General news
23 May, 2025
Farmers head off to NSW Parliament
Landholders take up battle to NSW Parliament
STEPH Cooke, Cootamundra MP has arranged for the Landholder’s Right to Farm to present to NSW Ministers at Parliament House Sydney on May 28, held during a Parliamentary sitting day.
The open invitation to all NSW Ministers and Members of Parliament, aims to draw attention at the highest level of NSW Government, to seek immediate action on unresolved vegetation and mapping issues that continue to impact rural communities, particularly in the Bland Shire.
The invitation follows mounting frustration among affected farmers who say their livelihoods are being jeopardised by faulty data and government inaction. The issue revolves around the classification and mapping of vegetation such as Blue Mallee and Broombush, which were listed as a Critically Endangered Ecological Community (CEEC) in 2005 under questionable scientific claims. Landholders argue the listing is based on inaccurate estimates and misrepresented vegetation data that have never been properly reviewed. The Biodiversity Conservation Act states that all listings of species and communities listed must, in accordance with the regulations, undergo a review every 5 years – West Wyalong landholders to Farm group state that in the 15 years since the Mallee & Broombush Critically Endangered Ecological Community listing 2010 this has never been done. In addition, the Agency Head is to ensure that a strategy to achieve objectives of the program is included within 2 years - this has also not been done.
Despite increasing media scrutiny and reputational fallout for the NSW Government, Agriculture Minister Tara Moriarty has declined to attend the meeting. Davis expressed disappointment at the Minister’s continued absence and lack of engagement, stating, “Minister Moriarty has not once visited the Landholder’s affected in the Bland Shire, nor has she acknowledged or responded to repeated correspondence from our group.”
The Landholder’s Right to Farm was recently represented by Annabelle Davis and Mal Carnegie supported by the expertise of Neil Byron at a meeting with NSW Department of Environment, Climate Change, Energy and Water (DECCEW) Mapping team. However, according to participants, the meeting failed to address the urgency of reviewing flawed vegetation listings and correcting mapping errors that continue to restrict land use and tarnish reputations.
In a follow-up statement, Davis said, “While we appreciated the face-to-face opportunity, we left deeply concerned that the most urgent matters - particularly the review of vegetation classifications and mapping errors - were sidelined due to time constraints.”
The group is calling for immediate action on four key points:
1. Scientific Review of Blue Mallee & Broombush Listings: Landholders argue that the original CEEC listing is based on flawed assumptions of vegetation extent and should be reclassified to reflect on-ground realities.
2. Communication Failures: The government’s stated reliance on NSW Gazette notifications has been called “entirely inadequate,” with calls for direct communication to landholders, especially concerning major regulatory changes.
3. Map Review and Engagement: Confidence in the current mapping review process is described as “extremely low,” with well-documented submissions reportedly 100% rejected by the Map Review Team.
4. Correction of Mapping Errors Under LLS Act: Landholders cite Section 60K (3) of the Local Land Services Act, under which the Agency Head can correct map errors based on new or improved information. Submissions have included satellite imagery, photographs dating back five decades, and independent scientific evaluations.
NSW Environment Minister Penny Sharpe previously acknowledged the issue as a “long-term problem that needs to be resolved,” but two months on, landholders report and have been informed that the Department’s letter to the Threatened Species Scientific Committee has yet to be finalised.
“Failure to resolve vegetation and mapping errors is undermining confidence in the entire environmental regulatory framework,” Davis said.
“This inaction is damaging communities and concerningly, the delay to resolve vegetation and mapping errors is resulting in the demise of previously well managed vegetation now becoming overrun by Mallee Strangle Vine in the district.”
See Page 7 for more
Read More: West Wyalong
