Queensland government land grab
The Natural Resources Legislation Bill, tabled in the Queensland parliament on May 6, is a huge setback for the reconciliation process, according to Cam Walker, spokesperson of Friends of the Earth.
This view was echoed by 21 organisations at a state conservation conference in Queensland, which condemned the bill as an environmental and economic disaster and a reckless attempt to extinguish native title claims on pastoral leases.
According to the Cairns and Far North Queensland Environment Centre (CAFNEC), the proposed legislation reintroduces leases providing exclusive possession for pastoralists on public land, provides for interest-free government loans for up to 30 years and reintroduces time payments with no interest for lessees seeking to convert from perpetual lease to freehold.
The bill also reportedly allows for a 40% land valuation discount based on the unimproved value of the land, and removes the requirement that the land be sold at fair market value.
The NRLAB is "a massive land grab that will benefit the transnational corporations and a handful of Australian pastoralists", Walker said. According to CAFNEC, the only beneficiaries are the fewer than 3000 lease holders in Queensland, including state natural resources minister Howard Hobbs, who tabled the bill.
CAFNEC is concerned that the tenure conversion provisions of the bill could result in giving up to 64% of the state from public ownership into private hands: "We will lose current controls which allow us to prevent damage on leasehold lands caused by over-clearing and over-grazing. The impacts of run-off, salinity, erosion, nutrient loading and loss of biodiversity are the most pressing environmental problems in Queensland."
According to Walker, recent studies have identified 10 out of 16 pastoral regions as not economically feasible under "normal" climactic conditions, including all three of the Queensland pastoral regions.
"Why does the Queensland government insist on riding roughshod over the rights of indigenous people in order to give preferential treatment to any industry which is clearly unsustainable?", he asked.
CAFNEC says the bill is also a cynical attempt to extinguish native title rights on pastoral lands.
The 21 environment organisations called for the immediate withdrawal of the bill. A statewide campaign has been launched for which CAFNEC is seeking broad support. Contact Gavan McFadzean on (070) 321 746, or Imogen Zethoven on (07) 3221 0188 to get involved.