Legislative Council
NATIVE VEGETATION CLEARANCE
The Hon. M.J. ELLIOTT: I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking
the Minister for Transport and Urban Planning, representing the Minister for the
Environ-ment and Natural Resources, a question in relation to native vegetation clearance
approvals.
Leave granted.
The Hon. M.J. ELLIOTT: In October 1995 I asked a question in this place following a
freedom of information application. I had made that application because reports were
coming to me that the rate of approval of clearances had escalated dramatically. At that
time the data showed that approvals which in 1992 and 1993 had been 2.2 per cent and 7.7
per cent increased in the first three months of the Liberal Government to 19.5 per cent
and then took another astro-nomical leap for the rest of that year to 79.70 per cent, and
the next year, 1995, to 86.6 per cent.
I was interested to see how things were going, so I made another freedom of
information request recently and received the results which indicate that very high level
of clearance approval is continuing, reaching 78.37 per cent for 1996 and 81.20 per cent
in 1997. So, in terms of percentage of area approved for clearance, there has been a
dramatic increase from three months into the term of the Liberal Government. It had
already started to increase in the first part of that year, but I know that the
composition of the council did change at that time in early 1994.
The Hon. A.J. Redford interjecting:
The Hon. M.J. ELLIOTT: I was talking about area. If you listened rather than
interjecting, you would know that I said `area'. Can the Minister explain why there should
have been such a dramatic increase in native vegetation clearance allowed over the time
this present Government has been in power, and particularly why that dramatic increase
happened towards the end of March in 1994? Will the Minister undertake an independent
audit to check the performance of the Native Vegetation Council? Does the Minister believe
that there is continued confidence in the performance of the Native Vegetation Council
with this very high level of approval that is currently occurring?
The Hon. DIANA LAIDLAW: I will refer the honour-able member's question to the
Minister and bring back a reply.
See also Mike Elliott's News Release and Graph highlighting this issue: 19 November 1998
Read the Government's reply: 16 February 1999