Native vegetation inquiry – (updated)

A message from the NSW Farmers’ Association –

Following the Property Rights Rally which was held in Canberra on 2 February 2010, the NSW Farmers’ Association is developing a long term strategy to highlight that farmers need just terms compensation when their property rights are eroded. Several actions have already been undertaken such as the establishment of a Petition, the development of a detailed submission to the Senate Committee Inquiry into environmental bans as well as meetings with Senior Counsel and academics to consider the Constitutional aspects.

Individual farmers can also have input into the Senate Committee Inquiry into the impact of Native Vegetation laws on landholders through their own submissions, but time is running out. THE DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS IS CLOSE OF BUSINESS THIS FRIDAY, MARCH 5.  The Committee is seeking written submissions from interested individuals and organisations preferably in electronic form submitted online or sent by email to fpa.sen@aph.gov.au as an attached Adobe PDF or MS Word format document. The email must include full postal address and contact details. The link for online submissions is www.aph.gov.au/senate/committee/fapa_ctte/climate_change/index.htm

I have attached the terms of reference for the Inquiry and below is some guidelines on how to make a submission to a Senate Committee inquiry.

regards,

Michael Burt

NSW Farmers’ Association.

How to make a submission to a Senate Committee inquiry

General Information

1. A submission may be as short or as long as you like. It may contain facts, opinions, arguments or recommendations. It may cover all the points in the terms of reference or only some of them, depending on what interests you. Supporting documents may be attached.

2. There is no prescribed format. However, to make submissions most useful we suggest:

§ the terms of reference of the inquiry can be a good guide to structuring a submission;

§ if the submission is longer than a few pages, please include a summary at the front; and

§ submissions published on the Senate website will be converted to pdf format and, therefore, may have a different appearance to the document that was submitted. Sensitive material and confidential information should not be sent via email because it is not a secure medium.

3. The Committee prefers electronic submissions uploaded via the Senate online system. Otherwise submissions can be emailed or if posting please type or write clearly in black ink on A4 paper. The preferred format for electronic submissions is Microsoft Word but all submissions are considered regardless of their format or medium.

4. The Senate prefers the committee process to be as transparent as possible. The majority of submissions to Senate committees are published by a decision of the relevant committee. The preferred method of publication is via the Committee website. Committees publish the name of the person making the submission but they take care not to publish the person’s contact details on the world wide web. If you have a concern about having your name published on the internet or if you wish to make a confidential submission, you must make this clear from the start.

5. If you intend to request that your submission be considered on a confidential basis you must ensure that the actual submission document or documents that you create do not contain your contact details and that you have removed document metadata properties. The committee will sympathetically consider requests for confidentiality, but cannot make promises in advance. If you have concerns about confidentiality, please discuss with the committee secretary before you make the submission.

6. If you are making a submission by post and you want your submission to be kept confidential, please say so clearly at the top or in a covering note. Say why you want it to be kept confidential. If you want part of the submission to be confidential, please put that part on a separate page(s). As stated above, the committee will sympathetically consider requests for confidentiality, but cannot make promises in advance. If you have concerns about confidentiality, please discuss with the committee secretary before you make your postal submission.

Making a submission using the online submission system or via post

a) The majority of inquiries are now accepting submissions via the Senate online system. The online submission site is a secure site and is suitable for uploading sensitive and confidential material.

b) Make sure you sign printed submissions. Submissions must include your name, phone number and postal address so we can verify them. If it is the submission of an organisation, say so clearly. Show the signatory’s position and say at what level the submission was authorised.

7. Inquiries from hearing and speech impaired people should be directed to the Parliament House TTY number (02) 6277 7799. Adobe also provides tools for the blind and visually impaired to access PDF documents. These tools are available at: http://access.adobe.com/. If you require any special arrangements in order to enable you to participate in a committee inquiry, please contact the committee secretary.

8. A submission to a committee becomes a committee document, and must not be disclosed to any other person until it has been released (‘published’) by the committee. Unless you have requested that the submission remain confidential, it is normally published after the committee has received and examined it and authorised its publication. Once a committee has authorised the release of a submission, subsequent publication of it is protected by parliamentary privilege (see below). The content of a submission may be published in another form or for another purpose before the submission is released by the committee, but this publication will not be protected by parliamentary privilege.

9. If your submission ‘reflects adversely’ on another person (for example, accusing them of lying or corrupt behaviour), the committee will send the comment to the other person so they can reply. This applies even if the committee agrees to keep your submission confidential.

10. Making a submission is protected by parliamentary privilege. It is an offence for anyone to try to stop you from making a submission by threats or intimidation. It is an offence for anyone to harass you or discriminate against you because you have made a submission. The content of the submission is also protected but only after the committee has accepted it. This means that what you say in the submission, once the committee has accepted it, cannot be used in court against you or anyone else. More information is available in another brochure, entitled ‘Procedures to be observed by Senate committees for the protection of witnesses’.

11. A committee may reject a submission that is not relevant to its inquiry. In that case the content of the submission is not protected by parliamentary privilege.

12. If you make a submission, the committee may invite you to give evidence at a public hearing

Update:

Dear Member

The Association is currently finalising a detailed Submission in relation to the Senate Committee Inquiry into ‘Native Vegetation Laws, Greenhouse Gas Abatement and Climate Change Measures’.

This Inquiry was an outcome of the ‘Just Terms’ Compensation Property Rights Rally that was held in Canberra on Tuesday, 2 February 2010.

While the official deadline for submissions is 5 March 2010, the Association has been granted an extension until 17 March 2010.

If Members are interested they can still lodge their own submission as well. Simply send your submission to NSW Farmers Association and it will be lodged along with the Association’s submission.

Further information regarding the Inquiry can be obtained at   http://www.aph.gov.au/SEnate/committee/fapa_ctte/climate_change/index.htm

Regards

Shaughn Morgan

CHIEF EXECUTIVE

Comments

  1. I am a cattle grazier from the South Burnett region in Queensland and am very conscious of the need for all farmers to protect the land. I don't think there is a need for draconian laws, simply a consultation process and maybe a subsidy scheme for farmers to plant trees and create nature corridors etc. I think there are many properties which have land which is hard and does not produce all that much in agricultural output. I think that landholders would be quite open to plant native trees on these areas if there was a subsidy scheme in place. Our property has been in the family for over 60 years and my father had the foresight to preserve generous sections of the property as native timber which I feel has benefited our property abundantly. Everyone who comes here can't believe the beauty of this property in this region. I am so grateful to my father who had the vision to give back to the land.

  2. pale face says

    its always important to support our farmers 100 percent as they feed the nation tis a hard job

    as look what they r going thru in africa

    March 6 2010 – VANDERBIJLPARK – Parkinson’s sufferer Robert Hunter, 68, was hacked to death with a panga on his smallholding in Mullerstuine near Barrage early on Friday morning. The frail Afrikaner man also suffered from joint and bone illnesses and was barely able to walk – let alone defending himself against three young, black male attackers. He was found by his distraught son shortly before 5am, said SAPS Inspector Kinnie Steyn, (pictured left).

    . http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?from=rss_South 20Africa&set_id=1&click_id=13&art_id=nw20100305183841831C578999

Leave a Reply