CARBON FARMING —
PASTORAL LEASES
579. Hon RICK MAZZA to the Minister for Regional Development:
I refer to my question without
notice 177 of 28 March 2018 asking for an indication of when the minister would
provide the relevant approvals that would
enable pastoralists in Western Australia to access the federal government's
emissions reduction fund for carbon farming. At the time, the minister
responded that she was working towards a date
of June 2018. That date was deferred to December 2018, then to April 2019 and
now I understand to July 2019.
(1) Can the minister give an
undertaking that the necessary approvals will be provided by 1 July 2019?
(2) If not, can
the minister provide an explanation for the delay or a revised date for the
approvals?
Hon
ALANNAH MacTIERNAN replied:
I thank the member for this
question.
(1)–(2) I
comment that this is a very complex issue with a range of different and
conflicting interests. We have put a significant, multi-agency effort into the
policy considerations surrounding eligible interest holder consents. This work
is ongoing as we endeavour to build industry consensus around this issue.