Under Labor s rules, farmers are likely to face massive restrictions, and could be prevented from converting land needed for production or building dams to manage water. They could even face restrictions on livestock movements. A Beazley Government would introduce national legislation on land clearing, compulsorily acquire farms to appease the conservation lobby and impose conservation covenants on productive farmland. A new environmental policeman, the Commissioner for the Environment, would be established in Canberra to oversee a new level of red tape and bureaucracy to crush farm initiative.
All States already have adequate legislation to protect conservation values on private land.
In some States, such as NSW, this is already very restrictive. All farmers recognise that they have a duty of care to manage their properties in an environmentally sustainable way. Labor s policy shows a Beazley Labor Government would be hostage to the same minority environmental interest groups as the Hawke and Keating Governments.