Nationals Senator for NSW Fiona Nash said she’s surprised the Gillard government’s been so quick to dismiss her proposal for food security impact statements when it stands to benefit.
Senator Nash proposed that a public food security impact statement be done before any agricultural property is sold for carbon sequestration and trading under the federal government’s Carbon Farming Initiative (CFI).
It follows the recent purchases by corporates of properties, including Henbury Station in the Northern Territory which was subsidised to the tune of $9 million by the Labor government, to sequester carbon dioxide and sell offset credits under the CFI.
“These impact statements would ideally identify any adverse impact on prime agricultural land that can be addressed in consultation with the parties involved,” Senator Nash said.
“It should be the responsibility of the buyer who intends to use the land to trade carbon for financial gain.
“What surprises me is criticism by the Parliamentary Secretary for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, Mark Dreyfus, when his government would find this information useful. There are no such measures in place under the government’s CFI legislation.
“Mr Dreyfus refers to an amendment to the legislation that would ensure any adverse projects aren’t approved. According to the amendment, it is the Climate Change Minister who decides.
“It is therefore entirely reasonable and crucial for the minister to have the necessary information he or she needs to make that call. A food security impact statement would help ensure that.
“I find it a bit rich of Mr Dreyfus to claim a food security impact statement would be onerous when the government’s own CFI legislation is riddled with red tape. Not only that, it still lacks vital information.
“It would be more constructive of Mr Dreyfus and the government to provide these details to the senate so it can vote on the legislation in its entirety.”
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