VICTORIAN farmers are lauding the state government for taking a common sense approach in extending a crucial deadline for farmers to voice their concerns about a proposed overhaul of native vegetation regulations.
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The government had planned to receive all comments on its native vegetation proposal by February, but agreed to stretch out the deadline to March after the Victorian Farmers 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,” Victorian Farmers Federation president David Jochinke said.
The federation had criticised the government’s proposed changes to the native vegetation laws for not reducing the unnecessary burden on the state’s food producers.
Mr Jochinke said the farmer group was disappointed that a more extensive reworking of the 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 re-vegetation works that farmers already undertake.”
Mr Jochinke said the federation wanted to work with the government in implementing specific regulations for farming that would recognise farmers are not changing the use of their land but using new tools to stay competitive in the global market. He 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 farmers worried they will be impacted by these changes stand up and be heard,” he said.
“Farmers need to tell the government just how the new laws would affect them.”
Comments and submissions will close on March 8.