New land clearing rules for farmers

The Hodgman Liberal Government is committed to supporting Tasmanians farmers and our plan to grow the value of agriculture to $10 billion by 2050.
Today, I am pleased to announce that we will be simplifying the State’s Permanent Native Forest Estate Policy reducing the regulatory burden on resource managers.
Under the current rules, farmers were set to be banned from clearing parts of their land for agriculture.
Under the new policy, farmers will sensibly be able to convert up to 40 hectares of native forest to agricultural purposes per property per year, in rural planning zones. Clearing for routine management activities like constructing or maintaining fences or infrastructure is also not limited by the policy.
This revised policy strikes the appropriate balance, giving farmers the ability to utilise their land, while also protecting native forest from broad-scale clearing.
Appropriate forest practices, regulatory and environmental rules still apply , including the Commonwealth Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act if applicable.
This is a good outcome for farmers who, along with their representative body, the TFGA, have worked positively with the Government in reviewing the existing policy.
The Forest Industries Association of Tasmania and other key stakeholders were also closely involved with the development of the policy.
The new policy remains consistent with the Regional Forest Agreement and our Forest Practices System and has been developed after an extensive period of stakeholder and public consultation, which commenced in 2015.
The new policy will come into effect at the end of this month and will shortly be available on the Department of State Growth website.
Guy Barnett, Minister for Resources