The end of broadscale clearing in Queensland will occur at the end of this year.

This marks one of the most significant moments in environmentalism, and in commonsense, in Australia. Clearing rates in Queensland have been outrageous for a very long time, culminating in obscene rates in the lead-up to the tree-clearing regulations in 2000.

Clearing in Qld has made up about 75% of all clearing in Australia over the last decade or so. Now this rate will be reduced by 90% or more in Qld, which means 75% or more for the whole country.

Some clearing of remnant vegetation will still be allowed for essential infrastructure, such as fencelines, and for a few other purposes. The worst of these exemptions is the continued clearing for urban development, except of endangered regional ecosystems.

Non-remnant vegetation, which mostly constitutes regrowth, will still be clearable.

This sort of regulation was just about unthinkable a few short years ago. Thank goodness for the end to this absolutely disgusting massive rate of ecological destruction.

Agree with you totally Ludwig. The end of broadacre clearing is a huge step - even though the exemptions will be abused as they are here in Victoria.
In some parts of this state more remnant native vegetation is still being demolished at a faster rate than the revegetation efforts can match. The dumb thing is that it's much cheaper for taxpayers to retain existing vegetation rather than allow clearing and then spend millions of dollars on reveg work.
The only dubious benefit is in job creation (and photo opportunities for the pollies who hand out the cash).

Embargoes on land clearing have had the effect of accelerating land clearing as the clear it while we can mindset kicks in. Some 15 to 20 years ago a local “grazier” poisoned a large area of native timber against the New England Highway at the Gibralter Range near Tenterfield in New South Wales. This happened on precipitous granite country and local enquiry informed me the shire president was the landowner. He was never prosecuted but did receive the usual threats from the Dept. Lands.
This attitude of “clean it up clear it” and pack on a few more cattle prevails through Queensland so I hope the Queensland government has more determination and teeth than has been shown in New South Wales and Victoria.

Woops, my figures were slightly whacky;

“Clearing in Qld has made up about 75% of all clearing in Australia over the last decade or so. Now this rate will be reduced by 90% or more in Qld, which means 75% or more for the whole country.”

…should read….

“Clearing in Qld has made up about 75% of all clearing in Australia over the last decade or so. Now this rate will be reduced by 90% or more in Qld, which means around 70% or more for the whole country.”

“Embargoes on land clearing have had the effect of accelerating land clearing as the clear it while we can mindset kicks in.”

SILLE, this happened to an enormous extent in Queensland when restrictions on tree-clearing were first mooted. Massive amounts of clearing took place under just that premise; clear it while we can.

So much so that many landholders cleared huge areas that they really didn’t need to and probably never would have if there hadn’t been a sense of panic or of (misplaced) outrage against having their rights restricted. Of course it cost many of them huge sums to clear…and will cost them huge amounts to keep down the regrowth, or to suffer much thicker woody vegetation and much poorer quality of pasture if they allow the regrowth to become established.

Landholders basically had all of 1999 and most of 2000 to do what they wanted with ‘their’ trees.

So the whole process had a huge downside, which saw whole regions (ecologically) devastated… around Dirranbandi in southern Qld and between Nebo and Dingo in central Qld, for example.

But now I believe that the Qld Govt is on top of it and that the law will be overwhelmingly obeyed, with strong action taken against those who play up… especially with much-improved satellite imagery available.