Janelle Saffin (Page, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Landcare Australia is celebrating its 20th birthday and I will use my speaking opportunity to celebrate Landcare in this place. Landcare Australia is calling for people and organisations across Australia—including the Northern Rivers, my neck of the woods, in my seat of member for Page—to enter for national awards, of which there are 12 categories. I have some wonderful Landcare groups in Page who would be worthy entrants, from the coast areas to our forested, farming and river areas. I actually have 21 per cent of all New South Wales Landcare groups, second only to the Hunter, which has 22. Landcare does important work, including in the Upper Clarence area, ridding our banks of cats claw, a real localised and dreadful problem. Landcare has done important work in facilitating the way in which the community sees their role in addressing land issues by working cooperatively in communities across valleys, catchment areas, along river banks and in river areas, working hand in glove with local farmers, landholders, catchment management authorities, local, state and federal authorities and governments, and environmentalists.

I was around and involved when Landcare started. It is one of what I call the great three care programs of the then federal Australian Labor Party: Medicare, Homecare and Landcare; care for health, care for home and care for heartland. It is the care trifecta, as I see it. So you see I love Landcare and am very protective of it. We the community own it and drive it with some strategic support from the government, and it is to that support that I want to turn. Some of my local groups include Worli, West of the Ranges Landcare Inc, chaired by a local, Jo McDonald, with whom I meet and talk regularly. Going over to the coast there are Ballina High School Landcare, Alstonville Creek Inc, Vistara Primary School in Lismore, Coraki Landcare, Casino Public School Landcare, Old Cobb Road Kyogle, Grafton Ngarrie Local Aboriginal Land Council and—down to the most southern part of my electorate—Tyringham Farmer Landcare. That is a bit of a snapshot of some of the many wonderful groups. Amongst these groups some farmers were worried needlessly, but understandably, that the word, Landcare, was going to be lost, subsumed by Caring for Our Country. I rang the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and told him what my local farmers were saying and he said, ‘You tell them loudly and publicly Landcare is here to stay.’ I did just that, as I am want to do as I do not hold back, and they were satisfied and assured.

Some local groups also expressed some concern to me that they might miss out on government support and maybe lose their coordinators and small local groups would be unable to do their important community coordination and facilitation roles—or brokering roles, as I call them. The latter two roles, the facilitation and brokering, are hallmarks of Landcare. Local groups have been talking to me about possible changes. I have discussed all of this with the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry promoting support for community coordinators or facilitators so that my local groups can continue their terrific Landcare work and that there be enough flexibility within the guidelines of Caring for our Country, or in its interpretation, to allow for emerging and particular priorities in local areas, such as the cat’s claw in my area. It is not marked as a hot spot, thus worrying local Landcare groups that they might not get a look in.

I am very, very encouraged with Minister Burke’s response to date and his keen interest in responding to some of the ideas and concerns of my local Landcare groups. He has really listened and engaged on this, and I can report that some work is underway to find solutions to address some of these very local issues. I ask through this place, and I have of course asked the minister directly, if he will make a public announcement as soon as possible which responds to these local Landcare issues and gives succour to them and to my local groups in Page.