MP says Humphries should face Icac for allegedly telling farmers they would not be prosecuted for land clearing that was later found to be illegal

This article is more than 11 months old

This article is more than 11 months old

The New South Wales government is being urged to refer a Nationals MP to the corruption watchdog after the Guardian revealed that at least two farmers facing court said they broke land-clearing laws on his alleged say so.

Two farmers who were being sentenced in the NSW land and environment court in recent months have told the judges hearing their cases that they ignored the old native vegetation laws because their local MP for Barwon, Kevin Humphries, had allegedly told them the laws would be scrapped and there would be no prosecutions.

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Instead, they faced court and received fines in the hundreds of thousands of dollars for offences committed before the laws were changed by the Berejiklian government in 2017.

While both agreed that they should have made independent inquiries, the judges acknowledged that Humphries’ representations had played a part in the farmers’ decisions.

“These allegations should be referred to Icac,” Independent MP Justin Field said.

“The Nationals have presided over a failed system of water and environmental management including encouraging landholders to break the law. The Nationals should be stripped of their natural resource portfolios.

“Premier Berejiklian must explain what she will do to assure the public that none of her ministers are making promises that are outside the law or are encouraging people to break the law, and sack any ministers that can’t pass this test.”

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The opposition spokesperson on the environment also expressed alarm.

“He wasn’t a meagre back bencher; he was a minister of the government who appears to have been giving out irresponsible advice to his constituents,” said Kate Washington.

“The amnesty on land clearing prosecutions [for breaches under the old native vegetation laws] is also about getting themselves off the hook,” she said.

The premier’s office has declined to comment on the latest allegations about Humphries.

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Another farmer from Burren Junction, Anthony Barlow, made similar allegations in his trial for breaching the Water Act in NSW. Barlow told the court he pumped during an embargo because he had allegedly been told by Humphries, then the water minister, that “there is no embargo”.

The old Native Vegetation Act, which was deeply resented by farmers, particularly in Barwon, was repealed in August 2017. It was replaced by the Local Land Services Act, which made land clearing easier and allowed farmers to self-assess whether they required approval.

But even before the new laws came into place, rates of land clearing – particularly in north-west NSW – had increased sharply as farmers anticipated a change in the law. The latest available figures show clearing tripled from about 9,000 hectares a year in 2014-15 to more than 27,000 hectares in 2017-18. That’s equivalent to 100 Sydney central business districts each year.

Figures under the new act, which record applications and notifications of land clearing, suggest clearing has now reached epidemic proportions, particularly in north-west NSW. The total amount of land notified or certified for clearing since August 2017 is 368,000 hectares. Some of this is removing invasive native species, but even taking this into account there is a massive jump.

Field said the government was now sitting on a report that was triggered by the spike in land clearing. At the time the new laws came into force, the government agreed to get the natural resources commission to review land clearing outcomes if the figure hit a threshold of 20,000 hectares.

That has been passed but the report has not been released, with the government claiming cabinet in confidence.

“They are now trying to keep the review report secret and have done that at the same time they granted an amnesty from prosecutions for big agribusinesses who broke land-clearing laws,” Field said.

“The question for the government is who or what are they trying to protect? Are they trying to hide the failures of their legislation or protect vested interests who have abused the law changes to engage in more illegal clearing?”

Meanwhile Mark Latham, who has been a vocal advocate for farmers facing prosecution, launched an extraordinary attack in parliament on the staff of the office of the environment, labelling them a “a corrosive, malignant force inside the New South Wales Government” that was running “a cruel campaign to destroy not only the livelihoods but also the lives of farmers and their families in the Moree district”.

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“The OEH has been engaged in a macabre campaign of revenge following the shooting death of its officer Glen Turner in 2014. That was a tragic crime, but cooler, wiser and more mature heads inside OEH should have realised that a cooling‑off period was needed in the Moree district.”

Turner was shot dead by 79-year-old farmer Ian Turnbull. Turnbull had illegally cleared more than 1,000 hectares of vegetation, including koala habitat, and was continuing to clear despite action by the OEH at the time. He was convicted of murder and died in jail.

Field said it was clear the Nationals leader, John Barilaro, was working with his One Nation ally Mark Latham to promote the cause of people charged with illegal land clearing across the state.

“This relationship reflects poorly on the premier and her commitment to take environment and climate change more seriously in this term of government.”