Farmers fighting back against red tape

The fining of the Fergusson family for unauthorised tree removal on their Triabunna farm has set in motion a determined push-back from farmers from around the state and sparked questions in parliament this week.
William Farlie Fergusson was fined $100,000 on May 7 after pleading guilty to unauthorised tree clearing of around 19ha on his family’s Grindstone Bay farm.
The Fergussons maintain they were not aware they were in breach and offered to rehabilitate the area at their own expense, however the Forest Practices Authority (FPA) took them to court.
Under the Forest Practices Act 1985, the FPA enforces rules to protect Tasmania's natural resources and ensure long-term agricultural and ecological stability.
Mr Fergusson’s wife Melissa said on social media that she has since found out that the FPA could have offered a “vegetation management agreement” and negotiated the number of hectares to be rehabilitated to ensure a positive outcome for the environment.
“They did not do either - they wanted money not environmental outcomes,” she said.
“They wanted a scalp in the courts, not a fair settlement.”
The issue grew legs during Question Time in Parliament on Tuesday where Business, Industry and Resources Minister Felix Ellis was forced to defend the FPA’s decision to pursue legal action against the Fergussons.
Shooters, Fishers and Farmers MP Carlo Di Falco asked Mr Ellis about the matter.
“Farmers are fed up with the increasing regulations they are confronted with,” Mr Di Falco said.
“Do you accept that many farmers now feel the FPA is weighted more towards punishment and bureaucracy than practical environmental outcomes and productive agriculture?”
Mr Ellis confirmed that the Fergussons offered to remediate 27.1 hectares of the farm through replanting and revegetation, but no agreement was reached.
“It’s important to recognise that the FPA’s decision-making has clearly been upheld by the courts in this process,” he said.

In Parliament on Wednesday Mr DiFalco said farmers are telling him that forestry regulations are out of control and he asked Premier Jeremy Rockliff “when will you act to support our farmers against this bureaucratic red tape and allow them to do what they do best”?
In reply Mr Rockliff said he hears the frustration of farmers and that he is prepared to seek advice to “see what can be done to ensure a commonsense position is taken where farmers are unfairly targeted”. 
He admitted he was not across the intricacies of the Fergusson case but said he was “across the feeling”.
“I believe there's a balance needed here. We need to back-in our productive sectors, our farmers, to ensure that they have a fair legal regime and an opportunity to ensure their land is as productive as possible,” Mr Rockliff said.
“These people go about their jobs wanting to get the best use of their land in a sustainable way … it makes good sense for them to support and protect the natural resources of which they've invested in and been given.”
The owner of the Fergusson’s neighbouring property and agri-tourism business Redbanks, Lindsay White, who has also been restricted by the FPA when wanting to clear land, is leading the charge for farmers who consider they should have more leeway to use their land how they see fit.
Mr White said that since speaking out through Tasmanian Country, he has received constant phone calls from landowners outlining the issues they have had with the FPA and fines they have quietly accepted.
He said an e-petition has been set it motion with its main points calling upon the House to:
• Conduct an urgent independent review into Tasmania's vegetation clearing and
land management enforcement framework;
• Ensure penalties are fair and proportionate, particularly where activities relate to
ordinary farming practices and land management;
• Acknowledge farmers’ fundamental right to farm
• Ensure future laws and enforcement properly balance environmental protection
with food production, regional jobs, private property rights, and the future of
Tasmanian farming communities.
At a meeting of the Concerned Farmers Tasmania in Ross on Friday Mr White garnered support from fellow members.
In attendance was One Nation Tasmania Senate candidate Lee Hanson who later said that farmers are ignored, forgotten and pushed to the brink by governments.
“I had the pleasure of meeting with several deeply concerned Tasmanian farmers in Ross yesterday. These hardworking Australians are standing up and saying: enough is enough,” she said.
“Concerned Farmers Tasmania is a growing group whose pleas to both the Liberal State Government and Labor Federal Government are falling on deaf ears. They are fighting for the future of farming, food security, and rural communities across Tasmania - for all of us.
She highlighted “excessive government red tape and legislation written by people with little understanding of agriculture, and with next to no consultation.”