Gary Humphries (ACT, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Defence Materiel) Share this | Hansard source

It is not a great surprise that, when we look at an area where there has been some concern expressed, particularly in rural and regional areas of Australia, about an area of public policy such as the use of prime agricultural land with people expressing concerns about what is unfolding in some parts of our country, the Australian Greens are there to rush forward with a solution. The solutions are quick and easy in areas which have defied wiser, more sober heads. In those areas the Greens seem to be able to come up with solutions relatively quickly. The question of being able to address an issue as complex as this with a simple solution, I might say a simplistic solution, is one that the Senate deserves to give closer attention to than is presented by the opportunity of this bill.

This bill represents far too ready a solution to a problem which is, in fact, a complex one, which deserves case-by-case consideration in many instances and is one which state governments are generally grappling with with varying degrees of success. We need to remind ourselves that this is, indeed, a state responsibility. The use of land is a primary responsibility of our states and territories, and for the Greens to enter into this space in this way with a simplistic solution again calls into question their commitment, a commitment that has been restated many times in this place, that they have a strong regard for the rights of states and territories to legislate within their own areas of responsibility. This was exhibited only a few weeks ago in this very place, but I will come back to that issue in a moment.

The coalition does not see any merit in this bill. As I said, this is an issue for state governments, who have accountability to their electors to issue licences for exploration and the subsequent exploitation of resources. The fact is that resource companies cannot enter a landowner's property to exploit the minerals and resources on that property without a negotiated or, in the worst case, a Land Court arbitrated agreement with that landowner.

The coalition, and particularly the Leader of the Opposition, Tony Abbott, has made it perfectly clear that within that framework the federal opposition's view is that prime agricultural land must be protected. We will work with state governments to ensure that that objective is reached. There is clear evidence in Queensland that many landholders are able to come together sensibly to reach mutually satisfactory arrangements for the future use of their land and that the coexistence of agricultural and resource industry activities is not only possible but is also, in fact, the norm. Both the Premier of New South Wales, Barry O'Farrell, and the man who I think is widely expected to be the next Premier of Queensland, Campbell Newman, have addressed this issue very directly. They are both fully seized of the importance of protecting prime agricultural land and have committed to the objective of ensuring that there is a strong and direct response to the concerns raised by landholders about their land being properly used and its present owners being properly consulted about the way in which that occurs.

I had the opportunity a few months ago to visit the electorate of Flynn in Central Queensland—the electorate of Mr Ken O'Dowd, the LNP member, who is fully apprised of the concerns of local landowners about how their land is used and how prime agricultural land may be at risk. It is through representations such as his that the LNP in Queensland has come to address this issue directly. I will speak about that in a moment. At the federal level the coalition supports the expansion of the coal seam gas industry where that is in harmony with the rights of landholders and the protection of prime agricultural land for food production.

I emphasise again that we are not talking about a one or the other response—we are not saying we either exploit the resources or we exploit the land for its food production capability. It is possible to deliver a balanced approach, acknowledging the importance of the mining industry to Australia's future economic sustainability while also acknowledging that Australia has a tremendous asset in its agricultural land. The quality of farm products in Australia is enormously important to Australia's reputation as an exporter, and it is critical that we acknowledge and respect the rights of farmers.

The federal opposition supports the work of its state colleagues in delivering a more balanced approach than the approach offered by state Labor governments in recent years. In fact, it needs to be acknowledged very directly that the characterisation of this debate as an all-out war between farmers and miners grossly understates the extent of cooperation which has been occurring for a long time in regional and rural Australia. Mining companies by and large are well apprised of the values of the communities in which they work. They seek to add value as much as possible to those communities—there are exceptions, of course—and it is important that the potential for agreement making in these areas be enhanced by creating opportunities for those agreements without blanket decisions being imposed on parties by legislation introduced in the federal parliament.

The mining industry and the farming community have worked together in Australia in many areas and both sectors are prospering as a result. There are long-established systems in place which allow miners and farmers to negotiate land access, and there are very few cases where disagreements end up in court.