REBECCA BATS
Protestors rallied outside Brisbane Parliament House today, calling on the Liberal government to reinstate Labor’s restricted land clearing for farming act.
Queensland Conservation Council coordinator Dr Tim Seelig says that tree clearing is out of control in Queensland, with 300,000 hectares of trees being cleared now in Queensland each year.
Dr Martin Taylor from WWF says, ‘This is the equivalent to getting 100 bulldozers in a line and bulldozing everything in their path from Brisbane to Cairns.’
Dr Seelig says the current act has had a devastating impact on wildlife and habitats which have been greatly impacting on reefs, droughts and erosion.
The previous act required land owners to prove that they hadn’t illegally bulldozed their properties.
Deputy Premier Jackie Trad calls for action at the protest to protect Australia’s wildlife.
‘We have a dwindling area of native vegetation that needs to be protected, needs to be protected for habitat, for sustainable farming in the future, for our water ways and importantly for our Great Barrier Reef.’ Ms Trad said.
Queensland Minister for Environment, national parks and the Great Barrier Reef Steven Miles says this is the hardest parliament a Labor government has ever faced to pass environment laws.
Debates on the issues are expected to continue for the next 48 hours.
