The State Government is set to overhaul Victoria’s agricultural planning laws, with proposed reforms it hopes will strike a balance between delivering for farmers and meeting community expectations.
Agriculture Minister Jaala Pulford said the proposed changes will simplify planning requirements for animal based farming and will improve the consistency of how the rules are applied.
“Through these landmark reforms, we will protect prime agricultural land and put our farmers first,” Mr Pulford said.
Through these landmark reforms, we will protect prime agricultural land and put our farmers first.
- Jaala Pulford, Victorian Agriculture Minister
The reforms aimed to make the land use planning process clearer for farmers, councils and the community.
The work followed Planning for Sustainable Animal Industries, the government’s response to the 2016 Animal Industries Advisory Committee report.
A two-month consultation period has begun, seeking feedback on proposed new land use terms and definitions, graduated planning controls and guidance to help improve the quality of planning applications and permit conditions.
A government spokesman said the changes included new land use terms and definitions that would reduce regulation for farmers with grazing animals and small-scale pig and poultry farms that are seen as low risk.
He said benefits for farmers included greater certainty due to clearer land use definitions and planning controls, more flexibility to supplementary feed their livestock, without the need for a planning permit, and permit exemptions for small scale pig and poultry producers.
Further opportunities to simplify planning requirements for low risk farming would be explored in 2018 and 2019, as part of the ongoing Planning for Sustainable Animal Industries initiative.
Planning Minister Richard Wynne said reducing regulation and making the rules clearer would ensure the needs of farmers were properly balanced with the wider community.
Blackmore Wagyu Beef’s David Blackmore said the recommendations were common sense. He said they provided certainty in protecting the right-to-farm and reinforcing Australian primary producers were leaders in world’s best practice animal husbandry and farming methods.
