EPBC Act review to target farmers’ environmental red tape strain

Environment Minister Josh Frydenberg and Agriculture and Water Resources Minister David Littleproud announced today that Dr Wendy Craik would undertake targeted consultation to examine areas for possible red tape reduction and provide a final report to the government, by the middle of this year.

The review will examine the interaction between environmental law and the agriculture sector to ensure positive environmental and economic outcomes are achieved, a statement said.

Mr Frydenberg said the independent review of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) would build on a recommendation in the Productivity Commission’s 2017 report into the Regulation of Australian Agriculture.

Former Agriculture and Water Resources Minister Barnaby Joyce has already indicated he intends to target a review of the EPBC Act and highlight its undue impact on farmers and private property rights.

Mr Joyce said in an interview shortly after stepping down as Nationals leader that the EPBC Act “goes beyond protecting the environment to completely inhibiting the capacity of people on the land to deal with the private asset that they have paid for”.

Minister Frydenberg said it was important to get the balance right between protecting the environment and allowing the agriculture sector to “grow and prosper”.

“The Productivity Commission’s report found it could be unduly onerous on a farmer to deal with the complexity of their requirements and actions requiring compliance with the Act - the red-tape burden costs fall disproportionately on the farmer,” he said.

“That said, Australia has a spectacular natural environment which needs to be protected and nurtured for future generations to enjoy.

“It’s about getting the balance right to deliver the best environmental and economic outcomes.”

Mr Littleproud said his job was to get government “out of farmers’ lives” and family businesses that are simply trying to manage their land were “drowning in paperwork”.

“We need to make life simple for them and let them produce the best food and fibre in the world,” he said.

“We don’t want sensible projects which benefit both environment and farmer to be stalled because of mountains of paperwork.”

Mr Littleproud said “We want to hear from farmers who have practical suggestions on these issues”.

“It is our job to provide regulations that are clear, sensible, and easy to navigate and harmonised across jurisdictions where practical,” he said.

Dr Craik has extensive experience in both the public and private sectors including in her current role as the Chair of the Australian Rural Leadership Foundation.

She is also a former Executive Director of the National Farmers’ Federation (NFF) and President of the National Competition Council.

Dr Craik recently led a comprehensive review of the Intergovernmental Agreement on Biosecurity that made 42 reform recommendations, including implementing a legislated levy on farmers to be controlled by the Agriculture Minister.

Amid a ferocious debate on restrictive land clearing laws in NSW and Queensland, the review’s terms of reference called for the identification of opportunities for “harmonisation” between the EPBC Act and the native vegetation management regimes in east state and territory.

It also seeks to identify opportunities to enhance the EPBC Act to support agriculture and food production to take advantage of domestic and international demand for sustainable agriculture, such as certification schemes and ‘clean and green’ foods.

The NFF said it welcomed an ‘agriculture specific’ review of the EPBC Act given farmers managed 48 per cent of Australia’s landscape.

“It therefore makes sense for the Act to be reviewed, in the first instance, through the lens of its intersection with agriculture,” NFF President Fiona Simson said.

“Our farmers are at the frontline of delivering environmental outcomes on behalf of all Australians.

“Every day, farmers care for protected flora and fauna species, encourage biodiversity and nurture soil health."

Ms Simson said the EPBC Act, in its current form, was in need of refinement, to ensure the best outcomes for the environment, farmers and the regional communities they support.

She said currently, farmers had ongoing concerns about the interaction of the EPBC Act and its state legislative equivalents.

“In some cases farmers can be compliant with the EPBC Act but in breach of a state Act or vice versa.,” she said.

"This needs to be resolved, to provide farmers with the certainty they need to do business."

Ms Simson said, in general, the EPBC Act lacked transparency in regards to the obligations of landholders and failed to recognise the difficulty landholders faced in identifying endangered species and exactly what flora and fauna requires particular protection.

She said she hoped the review would see a rectification of the Act’s shortfalls in consistency and transparency.

“We look forward to working with Dr Craik and the Government on this important piece of work,” she said.

“The world’s population is forecast to rise from today’s 7.3 billion to 8.5 billion by 2030 - greatly increasing the demand for agriculture production.

"The NFF has a vision for agriculture to be a $100 billion industry by 2030.

“Ongoing best practice environmental management will be key to Australian farmers sustainably growing our industry and continuing to contribute to feeding the world.”

Review terms of reference: