Page |1
Western Land Planning Pty Ltd (WLP) is a regional agricultural and environmental
consultancy based in central NSW. It has significant experience in the planning and
management of agricultural enterprises, including licensing regimes for irrigation
development. In particular, WLP has been heavily involved in the implementation of
government’s modernisation programs relating to irrigated agriculture in the Macquarie
Valley, and retirement of irrigated land in the Murray Valley. WLP is directly involved in the
Floodplain Licensing Project in the Northern Murray Darling where it has extensive exposure
to irrigation operations and new agricultural development projects. Based on this extensive
experience, WLP offers the following points for consideration in relation to the Green Paper
on Developing Northern Australia.
General observations

The economy of most northern areas is heavily resource-based. If this is to be
sustainable, it needs to be well managed. Extractive industries are not limitless, and
care should be taken that development is not too heavily biased towards these at
the expense of sustainably-produced food and fibre and other land uses such as
tourism. Long term economic sustainability should be a primary driver in the
development process.

There should be a comprehensive stocktake of land and water resources at the
beginning of development planning to avoid over-allocation and over-development
(or inappropriate development) from the start – lesson from southern Australia.
Clawing back over-allocation is much more difficult and costly for industry and
government as it involves capital costs and political backlash. Development limits
and constraints should be based on sound science rather than on local, external or
self-interest pressure. Sustainability is the long term aim.

If there is an expectation for innovation in the development of agriculture, then
there is significant potential for innovation in the development and growth of
indigenous species instead of, or alongside of traditional food and fibre crops.
Markets at this stage are obviously smaller for these products and therefore will
require research and investment stimulus in order to maximise economic potential.
Page |2
The commercialisation of plant species when coupled with the commercial
harvesting of native or game animals has the potential for an integrated commercial
outcome at both processing and marketing levels.
Food security

Proximity to Asia brings with it significant biosecurity risks, exacerbated by further
development and intensification of agricultural land uses if imported resources are
part of the development equation. Quarantine procedures may require review and
strengthening to help avoid the introduction of pests and diseases that will not only
jeopardise the growth of agriculture in the north, but adversely impact on
established southern production systems and potentially jeopardise international
markets that rely on Australia’s “clean” disease status.

The expectation of doubling Australia’s food production is based on continued
production in the southern states at current or similar levels. This is not a likely
scenario under climate change modelling.

Consideration must be given to transporting produce from northern Australia to
southern Australia in balance with the development of overseas markets. Under
climate change modelling, southern Australia will be significantly drier, and food
production currently undertaken in southern states is likely to be adversely affected.
If Australia’s domestic food security is to be secured, produce from the north will
become increasingly important, and will be a preferred source to imports for many
reasons including biosecurity.

There is a need to consider the impact of new large-scale changes to land use on
existing/current production. For example, how might beef production be affected if
a large number of properties change enterprises due to more flexible land use
arrangements on leasehold properties?
Development risks

Whilst biological factors are of primary importance, development proposals need to
consider existing and potential infrastructure and markets with a high degree of
rigour. That is, the development of infrastructure to produce a commodity for which
there is a limited or short term market, or a market that has high inherent risk such
transport limitations or political instability must be clearly identified.

The 2030 plan identifies leveraging of clean, reliable and abundant water and soil
resources as an opportunity. Poorly planned and/or implemented development
jeopardises these resources and the future economic viability of business and
therefore will significantly limit future opportunities.
Page |3

The perceived “abundance” of water supply must be kept in perspective.
Availability must be based on science and therefore not lead to profligate use.

Tourism that is based on natural attractions is a significant contributor to the
northern economy and has been identified as a potential growth area. This potential
will not be realised if land and infrastructure development directly compete for the
same resource.
Capacity building

What capacity-building arrangements are in place to support the move to more
diverse production systems? It is difficult to expect landholders/managers to
implement best practice management for enterprises in which they have no
experience.

Research, education and innovation are policy priorities – how will these be
“extended” to the landholder community? The trend elsewhere in Australia has
been a significant decline in extension services provided by Government agencies.
Land

Tenure is a major limiting factor to future development. Whilst leasehold potentially
provides greater control over land development and use it may significantly inhibit
private investment in infrastructure due to uncertainty and an inability to recover
capital costs. Longer term or perpetual leases may potentially overcome this issue.
The proven option has been the conversion to freehold title. Freehold title
engenders a greater level of emotional as well as financial investment in the
management of the property. However such conversion must embrace the
philosophy of long term environmental and economic sustainability.

At the regional and/or state level consideration needs to be given to the Local
Environmental Plan (LEP) style planning of development. This type of planning
instrument identifies issues at the relevant scales and areas that are suitable for
different classes of development, areas that should or should not be developed
because of their biodiversity value, etc. This model also facilitates the planning of
infrastructure by potentially grouping industries with similar needs (e.g. deciding
where to put railway lines or ports or where roads require upgrading).

At the property level, any form of development needs to be contingent upon the
preparation and approval of a whole-farm or enterprise plan that includes land use,
land management, environmental assessment, biodiversity health and production. A
means of securing sustainable and agreed development provisions may be to impede
Page |4
the sale or transfer of property based upon compliance with the existing approved
plan. This would necessitate a title registration with provision for amendment, and
continuation of existing or changes to the existing operational arrangements.

An approved plan could take the place of individual development consents for
successive or staged developments. Proposed developments that depart from the
plan could be dealt with by revision and re-submission of the plans, ensuring that the
regional goals are still met. This would assist in achieving the Government’s goal of
reducing red tape for investment (p10 of 2030 Vision for Developing Northern
Australia).

Planning and Certification can be undertaken by registered private sector providers,
thereby reducing the need for Government compliance and extension resources.
This process will require the provision of a rigorous provider certification process
linked to a high level of demonstrated skills and experience and significant penalties
for breaches of operating rules by private service providers.

Property plans should be consistent with regional plans, in order to ensure that
landscape-scale issues such as habitat connectivity are adequately addressed.

Conservation initiatives must be integrated with production on-farm as part of the
agreed planning process. This may mean that there are multiple uses of areas where
they are retained and managed primarily for biodiversity conservation (e.g. Tourism,
bush food harvesting, cultural uses, carbon markets, agroforestry). This model has
the potential to eliminate the need for financial incentives such as stewardship
payments, as landholders will have the capacity to derive income from these areas
whilst simultaneously meeting their agreed land management outcomes and achieve
common good environmental goals.

Conservation at all scales should include representative samples of common
ecosystems as well as those that are perceived as rare or special. Identification of
land that is suitable for agricultural or other development should include recognition
of the need to conserve some of this land.
Water

Water and land use planning need to be considered together. Over-allocation of
water resources must be avoided to prevent environmental damage and costly
adjustments at a later date. In the same vein, over-development of land resources
must not impinge on the available water resources. This has been a typical issue in
Page |5
the Murray Darling Basin. There, several significant developments on the Barwon
Darling River system have failed due to lack of water resources.

Notwithstanding issues of over-allocation, water markets in southern Australia
function reasonably well and provide models for use in the north. A flexible and
tradable water market supports efficiency and economic viability.

The perception of abundant water resources should not be the driving factor for land
development. Northern NSW is an example of a region where the development of
land for irrigated cotton production has been driven by the availability of what can
be regarded as cheap water. This has resulted in over-clearing and overdevelopment with resultant adverse impacts on biodiversity conservation. Some
development is unauthorised. Government compliance enforcement and planning
has not kept pace with the demand for expansion. This has resulted in ad hoc,
sometimes illegal, activities being undertaken. The relevant government agencies are
now in a very difficult position in terms of resources to address such issues. This
situation is not only an impost on Government, but also impacts on local
communities.

Climate change modelling suggests that rainfall, and hence water availability, will
become increasingly variable. Therefore an integrated planning approach must be
applied if there is to be long term sustainability at all levels.

The development of land for irrigated crop production needs to be based on the
inherent capability of the land, the regional development strategy (including
biodiversity conservation and other competing land uses), the proximity to
infrastructure and markets and reliability of water.

Development plans should consider the reliability of water supply. Capital-intensive,
large-scale horticultural development on the Barwon-Darling system in NSW was
based on modelled river flows, and failed after a series of drought years in which the
modelled flows did not eventuate. This is seen as being a significant risk for the
developers of infrastructure supporting such industries in Northern Australia. A
conservative approach to the application of modelled water availability must be
taken in order to mitigate the effects of climate variables.

Land development for irrigation must be conservative with respect to water use.
Development must make use of efficient irrigation systems despite the perceived
abundance of water. Efficient use of water will enhance economic sustainability, and
reduce the risk of land degradation problems such as salinity that can result from
Page |6
excessive groundwater recharge. Long term economic viability in years of low water
availability will be supported by the application of water efficient infrastructure.

Impacts from upstream development on water quality should be considered in
regional development plans. The impact of upstream nutrient loading from livestock
and processing industries on downstream water users has the potential to be a
significant limiting factor to unified regional development. Water storage location
and management should take into account issues such as cold water pollution, algal
blooms, and the potential for over-development in particular locations because of
water availability.
Concluding remarks
The development of Northern Australia presents a rare opportunity to plan for
sustainability. There are useful examples of both successful and unsuccessful strategies and
programs from Southern Australia which can inform the government’s policy in this regard.
It is essential that decisions are based primarily on science and inherent land capability to
ensure that development does not result in land degradation, unacceptable loss of
biodiversity and economic failure of investments in infrastructure. If the fabric of
communities is to be maintained and strengthened then an effective and cohesive approach
to planning and investment must be adopted prior to development.
Contact
Chris Botfield, Director
Western Land Planning Pty Ltd
Ph: 02 6885 6644
Mob: 0409 696 153
E: chris@wlp.com.au