The Queensland parliament has passed a suite of new land-clearing laws, a move welcomed by environmental groups as a step towards curbing the state’s soaring deforestation rates.

The laws were passed late on Thursday night after an exhausting three-day debate and fierce protests outside parliament from farmers who say the new restrictions will harm Queensland’s agricultural industry.

The Palaszczuk government extended the debate until 10.30pm, discarding a new “family friendly” schedule that is supposed to conclude by 6pm, to ensure the laws were passed during the session.

Guardian Australia understands that the government was determined to have the laws settled before Beef Australia, one of the world’s biggest pastoral forums, begins in Rockhampton on Sunday. Farmers have already promised to give Annastacia Palaszczuk and government MPs a rough reception.

The state’s natural resources minister, Anthony Lynham, said the laws’ passage delivered on Labor’s election commitment. “This is balanced, measured and responsible legislation,” he said.

“Landholders will still be able to conduct necessary clearing for farm operations such as clearing to harvest fodder to feed stock, establish property infrastructure, control weeds, and disaster management or recovery.”

The head of the Queensland conservation council, Tim Seelig, said the legislation was “massive”.

“The passing of these reforms is a hugely important milestone in the history of Queensland’s land-clearing regulation,” Seelig said. “Today, our laws have been made better, and the direction of regulation corrected.”

“We would have liked to have seen the reforms go further in some areas, and we believe there will be more work to do to protect threatened species habitats and other native woodlands.

“But let’s not miss the significance of this moment. For the last five years, our native woodlands have been exposed to unnecessary and unrestrained land clearing.”



The issue has been a significant political battleground in Queensland for more than two decades; the government’s new laws are the latest reform in a series of steps that effectively introduced, scrapped and then restored restrictions on land clearing.



Measures adopted between 1999 and 2006 were at the time promised as an end broadscale clearing. In 2013, the newly elected Newman government removed many of those restrictions. Since then deforestation has accelerated. Significant tree losses have at the same time been recorded in the Great Barrier Reef catchment.

In 2016 new laws were proposed by the Palaszczuk government but voted down by the crossbench. The government has a majority in its second term and won the vote on Thursday night 49 to 42, supported by the Greens MP Michael Berkman and the independent Sandy Bolton.

Berkman said the legislation left loopholes that would leave 23m hectares of high-value vegetation unprotected. These loopholes were so big you could “literally drive a bulldozer through”.

Loopholes in Queensland's new land-clearing laws 'would allow broadscale razing' Read more

The opposition Liberal National party, Katter’s Australia party and One Nation voted against the new laws. The LNP leader, Deb Frecklington, pushed several last-minute amendments to the bill in an attempt “to make a bad situation slightly more palatable”.



“This arrogant Labor government silenced the voice of our farmers and rural and regional Queensland tonight by ramming their contentious and damaging vegetation management laws through parliament,” Frecklington said.

“Annastacia Palaszczuk has refused to support sensible amendments by the LNP and Labor’s regional MPs haven’t lifted a finger to help their communities.

“Farmers are the custodians of our land but this premier thinks they are criminals.”

But on Friday Frecklington refused to say that any future LNP government would repeal the laws. The LNP would work with all stakeholders for a “commonsense outcome”, she said.

“We need to take a breath and look at how we can make this work for everyone,” she told ABC radio.

Agricultural groups and farmers have said they will continue to voice their displeasure and campaign for future amendments.

“One thing is for sure: this is not over,” said Grant Maudsley, the general president of lobby group AgForce.

“Farmers love and care for their land and only manage vegetation to sustainably produce the great food and fibre that consumers in Australia and overseas demand,” he said.

“These laws are the worst of both worlds. The changes make it harder for farmers to grow food and deliver worse, not better, environmental outcomes.”



