As politicians send more Australian jobs overseas, and we produce fewer and fewer manufactured goods, we are going to rely more heavily on primary industry and mining. Get over if, lady, and stick to your day job.

A more scholarly article on this topic of Queensland deforestation appeared on The Conversation last week. After questioning it via the comments forum, its author (Noel Preece) provided some important perspective as follows:

In 2015-16, about one third of the Queensland land clearing was of woody regrowth on areas that had already been formerly cleared one or more times since 1988; another third was of non-woody vegetation (ie. herbland and grassland); and the final third was of remnant forest and woodland.

This latter area of remnant forest/woodland clearing was apparently 138,000 ha. which is pretty significant, but far less that the 1 million hectares implied by this article. Given this reduced figure of never-before cleared forest/woodland, is Australia still in the world's top ten deforesters??

I agree, management of forests is critical for all the obvious reasons. But the predominant clearing in Qld, is in mulga country.

This country is unique, and benefits from clearing. Regeneration supplies stock feed and the mulga forests improve themselves by the process of clearing. But not without strict farming management, that assists the process of regeneration.

It seems the country has to make a decision whether it wants to continue with mass immigration and clearing forests, or reduce immigration to a few thousand a year and have nice rivers and natural forests all over the place.

Australia's population growth, for that 'Big Australia' that the electorate opposes (as if Canberra cares about what happens in the States!), is higher than India's. That is not factoring in the large floating population of 'visitors', who also require housing and other infrastructure.

What about a cut in immigration?
'NOT FULL, BUT NOT FUNCTIONING: Why Australia needs to start talking about its population growth'

https://www.businessinsider.com.au/australia-population-growth-challenges-2017-7

http://dicksmithpopulation.com/

Next, what about the Greens' opposition to dams?

Replacing dense woody vegetation with grassy woodlands as predominated before European settlement, restores biodiversity and resilience. The Great Koala Scam is an example of the general ignorance about sensible land management:
http://mpegmedia.abc.net.au/rn/podcast/2017/11/bst_20171127_0753.mp3

"My guess is most Australians aren't aware that an area of forest and bushland the size of the MCG is currently bulldozed in Queensland every three minutes"

Where do they think we build the houses for the influx of southerners to live in?
I particularly love how these well off southerners buy houses and then just leave them sitting empty increasing rents and house prices for the people who live here.

I bet you don't have issue with the influx of foreigners do you?
- No, because you're just a progressive Labor voting schmuck.

"As doctors, we are deeply concerned about the impact of land clearing and deforestation on human health."

Well I'm not a doctor, and what's this 'we'?
- So you're not an expect on Wildlife Conservation or Land Management then?
Why does being a Doctor make you any more knowledgeable than anyone else?

"People depend on forests and bushlands for survival."

Really? I thought they needed 'food, clothing and a roof over their head'.
It helps to be employed but if not the government helps provide these things to every Australian through welfare.
- 'Coles and Centrelink mate', get it right, are you blind?

- And welfare, in case you aren't aware is made possible by hard working Australians paying tax. People like the ones you wish to put out of a job right now because you're doing well in life and think it would be good to follow a cause.
And the cause you choose is one that messes with other peoples livelihoods..

Imagine if you worked in the cattle industry and some snooty doctor wanted to put YOU on the DOLE QUEUE.
You should be ashamed of yourself.

Do you know anything about jobs, exports, the economy and of putting slabs of Australian meat on ones plate at dinner time?

[Cont.]
And here we go 'Climate Change: the Single Greatest Human Health Threat of this Century'.
- I bet you yourself harmed more people yourself with mandated vaccines you failed to disclose the side effects for.

Look you're in the health industry right?
Can you provide for me 'Just 1' coroners report where the cause of death is determined to be 'Climate Change'?
Put your money where your bloody mouth is.

MWPoynter
The 1mill was for 3 years in east Aust. Qld does half so it's 150,000 Ha /year which fits most estimates.

diver dan
Mulga.
"’. . Evidence suggests that desert Aboriginal people have never focussed burning in mulga. Threats throughout mulga country include clearing, grazing, excessive levels of firing, and firewood extraction."

Most Qld clearing is in the eastern half but mulga is in S-West . Aboriginal clearing was of undergrowth in cool weather fires , leaving park-like trees to protect grasses and improve hunting views . Inland Aust had higher stock rates in the past under those conditions.

If re-afforestation of previously cleared areas, was the only way to address climate change? Then I might have some sympathy for this visionless twit!

A lot of our marginal land will not support even sustenance farming without the grazier being able to knock down some mulga during drought.

What would you prefer sweetheart, that very nearly bankrupt farmers let animals they cannot sell, just starve?

This is typical green BS and demonstrates as nothing else can, just how impoverished of original thought, green thinkers are.

Instead we should be advocating the tilling of this fragile soil, then sowing it, with oil rich native wisteria. This is a perenial legume that both fixes nitrogen and reduces erosion.

Plus, provide a reliable income from frost and drought tolerant, carbon sequestering, plant material/bio fuel. That can support almost any agricultural pursuit from the ex crush high protein seeds for up to seven years!

Then have the carbon rich material returned to the soil during subsequent resowing. Be it as feed for fish farms, poultry and egg production or just running a viable feedlot.

Then with reliable water included as a essential adjunct, get some fodder factories built and able to reduce the amount of mulga needing to be knocked down. Just to feed starving cattle or put food on a farming family's table!

What we must avoid, is nincompoops like the author, forcing her very narrow and destructive vision down hapless throats!

Go back to the coffee shop and the latte sweetheart, that's all you're good for.

What do you want? Another four farmers a week reducing to committing suicide?

Let the cane fires burn,
let me fell no pain,
as I drown my soul in whiskey and dance in the flames.
And when the crooked bankers arrive tomorrow, to sell me up,
let them find only the charred remains!
Quote unquote. Alan B.

Dr Alan B.,
You are a sentimental bloke . Native wisteria Callerya megasperma is found in southeastern Queensland and the northeastern corner of New South Wales south to the Richmond River. It grows in rainforest. It is a valuable indicator species as it often grows in association with the birdwing butterfly vine (Pararistolochia praevenosa), one of the only food plants for the caterpillars of the rare Richmond Birdwing Butterfly (Ornithoptera richmondia).

The cockies of heartbreak corner in mulga land will be glad to dig wisteria into the desert / grazing pastures , smiling at the fluttering birdwing butterflies among the orchids and whispering brooks of the sand dunes. Burke and Wills loved their latte and flower-arranging on Coopers Creek rainforest lamb pastures.

nicknamenick

"The 1mill was for 3 years in east Aust. Qld does half so it's 150,000 Ha /year which fits most estimates"

You are right on the 3-year bit, but not so sure on the rest. The article is specifically about deforestation in QLD although the first paragraph does say 1 mill ha in 3 years (strongly implying that this is all in QLD) thereby "making eastern Australia a global deforestation hot-spot"

I can't see any reference in the article to QLD only hosting half of the eastern Australian land clearing as you are asserting. You may be right, but the article doesn't seem to say it.

Anyway, my point was that when you drill down, the use of gross figures by environmental campaigners often substantially exaggerates the reality. Even though the quote I used was for 2015-16, I think it supports that point, because only one-third of the treated area was actually comprised of forests/woodlands that hadn't been cleared before, whereas the article was implying that all clearing is of pristine remnant forests/woodland.

The native wisteria I was referring to, no name narcissist, is a salt drought and frost tolerant species. That thrives in some of our most marginal arid land, where grown as a soil improving broad acre crop, would require less than 10% of that land, to replace all Queensland's diesel needs.

Indigenous communities could possibly use this native species as something to grant reliable self sufficiency From two sources?

First from the oil crush fuel sales, then from a range of farmed protein. That the high protein ex crush material would produce at far better stocking rates than traditional agriculture.

And available in good years and bad, given it can be siloed then used as and when needed! Be it flood or drought, feast or famine!

And would along with some wattle that produces very palatable millable meal/very high protein biscuits, would transfer to parts of Africa to provide another arrow to the self sufficient food production bow in some places. Like nearly destitute Zimbabwe?

As to bird wing vine and bat wing butterflies? I bow to your superior knowledge of winged species that populate your cloud cuckoo land, or the land of the wrong white crowd, well into their cups. Watch that updraft, you don't know where its been.
Alan B.

"My guess is most Australians aren't aware that an area of forest and bushland the size of the MCG is currently bulldozed in Queensland every three minutes".

MWPoynter
The geography is a bit sloppy and she's no cricketer . Flicking the calculator gives 4mins not 3. Hope the patients get the right dose.

Dr Alan
So it's Hardenbergia comptoniana ? 700mm rainfall in coastal regions.
". mulga vegetation of the semi-arid regions of Australia (200-500mm annual rainfall),."

"Things is crook , I burnt all the remaining mulga , dug the carbon in to grow wisteria , the butterfly fluttered by , the Thorium's still in the post , no rain because I burnt..all..."

Graham I am very surprised that you would publish an article so full of lies by inflection, that it is ludicrous.

As MWPOYNTER pointed out most of the so called clearing is simply maintenance of previously cleared grazing, often improved pasture land. Some of it is reclearing large areas that have gone back to garbage scrub, useless to man or beast native or productive, due to the high cost of maintaining pasture.

The ridiculous clearing laws, introduced to appease green clowns like this lady, are like home owners having to apply for a new building permit to be able to paint their house. It is as if they wanted to clear virgin forest, hence this authors ability to lie so easily.

I have watched the 10,000 acre paddock across the river from me slowly, then rapidly disappear under regrowth over 25 years. Chatting to the owner as we replaced the fences lost in April's flood, he told me he simply could not earn enough money from it to pay for labour to maintain it. Now 75 he can no longer do it all himself, & his kids are too smart to do it, they've moved to the city. He is depressed to see 3 generations of work by his family degenerate into a fire hazard. Hell even the kangaroos have left, moving to my place which is partially cleared.

Evaluation of satellite imaging & ground surveys have proved there are 60% more trees in Oz today, than at first white settlement. All too many are thicket like regrowth virtually useless to wild life, or man. Despite this well known fact, dishonest greenies like this lady will twist statistics to try to make a case for their rabid ratbaggery.

You really shouldn't encourage such vial behaviour.

Nothing that a US BLU-82B "Daisy Cutter" bomb wouldn't fix http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BLU-82 :

The BLU-82B/C-130 weapon system, nicknamed "Daisy Cutter" in Vietnam would flatten a section of forest into a helicopter landing zone. It is an American 6,800 kg conventional bomb, delivered from either a C-130 or an MC-130 transport aircraft.

It was used successfully during military operations in Vietnam, the Gulf War and Afghanistan.

Its very large blast radius, variously reported as 100 to 300 meters, combined with a visible flash and bang, audible at long distances. It would give off a mushroom cloud, like an atomic bomb.

This made it one of the largest conventional weapons ever used.

Daisy cutter it is , take your pick of kangaroo, wallaby or bandicoot / feral cat ( conditions apply). Napalm for those tricky hilly parts.
Hell , 138,000 hectare ain't nothin. Drop from cargo plane not B52.
Qantas has 13 and RAAF 32.

Does it line the fallen timber up for burning, or do you still need a bull dozer for that plantagenet.

Actually the only land I have seen cleared, or recleared, apart from some burning to minimise woody weeds invasion around here is large housing estates.

One neighbour making very little from his property, giving him nothing to help set his kids up, converted 1000 acres to an acreage estate. He died while it was happening, but his kids are now OK, & there is a couple of thousand acres for the very nice, but silly & misguided daughter, to keep her horses, & try to make a living.

The other area is Yarrabilba. 3000 acres from memory, previously cleared for a pine plantation in the 60s, now set to house 50,000 people. Anyone know of a nice isolated spot for us refugees from city population growth to move to. Lets face it, sea level rise has nothing on migration forced population expansion.

Even if half of this is true, it's very worrying

Very worrying Waverley. That local acreage estate was on the best maintained grazing land. It had many scattered trees, & was rather park like. The local council was making it very difficult for the new owners of the acre blocks to remove any of these trees to enable sensible siting of a house. They had passed some tree conservation thing to buy Greenies votes.

To overcome this the developer, who did have clearing rights, went in & pushed the lot in the second half of the estate. The early part with most of the gum trees still standing is about as attractive as an acreage estate can be. The latter is a sea of uninterrupted grey roofs & off white houses. Grey must be the new in colour.

It is going to take a long time for plantings by the new residents to get tall enough to turn this grey sea into something attractive.

Perfect example of green pressure leading to the most undesirable results.

Note that the author is a medical doctor who thinks she understands environmental issues but here has shown she knows so little, she does not realise how little she knows. Basically just regurgitated crap peddled by urban radical greenies.

Re doctors who should be respected for their medical knowledge misusing their credibility: In Victoria there is or was an organisation calling itself "Doctors for Forests" trying to spread "greenwash". I remember maybe 12 years ago, a retired forester who I have met once but cannot presently recall his name, went along to some meeting or function they were running wearing a white coat and a stethoscope. Claimed he was from "Foresters for Medicine" Think his efforts included carrying a sign to this effect.

"Does it line the fallen timber up for burning, or do you still need a bull dozer for that plantagenet."
No it's self-mulching , spreads a lovely coat of green leaves over the golden baked organic dustbowl. Suburban cattle a must be a trendy thing , but why plant trees when it's beef profits they want? They should be able to convert wheat-harvesters into wood chip collectors , bombing the re-growth every decade or so.

Dear Alan
Don't mean to argue with you but you propose wisteria in mulga country and as a food crop in Zimbabwe?

"Wisteria seeds are produced in pods similar to those of Laburnum, and, like the seeds of that genus, are poisonous. All parts of the plant contain a saponin called wisterin, which is toxic if ingested, and may cause dizziness, confusion, speech problems, nausea, vomiting, stomach pains, diarrhea and collapse. . Wisteria seeds have caused poisoning in children and pets of many countries, producing mild to severe gastroenteritis and other effects."

Wisteria
$15.50
15mL
This Essence is for women who are uncomfortable with their sexuality. They may be unable to relax and enjoy sex, or afraid of physical intimacy and/or sensuality. Negative beliefs around sexuality can develop from the time in the womb or from their parents attitude towards sex. The remedy works in clearing these beliefs, allowing sexual enjoyment, openness, gentleness and ease of sexual intimacy. Wisteria also allows the 'macho male' to be more aware of his softer, feminine side."

Softy old Alan.