Exclusive: NSW farmers accelerate land-clearing rates, doubling previous decade | p_hannam
The state lost 60,800 hectares – or about 200 times the size of Sydney's CBD – of woody vegetation in 2018, up from 58,000 hectares the previous year, government data shows. Of that about half was the result of agriculture, with forestry and infrastructure accounting for the remainder in both years.The Berejiklian government replaced vegetation laws in August 2017, prompting a surge in land clearing by farmers.
Despite the increase in clearing, Agriculture Minister Adam Marshall said the state's farmers were "the best environmental stewards we have in NSW – their businesses depend on a sustainable environment". "There is little wonder we face the extinction of the koala in NSW if this level of deforestation is being allowed under the Berejiklian government," Mr Field said, noting Tuesday's release of a parliamentary inquiry report that found the marsupialHe noted that a secret report by the Natural Resources Commission this year labelled NSW's land-clearing laws as a "state-wide risk to biodiversity" with deforestation occurring at record levels.
Mr Field called for the two-year statute of limitations on prosecutions for illegal land clearing to be suspended "until the public can be reassured that investigations and enforcement is able to proceed unhindered".
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Fight looms between Commonwealth and NSW over water-sharing plansA dispute between NSW and the federal agency overseeing the $13 billion Murray-Darling Basin Plan is likely after the state government submitted water sharing plans that challenge how environmental flows are counted | p_hannam
Read more »
NSW second wave fears as ‘virus refugee’ Victorians flock to ByronVictorians are among hundreds of people flocking to popular resort town Byron Bay, sending Twitter crazy with fears of “virus refugees” infecting NSW with a second wave.
Read more »
NSW Government will ‘do everything’ to stop Sunday’s BLM protestNSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the State Government would do “everything we can” to stop Sunday’s Black Lives Matter protest from going ahead amid fears it could spread COVID-19.
Read more »
NSW residents urged to 'shut their doors' to Melb visitors | Sky News AustraliaNSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has asked that state residents close off their homes to visitors from Melbourne coronavirus hotspots. \n\n“Do not allow anyone from a hotspot in Melbourne or from Greater Melbourne to come into your home; you have the right to say no,” Ms Berejiklian said on Tuesday. \n\nShe asked “loved ones” from Melbourne to postpone visiting NSW “until the community transmission is under control.”\n\nVictoria completed upwards of 20,000 virus tests per day as part of a testing blitz across 10 suburbs identified as hotspots. \n\nThe federal government placed pressure to lockdown those hotspots as the state reported 75 new infections in a 24-hour period. \n\nImage: Getty
Read more »
Koalas face extinction in NSW within 30 years, report warnsKoalas could be extinct across New South Wales within 30 years unless urgent action is taken, according a report by a parliamentary committee
Read more »
NSW koalas on course to be extinct in the wild by 2050, inquiry findsA year-long NSW parliamentary inquiry has found koalas are on track to become extinct in the wild in NSW by 2050 unless there is urgent intervention to stop the destruction of their habitat.
Read more »