Is Local Government Always Your Friend?

In my last blog post, I alluded to the fact that Local Government is not always your friend. For several years, Local Government (LG) have been preventing clearing of regrowth under the guise of “Regionally Significant Vegetation”.  That’s all well and good as it keeps vegetation linked across catchments, the landscape and in country prone to erosion.

Very broadly, I do support the preservation of “Regionally Significant Vegetation” …..providing Local Government don’t overstep their level of authority. Where I don’t support it is when the landowner has a Property Map of Assessable Vegetation (PMAV) agreement in place with the State Government and the Local Government believe they can override State Government Legislation. (More detail on PMAVs next blog and why a landholder needs to be on top of their game…..new legislation and other Legislation means new traps to be aware of even if you do have a PMAV). For those that don’t know, a PMAV is a way of ensuring that regrowth doesn’t get mapped and stays as Cat X country that you can manage at your own discretion.

In the last couple of years, Local Government have tried to get away with saying their mapped regionally significant regrowth over-rides a State Government PMAV. Unfortunately, instead of State Government standing up and supporting the landholder, they have pulled back and seemingly let Local Government get away with it. This means that when the landholder goes to treat their regrowth, which under a Cat X PMAV they are permitted to do, Local Government believe they can override a State Government and tell the Landholder they can’t clear.

My message is this, “tell the State Government that when they change our constitution, only then can they over-ride the State. Under our constitution, Federal overrides State and State overrides Local.

In the last couple of years, I have gone to bat for several Landholders when LG have tried this stunt (and it is a stunt). Every time, LG has backed down because they know they cannot override a State issued PMAV.

The next step is where it gets interesting. Because the LG know they can’t override a State issued PMAV, they do the “dog act” and report the landholder to the Commonwealth for illegal land clearing. Under the EPBC Act, the Commonwealth regulators are obligated to investigate. If the regrowth happens to fall under the Commonwealths Threatened Ecological Community (TEC)  / Matter of National Environmental Significance (MNES) definition or contain Eucalypts that could potentially contain Koala food trees, the Landholder has to provide a “please explain” or demonstrate by the engagement of an ecologist / botanist, that the area in question does not fit the criteria of  MNES / TEC / Koala Habitat.

My advice to any landholder who finds themselves in this situation is to engage the services of an ecologist (preferably an impartial one with common sense) or at the very least, as evidence, take a few geo-referenced and dated photos at BOTH ground level and via a drone BEFORE starting management of the regrowth.