Mr WOOD - 2008-02-21
The other day, you spoke glowingly of the increase in cattle being exported from Darwin, many of those cattle from the Douglas Daly area. In the action plan to conserve the Daly River as a Living River from November 2007, the World Wide Fund for Nature and the Environment Centre supported a cap on clearing in the Daly catchment of 10 000 ha over the next decade. In a media release on 12 December, minister Kiely said a two-year moratorium on broad scale land clearing on the Douglas Daly would continue because it is crucial to get the right alignment between water allocation and native vegetation and clearing.
Will a further two-year moratorium affect the income of farmers in the area and what effect will that have on the cost of land in the area? Can you explain to cattle farmers the logic behind your government’s land clearing moratorium, which is based on the need for more research into the Tindal and Ooloo aquifers, which I support, but then puts restrictions on land clearing for non-irrigated pastures, which do not need a water allocation?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Nelson for his question. First, I say at the outset that I fully support the moratorium on land clearing in the Douglas Daly. We cannot afford to make the mistakes that have happened in some of the areas down south. The future development of the Douglas Daly is vitally important and it has to be based on scientific advice. It is all about the future of the Douglas Daly. The Douglas Daly is vitally important to the Primary Industry portfolio. We only get one chance at this, member for Nelson, and we have to get it right.
As for the cattle side of things, I said yesterday that we are running record numbers of cattle out of the Port of Darwin. Last year, 24 000 more head of cattle left the Port of Darwin, approximately 250 000 of which were Northern Territory cattle. There have been record shipments – 22 000 left in a record shipment last year. Since the Indigenous Pastoral Program, Aboriginal land has been opened up all around the Territory …
Mr Wood: No, no, I did not ask that question.
Members interjecting.
Mr NATT: Twenty-one additional grazing licences and an extra 30 000 head of cattle have been put on the land. The industry is very healthy.
As for land prices, I would have thought that the function of the land prices was all determined by the market. We all know that the drought down south has renewed interest in the Northern Territory, and primary industry production is, obviously, of interest to them as well.
Madam Speaker, it is very interesting to note that, in The Weekend Australian last weekend, the Northern Territory was rated as the best value for money in Australia, and that is based on price to earnings. There it is; it is in black and white.
As to the land clearing and the water extraction side, that falls under the portfolio of the minister for Natural Resources. He may like to add to the comments I have made.
Mr KIELY (Natural Resources, Environment and Heritage): Madam Speaker, as the minister has just said, we recently announced an extension to the moratorium on land clearing in the Daly because we are determined to get the science right there. It is a once-in-a-lifetime chance. We do not want to spoil it for the generations that follow on after us, member for Nelson.
Due to the work of DRMAC, the Daly River Management Advisory Council and others over the last few years, we now have a much greater scientific understanding of this iconic part of the Territory. They have done some marvellous work. I put on record that the work they have done on the Daly is fantastic. It is this research that will help us guide our thinking over the next few years. We are looking at the water allocations with DRMAC, and we are also looking at the biodiversity of the region, to ensure that we can protect that into the future. We are going to get the science right on this. If the member for Nelson does not think that this approach is the right decision for the Daly then, maybe, he should talk to the 7500 people who signed the petition …
Mr Wood: No, I am asking about the logic behind the decision.
Mr KIELY: Seven thousand five hundred people signed the petition – and you are the one who goes on about consultation, member for Nelson. We have been consulting, listening, and we will continue to get the science right.
Will a further two-year moratorium affect the income of farmers in the area and what effect will that have on the cost of land in the area? Can you explain to cattle farmers the logic behind your government’s land clearing moratorium, which is based on the need for more research into the Tindal and Ooloo aquifers, which I support, but then puts restrictions on land clearing for non-irrigated pastures, which do not need a water allocation?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Nelson for his question. First, I say at the outset that I fully support the moratorium on land clearing in the Douglas Daly. We cannot afford to make the mistakes that have happened in some of the areas down south. The future development of the Douglas Daly is vitally important and it has to be based on scientific advice. It is all about the future of the Douglas Daly. The Douglas Daly is vitally important to the Primary Industry portfolio. We only get one chance at this, member for Nelson, and we have to get it right.
As for the cattle side of things, I said yesterday that we are running record numbers of cattle out of the Port of Darwin. Last year, 24 000 more head of cattle left the Port of Darwin, approximately 250 000 of which were Northern Territory cattle. There have been record shipments – 22 000 left in a record shipment last year. Since the Indigenous Pastoral Program, Aboriginal land has been opened up all around the Territory …
Mr Wood: No, no, I did not ask that question.
Members interjecting.
Mr NATT: Twenty-one additional grazing licences and an extra 30 000 head of cattle have been put on the land. The industry is very healthy.
As for land prices, I would have thought that the function of the land prices was all determined by the market. We all know that the drought down south has renewed interest in the Northern Territory, and primary industry production is, obviously, of interest to them as well.
Madam Speaker, it is very interesting to note that, in The Weekend Australian last weekend, the Northern Territory was rated as the best value for money in Australia, and that is based on price to earnings. There it is; it is in black and white.
As to the land clearing and the water extraction side, that falls under the portfolio of the minister for Natural Resources. He may like to add to the comments I have made.
Mr KIELY (Natural Resources, Environment and Heritage): Madam Speaker, as the minister has just said, we recently announced an extension to the moratorium on land clearing in the Daly because we are determined to get the science right there. It is a once-in-a-lifetime chance. We do not want to spoil it for the generations that follow on after us, member for Nelson.
Due to the work of DRMAC, the Daly River Management Advisory Council and others over the last few years, we now have a much greater scientific understanding of this iconic part of the Territory. They have done some marvellous work. I put on record that the work they have done on the Daly is fantastic. It is this research that will help us guide our thinking over the next few years. We are looking at the water allocations with DRMAC, and we are also looking at the biodiversity of the region, to ensure that we can protect that into the future. We are going to get the science right on this. If the member for Nelson does not think that this approach is the right decision for the Daly then, maybe, he should talk to the 7500 people who signed the petition …
Mr Wood: No, I am asking about the logic behind the decision.
Mr KIELY: Seven thousand five hundred people signed the petition – and you are the one who goes on about consultation, member for Nelson. We have been consulting, listening, and we will continue to get the science right.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016