Vegetation Clearing and Enviro Offsets

Vegetation Clearing Legislation

Twenty-seven academics from universities across Queensland with expertise in biodiversity conservation and sustainable development are urging Premier Campbell Newman to reconsider proposed changes to the Vegetation Management Act.

The scientists are expressing grave concerns about the future impacts of proposed changes to Queensland’s Vegetation Management Act and the Water Act. There are warnings of devastating habitat and species loss if changes to the state’s land clearing laws go ahead.

The concerned scientists believe amendments will include allowing a new category of broadscale native vegetation clearing and remove the protections which previously prevented clearing of mature regrowth of threatened plant communities and of vegetation along many watercourses.

However, Minister Cripps claims the package of reforms will maintain key environmental protections such as buffer zones along creeks and rivers in sensitive reef areas.

The concerns of the Scientists about the changes to Vegetation Management include:

·       Land clearing is the greatest current threat to Australia’s biodiversity,

·       Vegetation loss is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions,

·       degradation and reduced water quality in waterways and estuaries,

·       dryland salinity and

·       lost ecosystems.

The changes the Qld Government are proposing to make to vegetation management laws are intended to support growth in agricultural production, provide jobs and boost regional economies. However, restoration of lost ecosystems can cost more than $20,000 per hectare. Avoiding the loss of ecosystems in the first place is far more cost-effective.

Green groups are coming under fire from the Minister for Natural Resources and Mines for opposing these changes.

The World Wide Fund have produced a report that provides the first estimates of environmental values potentially placed at-risk of renewed clearing due to the proposed changes to land clearing legislation in Queensland

Successive Qld Governments in the 1990s to 2009 bought in laws which provided strong protection for bushland. Before the Vegetation Management Act came into effect Qld was experiencing some of the highest rates of clearing in the world – similar to Brazil’s clearing of the Amazon. Once the new laws started to take effect clearing rates declined from a massive 750,000ha a year before laws were introduced in 1999 to 77,590ha in 2009-10.

An amendment bill was introduced into parliament in March and referred to the parliamentary committee for State Development, Infrastructure and Industry, which is due to report back on this week.

Environmental Offset Policy Review

Environmental offsets were originally established to replace environmental values lost through development.  At the moment, the Qld Government has five Environmental Offset Policies:

·       Qld Government Environmental Offsets Policy (administered by Department of Environment and Heritage Protection –offsets@ehp.qld.gov.au)

·       Qld Biodiversity Offset Policy (administered by Department of Environment and Heritage Protection –offsets@ehp.qld.gov.au)

·       Offset for Net Gain of Koala Habitat in South East Qld Policy (administered by Department of Environment and Heritage Protection - seqkoala@ehp.qld.gov.au)

·       Policy for Vegetation Management Offsets (administered by Department of Natural Resources and Mines –vmenquireis@dnrm.qld.gov.au)

·       Marine Fish Habitat Offset Policy (administered by Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries)

General information about offsets and the policies can still be found on the EHP website, however there is currently a review of the department’s web material, which has resulted in some documents being unavailable at this time.

In relation to the future of Qld’s offset policies, the Qld Government committed, through the Six Month Action Plan July to December 2012, to review the overarching framework for the Biodiversity Offsets Policy. The review will create a single policy that incorporates requirements of all five existing Qld Government offset policies.

The Department of Environment and Heritage Protection is leading this review.

The single policy will address all Qld Government offset requirements and could be adopted as the foundation for local government offset policies if desired by councils.

The review seeks to reduce costs for government and industry; promote strategic biodiversity outcomes; and provide for shelf ready products that enable rapid approvals for projects.

This review is not linked to the review of assessment requirements or triggers under legislation. These are being undertaken separately to development of this policy.

However, where there is a State assessment requirement to avoid, mitigate and offset impacts – the single State Government Environmental Offset Policy will provide how this offset is to be achieved.

Until this review is completed, all current offset policies remain in effect.

A letter to the Enviro Minister on Enviro Offsets

Hon Andrew Powell

Minister for Environment and Heritage Protection

Dear Mr Powell,

I was reading an article on Biodiversity offsets, which prompted me to have a quick look at the EHP website for the Queensland Government Environmental Offsets Policy.

I noted that a lot of the content on the website is no longer available.

Many of the triggers in legislation appear to be under review or being amended including:

·         Sustainable Planning Act 2009 (PDF)*

·         Environmental Protection Act 1994 (PDF)*

·         Nature Conservation Act 1992 (PDF)*.

I wonder if you are able to provide any insights into what the Qld Government’s current and future policy on Environmental Offsetting will be?

Regards,

Rowan Barber


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In response, an EHP representative wrote:

Good afternoon Rowan.

Thank-you for email.  Apologies for the website – there is currently a review of the department’s web material, which has resulted in some documents being unavailable at this time.

CURRENT

At the moment the Queensland Government has five offset policies:

·         Queensland Government Environmental Offsets Policy (administered by Department of Environment and Heritage Protection –offsets@ehp.qld.gov.au)

·         Queensland Biodiversity Offset Policy (administered by Department of Environment and Heritage Protection –offsets@ehp.qld.gov.au)

·         Offset for Net Gain of Koala Habitat in South East Queensland Policy (administered by Department of Environment and Heritage Protection - seqkoala@ehp.qld.gov.au)

·         Policy for Vegetation Management Offsets (administered by Department of Natural Resources and Mines –vmenquireis@dnrm.qld.gov.au)

·         Marine Fish Habitat Offset Policy (administered by Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries)

General information about offsets and the policies can be found from the below link.

http://www.ehp.qld.gov.au/management/environmental-offsets/environmental-offsets.html

FUTURE

In relation to the future of Queensland’s offset policies, the Queensland Government committed, through the Six Month Action Plan July to December 2012, to review the overarching framework for the Biodiversity Offsets Policy.  The review will create a single policy that incorporates requirements of all five existing Queensland Government offset policies.

The Department of Environment and Heritage Protection is leading this review.

The single policy will address all Queensland Government offset requirements and could be adopted as the foundation for local government offset policies if desired by councils.

The review seeks to reduce costs for government and industry; promote strategic biodiversity outcomes; and provide for shelf ready products that enable rapid approvals for projects.

This review is not linked to the review of assessment requirements or triggers under legislation.  These are being undertaken separately to development of this policy. 

However, where there is a State assessment requirement to avoid, mitigate and offset impacts – the single State Government Environmental Offset Policy will provide how this offset is to be achieved.

Until this review is completed, all current offset policies remain in effect.

Kind regards,

Jane

Guilt Offset

In this week’s blog post, various forms of offsets are discussed. 

It may be useful to consider the parody website which offers offsetting of one's fidelity.

Carbon Offsets

The Australian Government introduced the National Carbon Offset Standard (NCOS) on 1 July 2010. The NCOS provides national consistency and consumer confidence in the voluntary carbon market.

The standard:

·           provides guidance on what is a genuine voluntary carbon emissions offset and

·           sets minimum requirements for calculating, auditing and offsetting the carbon footprint of an organisation, product or event to voluntarily achieve 'carbon neutrality'.

In the lead up to a Federal Election later this year, it is still unclear what the Federal Opposition’s policies are on carbon offsetting and the voluntary carbon market.

Environmental Offsetting

Environmental offsets were established by the former Qld Government to replace environmental values lost through development that supports a rapidly growing economy and population.

In Queensland, environmental offsets were administered under the Queensland Government Environmental Offsets Policy (QGEOP) but it still unclear whether the current Government supports this concept. 

The purpose of the QGEOP was to:

·         provide a foundation of guidelines and principles for the development, operation, monitoring and review of new and existing specific issue offset policies and

·         provide a supporting framework for the management of offsets in Queensland.

Some of the QGEOP appears to have been removed from the Department of Environment and Heritage Protection website.

There are a number of other offset policies under the Qld Government Environmental Offsets Policy which can still be accessed via the environmental offsets section.

Vegetation Offsetting

Vegetation management offsets in Queensland, introduced by the previous Qld Government commenced on 1 July 2008 were administered under the Policy for Vegetation Management Offsets.

Proposed reforms to relax Vegetation Management laws have been referred to the State Development, Infrastructure and Industry parliamentary committee but it is still unclear whether the provisions for Vegetation offsetting will be retained or not.

Many of the policies are no longer available on the Department of Environment and Heritage Protection Website.

Vegetation Management was a statutory policy that formed part of the broader vegetation management framework designed to regulate the clearing of native vegetation throughout the state.

Prior to the last Qld State election, Campbell Newman promised that the LNP would retain the current level of statutory vegetation protection.  The introduction of amendments to Vegetation Management laws seem contrary to this assertion.

Biodiversity Offsetting

Researchers from the National Environmental Research Program's have been considering the effectiveness and the technicalities of biodiversity offsetting rather than the moral and philosophical issues.

The former Queensland Government had developed the Queensland Biodiversity Offset Policy with the intent to increase the long-term viability of the state’s biodiversity where residual impacts from development on an area possessing state significant biodiversity values cannot be avoided or minimised.

The policy is a specific-issues offset policy under the Queensland Government Environmental Offsets Policy (QGEOP) previously mentioned.

Under the Biodiversity Offset Policy, there were certain development activities that might trigger the requirement for a biodiversity offset.

Many of these triggers are now being removed or reviewed.

• The Sustainable Planning Act 2009  is being simplified.
• Development in the coastal zone under the Coastal Protection and Management Act 1995,
• Environmentally relevant activities have been reviewed under Green Tape Reduction,
• The State Planning Policy 2/11 (SPP 2/11) is under review and a temporary Planning Protection Policy is currently in place.

The China First Coal Project is entering the last stages of review for its proposed coal mine in Queensland’s Bimblebox Nature Refuge. The proposal suggests protecting about two hectares of remnant bush for every one hectare of the nature refuge that is affected by the mine.

It remains to be seen if the Qld Government will just revoke the protected status of the Bimblebox Nature Reserve or whether biodiversity offsets will be required. 

Questions still remain as to whether or not biodiversity offsetting could balance out the impact developments have on the environment.  These questions may be moot, if the Qld Government removes the requirements for biodiversity offsets.

Mines to mines

Perhaps if we spend a shit load of money on Education and/or Health, no one will notice the guilt offset. The following story came from the Premier, via the Member for Brisbane - Grace Grace. Premier Anna Bligh has launched a plan to use the State’s resources to fuel the education of the next generation of Queenslanders. The Premier released From Mines to Minds: A proposal to establish a Queensland Education Trust, at West End State School. The paper proposes the establishment of a multi-billion dollar Queensland Education Trust using 50% of future LNG royalties – projected at more than $1.8 billion in the next 10 years alone. “We want to take the wealth from the earth and use it to train the minds of our children,” said the Premier. “We can harness the energy of the decade of prosperity we see before us to create a golden generation that will secure Queensland’s bright future for a century and more.” The Government’s proposed trust could be invested in different ways including; • Individual Trust Accounts for Education – an individual endowment that would mean every newborn child would have a nest egg valued between $7,800 and $9,500 when they turn 18 or; • Dedicated Education Fund: an investment fund where the proceeds are reinvested by Government in education and training initiatives beyond the basics throughout the schooling years and potentially beyond. The Premier said under the Trust account model every Queensland child born on or after July 1, 2012 would receive a savings endowment at birth that could be accessed at age 18. Under the second option the QET would invest up to 50% of LNG royalties as an education ‘future fund’. Under this model the QET would set aside funds for specific initiatives such as; • TAFE and university scholarships for rural, regional and disadvantaged students • International exchange programs • Language program The QET can be the tool we use to build a bright future that will make Queensland the best place in the world to live, raise a family and to fulfil your potential. “In Queensland we are already on the cusp of enormous prosperity with a resources boom unlike anything we’ve ever seen before. “The question now is how we use this prosperity.” The Queensland Government wants to hear from Queensland communities. We want your feedback on the QET by February 17, 2012. You can have your say by writing to us at: Education Trust, PO Box 15185, Brisbane 4000 or email:

	Education.Trust@premiers.qld.gov.au

Feedback and reading of the proposal - From Mines to Minds can be found online at:

	The Premier of Queensland