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Victorian Government extends national vegetation regulation comment deadline

Sheep Central January 23, 2017

VFF logoVICTORIAN farmers have another month to have their say on proposed native vegetation regulations.

The submission deadline for comments on the proposed regulations has been extended to March 8, winning the approval of the Victorian Farmers Federation.

The VFF said the State Government had originally planned to receive all comments on its native vegetation proposal by February, but agreed to stretch out this deadline to March after the federation argued the original date clashed with the annual grain harvest.

“We’ve always said the consultation period needed to be extended to give farmers the opportunity to get off the tractor and get their heads around what the Government is proposing,” VFF President David Jochinke said.

The VFF has previously criticised the government’s proposed changes to the native vegetation laws for “not reducing the unnecessary burden that makes life difficult for the State’s hardworking food producers.”

Mr Jochinke said the farmer group was disappointed that a more extensive reworking of the flawed guidelines was not reflected in the Government’s current proposal.

“We have argued for a simplified process for managing native vegetation across the state, providing a model that farmers can understand and work towards,” he said.

“But the current proposal is just a continuation of the same old red tape for farmers to deal with and limited recognition of the extensive revegetation works that farmers already undertake.

Mr Jochinke said the government’s decision to extend the consultation deadline was an opportunity for farmers to take their concerns directly to the State’s decision makers.

“Now we’ve been granted an extension to lodge our concerns, it is vital that any farmers who are worried they will be impacted by these changes stand up and be heard, and tell the Government just how the new laws would affect you.”

Comments and submissions will now close on March 8, 2017, with people encouraged to lodge individual submissions at https://engage.vic.gov.au/native-vegetation-review.

Source: VFF.

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