Darren Chester (Gippsland, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

Just over a month ago Australia commemorated National Landcare Week, recognising 20 years of outstanding service and practical environmental work across our nation. Landcare has enjoyed bipartisan support and there are now more than 4,500 community Landcare groups in operation. To mark Landcare Week, the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry distributed a media release to recognise the fact that more than 100,000 volunteers roll up their sleeves in communities each year to replant vegetation, repair erosion and improve agricultural production. There is no doubt that the minister knows in theory what Landcare does, but there is a great deal of concern throughout regional communities about whether the minister actually understands how Landcare facilitates this great work and the importance of Landcare groups to the fabric of regional communities and about whether Landcare will continue to prosper in the future.

As much as members in this place lecture about the forecast impact of climate change, they should always remember the people who are on the ground actually getting their hands dirty to undertake the practical environmental work that helps to sustain our natural heritage. Our farmers are often vilified by those who have little understanding of the fact that it is the families on the land and in our regional towns who have adopted the Landcare message of sustainability and done the hard work that is required to enhance their properties and the natural environment, and it is with this in mind that I have moved the motion before the House.

In recent months my office has been contacted by dozens of Landcare volunteers and paid staff members who believe this government has failed to understand the need to employ facilitators and coordinators, who play a pivotal role in managing the volunteer programs, assisting community groups, providing professional advice and mobilising volunteer effort. As I said at the outset, Landcare has enjoyed bipartisan support throughout its history, but I am deeply concerned by the correspondence that I have received and the meetings I have attended with my constituents. The Victorian Landcare Network shares my concerns about federal government cuts to funding for natural resource management under the Caring for our Country business plan. The network wrote to the minister in August this year, and in that letter secretary Kevin Spence said:

We are concerned that, under the business plan, Landcare coordinator positions and facilitator positions will no longer be funded by the Australian government unless they are linked to priority projects.

The letter went on to highlight that there were 142 Landcare support staff working on the ground to support Landcare groups in Victoria during 2007-08. According to the information that I have received from regional areas, that number is likely to fall to less than 35 before the end of this year. Already there have been a substantial number of cuts to these positions made across Gippsland, with many people being made redundant across my electorate. A senior catchment management authority executive in Victoria has also written to me and commented:

Whilst the Caring for our Country business plan talks about the importance of Landcare and community capacity building, there is not one single dollar being allocated to the capacity, skills, knowledge and engagement targets.

There is no doubt that facilitation of Landcare funded by the Australian government is dead and whilst this may not mean the total destruction of Landcare, it will dramatically reduce the number of groups and participants.

It concerns me that those views are being expressed by people in such senior roles in the catchment management organisations in Victoria. Those concerns were also expressed by the Victorian Landcare Network. The letter from Mr Spence continued:

The VLN considers that a loss of Landcare support staff will have a critical effect on maintaining the long-term participation and engagement of the community in natural resource management.

Our concerns are mirrored by the Landcare community who question the rationale and economics of dissolving the goodwill, trust and experience built up over many years—knowledge and networks will inevitably erode.

Without coordinators and facilitators providing that level of support and communication, many Landcare groups would lose initiative, greatly reducing the capacity to participate effectively in natural resource management.

This is an issue, as I said at the outset, of significant concern right across the nation, particularly in my electorate of Gippsland. On 15 November there will be an East Gippsland community rally in protest at the cuts to Landcare funding. Residents will gather at the Orbost Snowy Rovers Football Club from 11 am to 3 pm. While it will be a community day with a free barbecue and fun for the family, it will be underpinned by a very serious message. The community is angry that this government is reducing its commitment to Landcare, and it is a story that is being played out on a national scale. The National Landcare Network distributed a media release on 7 July this year in which spokesman David Walker said that, of the $403 million in funding announced by the federal government, just $1.4 million, or 0.3 per cent, had gone to community Landcare. He went on to say:

Landcare has a proven track record in producing best practice environmental outcomes and in growing and maintaining important social and community networks. The strength of landcare is its local focus and character. Ministers Burke and Garrett must ensure that grassroots landcare has a place within their Caring for our Country program.

Regional Australians are proud of their contribution to sustainable and environmental management through Landcare in the past 20 years. It is a remarkable organisation that must never be taken for granted by anyone in this place. Without ongoing funding to support the role played by the facilitators, the coordinators and the volunteers themselves, the Landcare organisation will become a shadow of its former self, and I doubt that we will be here in 20 years time commemorating the great achievements of the Landcare volunteers across our nation.

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