Environment department originally wrote to landowners asking them to show why planned clearing was not illegal, but later reversed course

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Attempts by the federal government to stop potentially unlawful clearing in Queensland were reversed after political intervention, with a highly unusual apology letter sent to every landholder suspected of planning unlawful clearing at the direct request of the minister, documents obtained by the Guardian under FOI laws reveal.

In December 2015 and January 2016, the federal department of environment took the exceptional step of asking 51 landholders with approval from the Queensland government to clear their land, to explain why the clearing wasn’t unlawful under federal environmental law.

But within two months, the department issued the unusual apology letter to every recipient of the initial letter, Guardian Australia can reveal.

In the letter Shane Gaddes, then assistant secretary for the environment standards division, said the department “deeply” regretted any distress caused, backflipped on demands for information, and indicated the letter wasn’t part of any compliance action, but rather an attempt to help the landholders avoid legal action by activists.



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Internal correspondence obtained by Guardian Australia shows the apology letter was motivated by lobbying from National and Liberal MPs from Queensland electorates, as well as the pro-land clearing lobby group Property Rights Australia.

More land is cleared of trees in Queensland than the rest of the country combined – with the latest figures showing 395,000 hectares were cleared in a single year – amounting to about a football stadium of clearing every three minutes.

Clearing skyrocketed in Queensland after the former Liberal National party government under the premier Campbell Newman broke an election promise and scrapped clearing controls, introducing several ways for farmers to more easily clear trees.



But regardless of state approvals, if a development is likely to impact a “matter of national environmental significance”, then it must also be approved by the federal government under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.



Matters of national environmental significance include important populations of threatened species, the Great Barrier Reef and some migratory species.

In the initial letter the federal department of environment said it had examined the proposal and concluded that it “may be necessary” for the 51 landholders to seek formal approval under federal laws. The distribution of the letter sparked outrage among landholders.

The Queensland Nationals senator Barry O’Sullivan said at the time that “activist public servants” were “looking for ways to circumvent the intentions” of Queensland and federal governments.

The then minister for the environment, Greg Hunt, publicly defended the action, saying: “The department must implement the law.”

But correspondence obtained by Guardian Australia under FoI laws reveals the cause of Hunt’s change of heart, leading to the apology letter.

In a letter to the then-chairman of the pro-land clearing group Property Rights Australia, Hunt said: “In response to concerns raised by you, Senator O’Sullivan, Senator Canavan and the Hon Warren Entsch MP, the department of environment has written to affected landholders clarifying their obligations and the intent of the first letter.”

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The letter Hunt was referring to, also obtained by the Guardian, marked a sharp turnaround from the strong language and instructions of the first letter.

In it the department said the first letter had been “triggered” by information provided by the Queensland government, and that its intention was to help the landowners avoid legal action from conservation groups. “Having been informed of the issue by the Queensland government, we were obliged to address it in accordance with the act,” it read.

“Our intention is to assist you understanding how you can comply with our national environmental law, both to avoid breaches and potential legal action by other parties,” it said, after an earlier explanation that conservation groups can take legal action to stop clearing, even if they were authorised by the Queensland government.

Then minister for the environment Greg Hunt’s letter to land holders

While the initial letter requested landholders supply information about how they were complying with federal law within a couple of weeks, the clarification letter advised they had no obligation to reply, adding that department officials were available to help.



The clarification letter said that “at the minister’s direct request”, the department would ensure all assistance was provided to ensure landholders’ business – which in this case meant land clearing – could continue as soon as possible.

Other documents obtained under FOI laws by the Wilderness Society reveal that the department initially investigated 59 properties that had clearing approved under Queensland law, of which 51 received the letters, after the department ruled they may need federal approval.

Despite the conclusion of those investigations, a spokesman for the department of environment and energy said only three landholders had referred their applications for clearing to the federal government.

According to the spokesman, the department now believes that seven of those initial properties may need federal approval. The spokesman said: “The department understands that the other four property owners are considering their options.”

Martin Taylor, conservation science manager at WWF Australia, said the letters should outrage the public.

“Do we hear police apologising to speeding motorists for preventing them from getting to their terribly important job on time, maybe even losing them their job?” Taylor said. “No. We would scoff at such spinelessness.

“Imagine the public uproar if a big coal company just started bulldozing endangered species habitat and digging up coal, simply ignoring the law, not bothering to seek approval first.

“Would we then see the department cringing away and mumbling sorry for bothering you, sir, but you really shouldn’t do that you see? Why do different development sectors behave so differently when it comes to seeking approval and following due process, and why is the enforcement response so different? Is there a double standard at work in applying environmental law in Australia?”

Mark Butler, Labor’s spokesman for climate and energy, said: “These letters are further evidence that the Liberals are incapable of standing up to National party pressure.”



“Because of the Liberals kowtowing to the National party, emissions from the land sector have at a minimum tripled in the Great Barrier Reef catchment areas alone. The additional clearing in Queensland alone has added 20m tonnes of carbon pollution to Australia’s annual footprint – equivalent to doubling the number of cars and light trucks on New South Wales roads.



“Unfortunately it seems Josh Frydenberg has taken Greg Hunt’s lead and will continue to ignore growing emissions from the land sector to placate the hard-right of the National party.”

Jessica Panegyres, a campaigner at the Wilderness Society, said the letter demonstrated the lack of proactive enforcement by the federal government.



“They’re not doing any proactive monitoring,” she said. “The only reason they looked into this, despite it triggering the EPBC Act all over the place, is because they were put on notice by the Queensland government.”

Panegyres said the letter revealed the way land clearing and deforestation was effectively given an exemption from federal environmental law.

“If you look at the problem of deforestation in Australia, it’s predominately caused by private land clearing and logging,” she said. “Logging has a formal exemption from federal environment laws [through the regional forestry agreements], and this shows that clearing has a virtual exemption. The two sources of deforestation in Australia have an effective exemption.”

A spokesman for Hunt said: “The minister makes no apology for rigorously applying the law. When activities presenting a higher risk, as a result of Queensland land-clearing permits were identified, the strongest letters to comply with federal obligations were issued.

“A clarifying letter was sent to landholders to ensure roles and responsibilities were clearly understood. Landholders were given an opportunity to comply but, where they did not, they were held to full account under federal environmental law.

“Several landholders are currently going through an assessment under the EPBC Act.”

The environment and energy minister, Josh Frydenberg, declined to comment.

