Land ban: records back 'misled' claim

Article explains that parliamentary records have confirmed that some members of parliament may have been misled over the implementation of new southern land clearing controls. A study of Hansard supports claims that the bill was introduced without revealing either the implications of the government's full intentions. Hansard also reveals the lengths to which the government went to keep the legislation quiet. The legislation contained a provision to alter the need for the government to publicly disclose its intention, and the tone of the parliamentary discussion conveys that there was nothing to worry about and the controls were for future use if the situation became urgent. Talk on the salinity aspect of the Country Areas Water Supply Act Amendment Bill was overshadowed by discussion on other unrelated aspects of the amendment such as subdivision technicalities and costs. This article contains three portraits, one of Mr. Evans; one of Mr. MacKinnon; one of Mr. McNeill. 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