Lindsay White to meet King Island farmers over land-clearing penalties

Farmers and Landowners Action Group founder Lindsay White is on King Island this week to meet local farmers affected by Forest Practices Authority investigations, prosecutions and substantial penalties over land clearing.

Mr White, a farmer and owner of Redbanks at Nugent, has become a prominent critic of Tasmania’s vegetation-clearing regulatory system and is leading the newly formed Farmers and Landowners Action Group (FLAG).

The group was formed following the case of East Coast farmer William Farlie Fergusson, who was fined $100,000 by the Hobart Magistrates Court after pleading guilty to unauthorised tree clearing and clearing and converting threatened native vegetation at Grindstone Bay. 

King Island has had its own significant history of enforcement action.

Public records show at least $335,000 in prescribed and court-imposed penalties associated with King Island land-clearing matters since 2019-20.

Importantly, not all of those penalties were fines imposed directly by the FPA.

In 2019-20, the FPA issued a King Island landholder with a $10,000 prescribed fine for clearing trees without a forest practices plan. The following year another King Island landholder accepted a $100,000 prescribed fine relating to the clearing of trees and conversion of about 40 hectares of threatened native vegetation. 

Several of the island's largest subsequent penalties were instead imposed by the Magistrates Court following prosecutions.

A King Island landholder and associated company were fined a combined $95,000 in 2023 after convictions under the Forest Practices Act. In October 2024, two King Island landholders were fined a combined $40,000 over the unauthorised clearing of about 24 hectares, including threatened native vegetation communities, and failure to comply with a stop-work notice. In January 2025, another landholder was fined $90,000 on nine charges, including unauthorised clearing, clearing threatened vegetation and failing to comply with a direction to cease forest practices. 

Under the legislation, the FPA can offer a prescribed fine as an alternative to prosecution. Where a matter proceeds through the judicial system, however, any penalty imposed is determined by the court, not the FPA. 

More recently, an 84-year-old King Island farmer was reported to have had his driver's licence suspended after being unable to pay a land-clearing penalty, before seeking its reinstatement so he could continue working. 

Mr White's visit will provide affected King Island farmers with an opportunity to discuss their experiences with FLAG as the group campaigns for changes to the regulatory and enforcement system.

The State Government has committed to reviewing the Forest Practices Regulations, including public consultation, following growing concerns from farmers and landowners. 

FLAG is also behind a parliamentary petition, sponsored by Lyons MP Carlo Di Falco, calling for an urgent review of Tasmania's vegetation-clearing laws and enforcement regime. The petition closes on July 31 and has attracted almost 3000 signatures. For information go to haepetitions.parliament.tas.gov.au.