Posted 17/3/06

Bush Brokers' Scheme (received 15/3/06)

BushBrokers sounds like a good idea but is in reality an idea that comes straight out of some economic fairy story.  Pure Brumby and VCEC!

Developers and farmers have complained about how difficult it has been to understand the native vegetation framework, but of course they do understand and so they have not liked it.

The government does not want to spend any money on saving the remaining 5% of remnant vegetation in Victoria, so they have worked out schemes where the remaining vegetation will have to sell part of itself in an effort to try and pay for a little of itself.  Self funding!

The way Bush Brokers will work is something that we have been fighting to stop developers from doing, but the government has taken it up and are very proud to do so.

This is what will happen: isolated areas of vegetation will be established, disconnected from other isolated remnants, probably stuck out of the road away from the large areas that will be open to be cleared for development. In other words most of the place will be open to development and there will be some small isolated area where all the important species will be kept in a museum-like enclosure.  Islands in a sea of grass and houses, farms etc.

This will lead to extinctions on a massive scale because isolated remnants are subject to local extinctions with no hope of restocking.

What we require is at least 30% remnant vegetation across the landscape just to stop extinctions. Not some isolated special remnant in some isolated corner of the world.

What developers want is to pay (cheque) for being allowed to take over large areas and the government is going to let them do it.

Of course the Framework (Net Gain) has no basis at all in science; it is just a rough and ready attempt to allow judgement of the quality of vegetation. It can be used by people who have no knowledge at all of the environmental consequences of their actions.

It does not take into account fauna. Therefore it does not look at the natural environment in any way that is meaningful. Of course the net gain is used without taking fauna into account because it always means that the score will be low and it (vegetation) can therefore be cleared.

The only hope is that people will not take Bush Brokers up because it will mean permanent restrictions on an area being developed.

We are seeing major damage being done because they, the government, are cowards.

Changes to State Planning Policy (received 16/3/06)

Today Thwaites has effectively destroyed the [Native Vegetation] Framework that was supposed to protect remnant vegetation.

He has changed Clause 52.17 (Native Vegetation) of the Victoria Planning Provisions by taking out "Clearing generally not permitted" and taking out protection for very high quality vegetation.  This once had the requirement for Ministerial assent, no more I am afraid.

If this action is combined with the Bush Broker scheme, we will see most remnant vegetation cleared - just what the developers wanted - then replaced over in some corner somewhere.

If this goes ahead, and I am sure it will, it is the end for remnant native vegetation, specially with the increase not decrease in exemptions.

How could anyone be as stupid as Thwaites?   This man, and I am afraid this government, is totally cut off from the reality of species loss.

Living in boxes and believing in the market for their salvation.