Land clearing codes contained in the new Native Vegetation Framework invalid
12 Mar 2018
The Land and Environment Court on Friday 9 March ruled that the Land clearing codes contained in the new Native Vegetation Framework are invalid. It has been revealed that the implementation of the codes by the Berejiklain Government in 2017 did not follow correct protocol as required by law under the Local Land Services Act 2013.
The reasoning behind the invalidation was that the Environment Minister failed to properly authorise the Codes before they were put in place. The Government conceded this point in the Land and Environment Court on Friday.
The state Government can re-introduce the codes and have the Environment Minister properly authorise the codes. This development results in any approved clearing that has been undertaken under the codes now being illegal as the codes were invalid. However it is unlikely that this will result in any prosecutions.
Please contact Brendan Moylan if you have any concerns about unlawful clearing.