Lucaston Park Orchards issued warning instead of fine by the FPA

A fruit grower who received a warning from the Forest Practices Authority (FPA) for vegetation clearing at his Huon Valley orchard wants the organisation to stop targeting him and other primary producers.

Lucaston Park Orchards co-owner Andrew Griggs said he cleared flora such as gorse and blackberries in a very small area before the FPA issued a stop-work notice.

“They left us basically in limbo for three months, not knowing whether we were going to have to pay a fine or not,” Mr Griggs said.

“We were pretty much finished with the land clearing anyway.

“All we did was clean up some land - it’s normal farming practice.”

The orchard grows cherries, raspberries, apples, plums and pears, and has been in Mr Griggs' family since 1925.

He currently runs the business with his son Matthew.

The FPA confirmed they had issued a direction to Mr Griggs to cease further tree felling after a potential non-compliance was reported.
“The direction was issued to ensure that no further activity occurred while the Authority engaged with the landowner to understand the circumstances and intended management activities, and to allow the matter to be appropriately assessed,” an FPA spokesperson said.

“Following assessment, the FPA determined that a small area of trees had been removed within a riparian area.”

The FPA said when assessing non-compliance it uses “a graduated and proportionate compliance approach”.

“The Authority has a range of compliance tools available, with the response determined by factors such as the nature and extent of the non-compliance, the level of environmental harm, the degree of culpability, and the steps taken by the landowner to address the matter.

“Having considered the facts of this case, including the limited extent of the affected area and the circumstances surrounding the activity, the FPA determined that advisory information to the landowner was the appropriate regulatory response.”

The FPA has faced heavy scrutiny after it fined William Farlie Fergusson $100,000 for pleading guilty to unauthorised tree clearing on his family’s Grindstone Bay farm near Triabunna.

This prompted Redbanks owner, Lindsay White, to form the Farmers and Landowners Action Group, which culminated in an estimated 1500 people rallying on Parliament Lawns in September to protest the FPA and current forest-practice regulations.

Following the rally, Premier Jeremy Rockliff said there would be an independent review into the FPA.

A few hours later, the FPA said it would also commission its own review.

The state government committed to reviewing forest practices regulations for farmers and landowners back in May.

According to Mr Griggs, who is a FLAG member, the FPA Board currently has no farmer representative.

“The composition of the FPA Board is prescribed under the Forest Practices Act,” the FPA said.

“Board appointments are made by the Minister and are intended to provide an appropriate mix of skills, experience and perspectives relevant to the Authority's statutory functions.”

Mr Griggs said the organisation’s approach towards farmers was stressful.

“It reinforces the whole ethos that we seem to have in Australia all the time that we seem to have in Australia where we can’t do anything.

“We just feel powerless and overwhelmed.”

He wanted to see drastic changes to the FPA and current laws.

“We want to see some changes like pulling out agriculture from the Forest Practices Act and either setting up a different entity or scrapping it all together regarding agriculture.

“I think the whole board needs to resign and start afresh.”