Committee hands down report on vegetation management changes

Queensland Parliament’s Agriculture and Environment Committee has finalised their report into the Government’s proposed changes to the state’s vegetation management framework.

The Committee could not reach a majority decision on whether the Government’s Vegetation Management (Reinstatement) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2016, introduced into Parliament without prior consultation, should be passed.

The removal of sections of the Bill which would reverse the onus of proof in relation to vegetation clearing offences has been recommended by the Committee.

Further consultation has been recommended between the Department of Environment and Heritage Protection and the property, resource and development sectors to establish the full impact of the amendments to the state’s environmental offsets regime. The Committee has asked the Minister to update the House during the second reading debate of the outcomes of this assessment and any relevant actions.

The Property Council appeared before the Committee’s inquiry and has been engaging with the Government to highlight the inadvertent impact that the changes will have on the viability of development in urban areas.

The Property Council’s submission can be accessed here.