Anne Urquhart (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator Siewert. I was in another meeting and had to scurry in here, so I thank you for speaking on this. I rise today as Chair of the Senate Environment and Communications References Committee to table the report into Landcare. Firstly, I would like to put on the record my appreciation for all the people and groups who took the time to make submissions but also to come along and provide testimony before the committee. Seventy-three submissions were received from across the country, and we held committee hearings in Perth, Melbourne and Canberra. I would also like to thank the secretariat for their very hard work in managing the inquiry and in providing excellent support to committee members. Yet again, committee secretary Christine McDonald and her small team have done a fantastic job.

This was a particularly timely report in light of the government's decision to cut a massive $471 million from the Landcare budget, despite promising before the election that this would not happen. Landcare has achieved incredible outcomes in its 25 years and should be recognised for that. Landcare offers a unique community based approach to delivering environmental outcomes across Australian landscapes. Millions of trees, shrubs and grasses have been planted. Riparian zones have been repaired. Native vegetation has been protected. Agricultural, Indigenous, urban and coastal lands have been rehabilitated and revitalised by the work of Landcare's wonderful people. Agricultural productivity has also been improved through better grazing methods and soil management.

Local communities have been mobilised and united around a goal that they all share. In fact, Landcare projects have attracted participants from across the length of the demographic spectrum in communities. People of all ages, from schoolkids to grandparents, and people from many different cultures have come together to create better environmental outcomes in their own communities.

Along the way, Landcare has also raised awareness of local and broader environmental issues. Significantly, Landcare has delivered enormous returns on the government's investment. In fact, for every dollar invested by the government in Landcare projects, up to $12 in value comes in kind from the community and local landholders. Now that is bang for your buck.

Through the submissions, and as a result of the expert testimony provided to the committee, it quickly became very clear to the committee that these gains are in great peril as a result of the government's cuts. Before the election, the government promised not only to maintain Landcare funding but to increase it. Environment minister Greg Hunt said in August 2013:

The Coalition will give Landcare significantly greater access to the Caring for Country pool of funds, as well as the current Landcare funding.

He went on to say:

We have listened to local communities and we will put Landcare at the heart of our land conservation programs.

Fairfax papers reported that Minister Hunt also announced $1 million in new funding per year to support the operating costs of running the national network which coordinated local groups.

Well, what a difference an election makes. In the very first budget these solemn promises were tossed aside with the news that Landcare would lose close to half a billion dollars. This puts all the great work that has already been done in jeopardy. Many in the Landcare sector were quick to point out that this is clearly a broken promise from the Abbott government. The committee heard from submission after submission about how the Abbott government's cuts are putting decades of gains at risk. NRM bodies submitted that staff would have to go. Organisations would have difficulty planning. There would be a haemorrhaging of skills and corporate and local knowledge, not to mention the impacts on jobs, social cohesion and capacity. The committee found the cuts imposed by the government to be short-sighted and counterproductive. They clearly run in direct contrast to the government's promise to place Landcare front and centre.

For all of these reasons, the committee found it difficult to support any reduction in funding for NRM programs. It recommended that the government provide funding for the National Landcare Program to the same level as under the Caring for our Country program. The committee also recommended that the 25th Anniversary Landcare Grants program should be maintained as a small continuing grants program over the forward estimates. We also considered it would be of value for the government to review the funding model with a view to reinstating funding for facilitators and community support staff.

Quite frankly, Landcare cannot sustain the cuts that have been imposed by this government. I hope that government members take the time to read the report and to understand the impact that their cuts will have on this long-honoured Australian institution. As committee chair, I look forward to receiving the government's response and hope that they seriously consider the recommendations made by the committee in this report.