Economy
Tony Abbott sinks forests on farms
TONY Abbott will rule out the use of prime agricultural land for carbon sinks when he announces a new policy on climate change in a move aimed at avoiding a damaging split with the Nationals.
The new Coalition policy, expected to be released ahead of next month’s parliamentary showdown with Kevin Rudd on the emissions trading scheme, is expected to hold back on declaring an emissions-reduction target before the Prime Minister names his final position. The policy will also include incentives to boost soil carbon levels and revegetate land.
“We’re about improving farm productivity, strong support for soil carbon, revegetation – and we’re not going to provide incentives for foresting over prime agricultural land,” opposition climate change spokesman Greg Hunt told The Australian yesterday.
Tree planting on prime agricultural land has been a long-running source of strife between the Coalition partners with the Nationals implacably opposed to encouraging the practice because of its effect on the cost of farmland and its potential effects on agricultural production.
Nationals senators crossed the floor in 2008 to vote against legislation giving tax breaks to private forestry carbon sinks. Deputy Senate leader Fiona Nash was forced to resign from the front bench in the wake of the move.
Sporadic strife continued through last year after then Liberal leader Malcolm Turnbull endorsed a CSIRO report calling for the planting of more than nine million hectares of trees to tackle climate change.