NSW Labor is under fire for failing to repeal laws that its own Environment Minister warned "will increase broadscale land clearing, lead to further extinctions of native animals and drive up greenhouse gas emissions".
The NSW Statewide Landcover and Tree Study (SLATS) data released today has revealed a staggering 16% jump in land clearing rates in 2024, following a 40% jump in 2023.
The increase is fuelled largely by an increase in clearing of non-woody vegetation, with 57,190 hectares of non-woody vegetation and 24,103 hectares of woody vegetation cleared. Environmental experts have been calling forurgent action and the scrapping of the Land Management Code's "Invasive Native Species" category.
The NSW Greens have announced they will introduce a private members' bill to stop runaway land clearing when parliament resumes.
Greens MP and Environment Spokesperson Sue Higginson said,"When the National Party under John Barilaro took a chainsaw to our nature laws to enable runaway land clearing, Labor Environment Minister Penny Sharpe warned land clearing would skyrocket, wildlife would die and emissions will increase,
"This is exactly what is happening under Labor's watch and the Environment Minister is not fixing the laws that she herself condemned,
"Half of the current Labor Cabinet lined up to slam these laws when they were introduced, so what is stopping them from fixing them? If Labor Premier Chris Minns has made a captain's call and decided to abandon his commitment to end land clearing in NSW, he need to come clean to the people of New South Wales,
"We have seen another staggering jump in land clearing rates under the Minns Labor Government, in total land clearing is much higher than it was when the Liberals and Nationals left office,
"Astoundingly, New South Wales is clearing 275 Sydney CBDs worth of vegetation every year, and our deforestation rates are on par with Indonesia,
"Every moment that the Minns Labor Government delays action on land clearing is a moment the extinction crisis worsens.
"The Greens will introduce a private members bill to repeal the Liberal National Coalition's disastrous laws, slam the brakes on runaway land clearing and fix the perversities in the biodiversity offset system," Ms Higginson said.
The Greens Bill will do 4 things -
1. Introduce prohibitions on clearing threatened ecological communities, threatened species habitats and riparian areas
2. End the regime of self assessable codes
3. Repeal the Invasive Native Species exemptions which allow broadscale land clearing
4. Fix the biodiversity offsets system enforcing these prohibitions and requiring offsets to be like for like as the system intended.
Ms Higginson said, "This would end the absurdity of allowing the destruction of native vegetation through offsetting where a proponent can destroy, for example, koalas and their habitat in Lismore in exchange for protecting sugar gliders in the Blue Mountains. Or even worse when Offsets are not at all available and a payment is made to destroy habitat and that money is used to fund a glossy brochure on the importance of koalas and their habitat."
