Barnaby Joyce (Queensland, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I understand exactly what you are saying. The query I have revolves around the statement that you made when you were reading out the prerequisites, that it has to be human induced. ‘Human induced’ could mean that I just spell the country. If I do not put cattle or sheep on there, that is a human induced outcome. Am I going to get a credit if I opt in for those trees under the premise of ‘human induced’? Or is that not human induced, meaning I have to put up with the trees there? Or do I actually clear the country, stick rake it and keep it clean because if I get naturally induced trees I will not get a credit? I can go out and plant exactly the same trees in seed pots. This is an interesting thing. If I just leave the country alone and the Eucalyptus populnea suckers back up and revegetates a section greater than 0.2 hectares, with a height greater than two metres and with a crown cover greater than 20 per cent, I do not get a credit for it, but, if I get a dozer in there, use all the diesel I can to clear the land, and then go and plant exactly the same trees as were going to grow naturally, I do get a credit for it.