Premier Jeremy Rockliff has promised to work with farmers who say they are being unfairly fined for clearing trees on their own land, after hundreds protested at Parliament House, dozens of them arriving by tractor.
The rally on Thursday targeted the Forest Practices Authority (FPA), which farmers say hands down heavy fines for land clearing that they argue is pushing some of them out of business.
Rockliff and Primary Industries Minister Gavin Pearce met with the Farmers and Landowners Action Group (FLAG) and TasFarmers on Thursday afternoon.
“Today, I stood with our farmers and listened to what they had to say,” Rockliff said.
“It’s clear there needs to be change and we continue to work with farmers to deliver that change.”
Rockliff said consultation on the forest practices regulations was underway, as was an independent review of the authority.
He said the meeting covered “next steps” and thanked farmers for making the trip into the city.
“… It’s not easy finding time in spring to get away from the farm and come to the city, so I very much appreciate that they stood up and made their voices heard,” the premier said.
The farmers say they want the review, simpler rules and compensation where their land-use rights are taken away. They have also called on the board of the FPA to resign.
Organiser Lindsay White said the campaign began after a fellow farmer was fined $100,000 for what White described as taking down “a few trees” to install a centre pivot in a calving paddock.
White told the crowd the authority had fined 50 farmers about $2 million over the past five years and would not say where the money had gone.
In a statement, Chief Forest Practices Officer Anne Chuter said the authority had a responsibility to enforce the law but was “committed to listening, learning and continually improving how we engage with the community”.
Chuter said the authority had commissioned its own independent review of its investigation processes.
“The review will examine whether these processes and our decision-making are appropriate, proportionate, transparent and consistent with community expectations,” she said.
She said the authority was also working with TasFarmers to improve its information on land-clearing rules.
Greens leader Rosalie Woodruff took a different view, saying the authority was sometimes “underwhelming” in the action it took.
“We’re on the other side thinking Forest Practices Authority actually needs to be stronger in this space,” Woodruff said.
“If we look at what happens in native forests that are publicly owned, their actions to protect swift parrots are wholly inadequate.”
Asked about a rally banner reading ‘no farmers, no food’, she said it was a “false binary” and that forest protection and farming could happen together.
“… It’s up to the government to look at the other things that are really causing farmers’ concerns … there’s a very, very long list and the Greens stand with farmers in wanting to have as much support as possible,” she said.
