Clearing bans change sought

Article discusses the Western Australian Farmers Union calling for a major overhaul of the state government's south west land clearing controls and regulations. The Farmers Union handed a submission detailing its demands to Works and Water Minister Graham MacKinnon at a farmer meeting at Manjimup, attended by about 600 people. The Farmers Union demanded that landholders be allowed to clear up to 90 per cent of the total area of their holding in the declared river catchment and reserve areas; that landholders be allowed to clear native vegetation at a rate of 10 per cent of the total affected area of their holding for a year. and that landholders be allowed to clear regrowth at a rate and in a manner consistent with proper agricultural practice. Further demands made by the Farmers Union included, a further amendment to protect farmers wanting to sell out and that where any alienated land was offered for sale, but not sold within six months, it would be mandatory for the government to buy the property at an agreed price or a price determined by a compensation court. The Union described the stated technical reasons for the legislation's introduction as questionable and at best, providing a poor guide to justify disruption to the lives of around 2,000 people. This article contains a map show the land affected by the clearance bans. PLEASE NOTE: We are unable to provide a public view of this newspaper article as the copyright is held by the publisher of Western Farmer and Grazier. If you would like to obtain a copy of this newspaper article for research purposes, please ‘request a copy'. This article is part of the WISALTS (Whittington Interceptor Sustainable Agriculture Land Treatment Society Incorporated) Collection