and native species where possible;
9. Reduce the dependence of agriculture on synthetic chemical fertilisers and pesticides and provide accurate information to farmers and consumers about the long-term effects of unsustainable monocultural practices and genetically engineered (GE) crops;
10. Discourage large scale farming practices where they adversely affect ecologically sustainable family farming and rural communities;
11. Promote diversity in land use, and encourage new rural initiatives for local processing and value-adding industries, including co-operative arrangements and niche agricultural marketing opportunities;
12. Develop stronger regional levels of planning and organisation, particularly in catchment management, water and vegetation management plans, and biodiversity control;
13. Take action at a regional level to maintain diverse and vibrant communities, with access to services and opportunities comparable to those in urban settings;
14. Promote species-sensitive bushfire risk management; and
15. Protect productive and strategic farm lands adjacent to population centres i.e. the Sydney Basin’s horticulture industry.
    
    

    Policy Detail

    The Greens NSW will work towards:
16. Providing incentives for farmers to move towards ecologically and economically sustainable farming methods, for example low-cost loans for converting or replacing inappropriate machinery and practices;
17. Supporting the establishment of community banks which can provide low-interest loans to small farmers;
18. Ensuring that Travelling Stock Routes (TSR’s) deemed to be of high ecological value are adequately protected;
19. Ensuring further research into soil acidification and salinity problems and solutions;
20. Ensuring that comprehensive, uniform, and rigorous assessment of the condition of agricultural and other land is undertaken in NSW, leading to the production of sustainable land management plans, integrated catchment plans, property management plans and water and vegetation plans for each land management region;
21. Developing regional plans for withdrawal or protection of land deemed to be unsuited to farming or of significant ecological, archaeological or spiritual value, and ensuring that land-holders are adequately compensated;
22. Lobbying the Federal government to increase tax incentives for the protection of existing native vegetation and for reforestation on private land;
23. Consolidating, updating and strictly enforcing existing legislation to regulate clearing, management, and rehabilitation of native vegetation on all public and private land;
24. Ensuring adequate native vegetation/forest corridors exist across all land tenures to link reserves so as to maintain biodiversity;
25. Identifying and protecting all rural wetlands;
26. Providing for the stabilisation, revegetation and fencing of streams and wetlands to protect remnant vegetation and to provide a buffer against sedimentation and pollution of waterways;
27. Funding regional weed and feral animal management programs for public and private lands;
28. Maintaining the genetic diversity of all production species and protecting that genetic diversity from privatisation;
29. Introducing legislation to place a moratorium on the import, development and release of genetically engineered organisms in agriculture;
30. Introducing legislation that ensures that those liable for genetic contamination are prosecuted and those affected compensated;
31. Reducing the use of synthetic chemical pesticides and fertilisers, by providing tax incentives to farmers and funding for research, promotion, and training in non synthetic chemical farm practices, including effective forms of biological pest control;
32. Enforcing standard food labelling which clearly shows consumers which products are organically certified, contain GE components;
33. Ensuring that standards for the licensing and use of agricultural chemicals are enforced and that these standards are equal to or higher than the most rigorous standards for specific chemicals elsewhere in the world;
34. Assessment of the irrigation industry to ensure that water pricing takes into account the full economic, social and environmental costs of providing that water, including the capital costs of major storage dams and water delivery infrastructure;
35. Ongoing assessment of all irrigation licences and extractions to ensure adequate environmental flows;
36. Supporting Landcare groups to tackle issues such as weed and feral animal control, riparian management, and revegetation of eroded and denuded lands;
37. Better directing Landcare funds to those who are engaged in the work, subject to an integrated planning process that adequately protects environmental values;
38. Providing support for the growth and development of organic, permaculture and Biodynamic farming techniques; including establishing an Organic Cooperative Research Centre; and
39. Introducing legislation to create a standardised system of licensed Organic and Biodynamic certification.

Follow this link for The Greens NSW Rural Land Use Policy Summary.