TS Council are inviting landowners and the community to provide their feedback on the draft Planning Proposal PP23/0001 which is the first in a series of planning proposals that will apply conservation zones across the whole of the Tweed.
It proposes to amend the Tweed Local Environmental Plan (LEP) 2014 by adding in the planning controls for the new conservation zones (C2 and C3).
“Environmental Zones (E zones) are the only way that local communities can over-ride the State Government’s new draconian land clearing laws, apply reasonable constraints on logging, and limit inappropriate developments in our most important remnant vegetation”, according to NEFA spokesperson Dailan Pugh.
“The far north coast has been identified as both a national and international Biodiversity Hotspot because of its high number of endemic species and the threats of excessive land clearing.
“Our predecessors cleared most of the 75,000ha Big Scrub, Australia’s largest area of lowland subtropical rainforest. Even with regeneration there is less than 1,000 ha left today.
“A similar fate befell many of the forests in the Richmond, Tweed and Brunswick valleys, giving the region the ignominy of having the most species threatened with extinction in NSW.
“Back in 2012 NSW Farmers and the National Party were successful in stopping the Tweed, Byron, Ballina, Kyogle and Lismore Councils from proceeding with their proposed Environmental Zones and had them excised from the Council’s Local Environmental Plans as Deferred Areas.
“In 2015 new rules were introduced just for the far north coast in an attempt to restrict Council’s ability to implement Environmental Zones. Since then Kyogle and Lismore Councils have given-up and removed all Environmental Zones from their Local Environment Plans.
“Now that Byron Council has its proposed Environmental Zones on exhibition NSW Farmers are pushing to have E-zones prohibited, and the Department of Planning is once again threatening to intervene”, (The Land, 9 November 2017).
“North Coast Councils have had environmental zones since the late 1980s. For the past 30 years they have been effective in protecting many important places.
“We need to restore protection to these areas and extend it to other high environmental value vegetation, such as rainforest, oldgrowth forest, endangered ecological communities, important habitat for Koalas and other threatened species, wetlands and vegetation on stream banks.
“The National Party has boasted that their new rules will allow a fourfold increase in land clearing. The Government’s mapping of the limited lands to be excluded from clearing leaves most of the remnant high environmental value vegetation left on the far north-coast at risk.
“Australia is second out of the top seven countries worldwide responsible for 60% of the world’s biodiversity loss between 1996 and 2008, which has been primarily attributed to landclearing in Queensland and NSW.
“As shown at Whian Whian in 2013 and recently at Limpinwood, regulation of logging has taken a similar open slather approach due to few constraints and lax regulation by the EPA.
“Both Ballina and Tweed Councils have asked the State Government to give them a consent role in forestry in an attempt to better protect Koalas and other threatened species. The Government refused their requests. It is only E-zones that give councils this power.
“We need E-zones to protect our important areas from this Government’s environmental vandalism. We can’t let the NSW Farmers get rid of our last line of defence” Mr. Pugh said.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION OR COMMENT: Dailan Pugh 66 807063 (Before 11am)
MEDIA RELEASE – 10 November 2017
office@stokes.minister.nsw.gov.au
14th December 2015
Northern Councils E Zones Recommendations
Dear Mr Stokes
Members of Caldera Environment Centre would like to submit their concerns in relation to the recommendations of the E Zone review of northern councils as they relate to Tweed Shire.
A recent public workshop on the recommendations was held by our group and the EDO at Murwillumbah. Those attending, approximately 40, overwhelming supported the implementation of E Zones in areas of native vegetation. This is a similar response to that at community consultation sessions during the period of the review. There have been very few issues against the implementation of E Zones in Tweed Shire.
The main considerations being the confirmation of the primary use being for environmental conservation or management and also fulfilling the criteria for E2 or E3 is impractical and onerous. These considerations are unrealistic in that this is a reversal of accepted practice to map and assess vegetation of conservation value, it will be time consuming and costly for Council and/or landholder to determine primary use as environmental conservation or management and likely to lead to disputes. Instead of a scientific approach to verify environmental values this is an ad hoc “use over past 2 years” approach. Similarly to verify the attributes to fulfil the E2 or E3 criteria to be undertaken by the listed methods such as site assessment, aerial photo interpretation and up to date flora and fauna studies will require significant allocation of expertise and funds by Council. It is likely that some areas of high conservation value vegetation currently zoned as environmental protection may not fulfil the recommended criteria.
Even when the land fulfils both criteria then it is not mandatory for the Council to apply the E2 or E3 zone. This certainly does not make sense.
Permitting extensive agriculture in E2 Zones, with consent, and E3 Zones without consent, will be detrimental to the conservation significance of the land within the zone. The example of activities provided in the document being, understorey grazing, can reduce the native seed bank and deplete groundcover and midstorey native plant species. This will result in a loss of biodiversity as there will be a lack of regenerating native plants and introduction of exotic species and loss of structure and function of the plant community.
The recommended removal of Scenic Protection and Aesthetic Values from E Zones will result in the loss of currently protected Scenic Escarpment which is a valuable asset to the tourism industry and also ensures stabilization of the steeper slopes by retaining the vegetation.
The mandatory objectives of E Zones in the Standard Instrument LEP are not met if permitting extensive agriculture is recommended. The objectives of E2 and E3 zones focus on protecting, managing and restoring areas with ecological, scientific, cultural and aesthetic values.
The recommendations are premature as there are current reviews of Biodiversity legislation and Coastal Management Reforms.
This recommended approach to E Zones has the potential to significantly undermine existing biodiversity values and has the potential to decrease future improvement in protection and enhancement of biodiversity values of the north coast.
The Caldera Environment Centre is extremely concerned by the recommendations as Tweed Shire and the other north coast council areas are of high biodiversity significance and there should be insurance that this is not depleted or lost.
Yours sincerely
Caldera Environment Centre
For a copy of the presentation visit http://www.edonsw.org.au/past_workshop_materials
Links to further information:
EDO NSW:
http://www.edonsw.org.au/new_approach_to_north_coast_environmental_zones
Northern Councils E Zone Review Final Recommendations Report:
Draft Tweed Shire LEP 2012 – Coastal Koala habitat loses over 1200ha of protection
The Tweed Shire draft LEP 2012 is currently on exhibition for public comment. During the exhibition period there have been four public workshops to explain the draft LEP, with a fifth workshop to be held at Tweed Heads in early January.
Council promotes the draft LEP as a rollover of the current Tweed LEP 2000. This current LEP includes environmental protection zones in the west of the shire. The LEP 2000 was revised in 2010 when a draft LEP 2010 was put on public exhibition. This draft LEP provoked a public response with over 400 submissions with the majority being concerned about the loss of environmental protection zones in the west of the shire. Tweed Council did not proceed with the draft LEP. Amendment 21 which was adopted by council and supported by the Department of Planning in 2010 provided environmental protection zoning to the majority of areas of native vegetation remaining east of the Pacific Motorway.
Tweed Shire Council had the opportunity to prepare a draft LEP which retained the environmental protection zones in the west of the shire (LEP 2000) and the east of the shire (Amendment 21). Such an action would be in line with the state government announcement that there was to be no new environmental protection zones over rural land.
The Caldera Environment Centre is appalled by the recent announcement by the Minister for Planning and Infrastructure and local representatives Don Page and Thomas George to remove environmental protection zones (E2 and E3) from draft LEPs on the north coast. Claims by the farming lobby about restrictive constraints imposed by the new E zones are deliberately misleading and are a hyped-up scare campaign designed to provide an excuse for state intervention. The state government made the “promise” upon election to return control of planning decisions back to councils; this move to abolish E zones is state government interference and overruling of local planning decisions.
The Tweed Shire has a unique ecology that needs to be better appreciated. Current land management practices leave a lot to be desired, claims about private property “rights” forget to mention “responsibility”. If you have the right to own property, you have the responsibility to look after the flora and fauna on that property as well. This is the intent of the E zones, to send a signal that there are important environmental values in an area; this is a fact they should be proud of instead of being frightened.Contrary to assertions made by the farming lobby, the usual activities of agriculture can be carried out without requiring a Development Application under the proposed E zones.
The intent to remove environmental protection zones from rural land sets the Tweed back to the dark ages when there were no constraints on clearing of native vegetation. The existing LEP (2000) provided protection by way of Environmental Protection Zones (7a, 7l and 7d) on land which provided habitat for native flora and fauna or scenic values. Coastal lands were later provided additional protection by the introduction of an amendment to protect the remaining fragmented vegetation which is under constant pressure for development purposes. A tree preservation order (TPO) also protected the four main Koala food trees on the Tweed Coast (east of the Pacific Motorway).
This protection is now to be abandoned under the guise of restricting activities by rural landholders.
There will be no protection of high conservation value vegetation or opportunity for the community to challenge clearing of native vegetation. The state legislation, Native Vegetation Act, is also being rendered useless under current changes proposed by the state government to weaken the Act. Though this Act does (and has) provide for rights of the farming community to continue routine farming activities which were not proposed to be impacted by E2 and E3 zonings.
The draft LEP significantly reduces the area of land zoned for environmental protection (E2, E3 and E4) particularly in the west of the shire. The area of environmental protection should have been increased to reflect the bushland layer prepared as part of the Tweed Vegetation Management Strategy (2004). Although an extended E zone may not ensure protection and retention of native vegetation, the zone indicates to landholders that the native vegetation has been identified for protection and constraints apply. The replacement with the RU2 zone does not flag constraints as would an E zoning.
Along with reduction of environmental protection the controls over vegetation clearing in the proposed E zoning will be virtually ineffective as the Draft LEP does not include ‘clearing’ as an activity that requires development approval. Removal of the E zones altogether is a sign that the state government has forsaken all pretence of valuing Australia’s unique natural heritage.
Compliance is another important issue to be considered with council losing control of clearing as per the current LEP. Controls under the Native Vegetation Act will be useless in this shire as the current record of following up on clearing has been insignificant or nil. In this highly biodiverse shire a small area of native vegetation can be highly significant and recognized by classification under the Threatened Species Conservation Act (1995).
The Koala Plan of Management being prepared by Tweed Shire Council to protect the remaining small population of Koalas struggling to survive on the Tweed Coast will be toothless unless there is protection and extension of Koala habitat. Koalas and other native flora and fauna require core areas of habitat linked together to provide connectivity. The removal of the current environmental protection zones and tree preservation orders from the Tweed Coast will result in no protection of native vegetation thus heralding the death knell of Tweed Coastal Koalas and significant flora and fauna.
The current plight of the Koala on the east coast is a testament to the fact that current land management practices have got it wrong. The proposed new E zones aren’t even as extensive or as restrictive as the previous LEP. The proposal to abolish them is a statement by the current NSW state government that it is digging a grave for environmental protection.
The pressure on native bushland is obvious, koalas are becoming extinct. The current proposal to abolish the E zones proposed by the state Minister Hazzard is a sentence of E-xtinction for our Koalas.
Sincerely,
Samuel K. Dawson,
Coordinator, Caldera Environment Centre.
Please feel free to copy this letter or write your own and send it to the ministers and council
Contact Details for ministers:
Brad Hazzard, Minister for Planning office@hazzard.minister.nsw.
Don Page, Minister for Local Government office@page.minister.nsw.gov.
Thomas George MP for Lismore lismore@parliament.nsw.gov.au
Contact for council
Attn: General Manager tsc@tweed.nsw.gov.au
Councillors…
Councillor Barry Longland (Mayor)
blongland@tweed.nsw.gov.au
Councillor Michael Armstrong (Deputy Mayor)
