PETITION: Stop the Govt’s SNA land grab
Significant Natural Areas are a massive government land grab, punishing farmers who do conservation work on their own land. Sign the petition to stop SNAs.
ACT has just announced that it will remove the requirement for councils to identify SNAs. Read the policy here.
The National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity requires councils to identify SNAs on private property.
SNAs will prevent landowners from being able to develop their land, but they won’t be compensated. It’s a massive government land grab and an assault on private property rights.
SNAs also undermine conservation efforts by the people who care most about the environment. Farmers have the biggest incentive to care about the environment because they make a living from it.
If you take away property rights, there’s no incentive to be a conservationist. Who would be a conservationist on their own land if the reward is getting your land confiscated? Countries without property rights are environmental disasters.
Actively punishing people if they look after their wetlands is among the worst policies this Government has put in place.
There’s a better way. Landowners, councils and conservationists already work together to protect indigenous biodiversity. Instead of land grabs, the Government should be supporting these pre-existing efforts.
Sign the petition to stop the land grab.
Mark Cameron
ACT Primary Industries Spokesperson