Anti rural and anti farmer online media Crikey is at it bashing farmers again.
Flush from Crikey reporter Stephen Maynes victorious rout of farmer control of the AWB, Crikey’s Canberra correspondent Bernard Keane an ex public servant has today taken a huge swipe at Queensland farmers over tree clearing.
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“This [ land clearing] was occurring on leasehold land. At the same time, on freehold land, where no land-clearing restrictions applied, landholders were going berserk tearing down everything in sight.
The assault on Queensland’s native vegetation continued until Peter Beattie, having tried to gull the Howard Government into providing compensation for landholders deprived of the right to obliterate their properties, reluctantly regulated it in late 2000 with the Vegetation Management Act.”
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The article is a disgrace. Incredibly Keane then raises accusations of ongoing ’significant’ illegal land clearing in QLD.
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Queensland sources point out that illegal land-clearing is still a significant issue, and one the DNR refuses to seriously investigate. Fire is a popular method of “accidental” land-clearing among farmers — no one can ever check whether the alleged lightning strike that started a blaze ever actually happened.
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Crikey claims its news is distributed by email to approximately 40,000 urban Australian readers a day.
They have an anti-farmer agenda that is nauseating. What would ever inspire Keane to write such a lop sided and ill informed article - only he would know?
Watch a Video here of Crikey’s smug farmer hating journalists Stephen Mayne & Bernard Keane.
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What in the hell have farmers ever done to the likes of Mayne & Keane that makes them the target of they’re gutter journalism.
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Update 5th September 2008 @ 4.45pm.
The Courier Mail ran the same sort of article today. Whats behind this. The WWF trying to pressure QLD Natural Resources Minister Craig Wallace into scraping the exemption on clearing regrowth is what its all about. See Here
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Have Your say! Tell us what you think!
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- 14 Million Hectares of Grazing Land in QLD Lost if WWF have their way
Tags: Bernard Keane, Crikey, Land Clearing, Stephen Mayne
Wow. Isn’t Bernard an interesting guy. What a coup for Crikey - A failed bureaucrat media advisor. Haven’t I seen him on “Hollowmen” ? http://www.abc.net.au/tv/hollowmen/#/watch
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if some of these critics actually put their money where their mouth is.
If they want to protect the bush and or be responsible for achieving the Kyoto targets, they are quite welcome to buy these properties and do just that if they like.
In fact there are organizations actually doing this.
What is really annoying is when they criticize farmers for trying to do what they purchased the land for; that is farming.
So any critics out there or even State Governments, this land has its price, all you need do is buy it. It’s so simple and your not destroying somebody else’s asset.
As a greenie Crikey subscriber… don’t worry I take what I read there with as much salt as I do what I read on Agmates
G’day Matt,
Thanks for your feedback - Pleased to hear that’s the way you feel about the smug urban quasi intellectuals at Crikey.
Your green opinion is always most welcome at Agmates. I appreciate your input which puts some ‘balance’ into our forums. Thanks.
My response to a similar article in todays Courier Mail
OLD NEWS ! NO LAWS BROKEN! Doesn’t make a good headline does it ?
This story all relates to perfectly legal clearing / fodder harvesting 3 years ago not 2008. I am a farmer who travels regularly across all regions of Australia by air and it continues to astound me how few people look out the window and take in our amazing country .
Most people on board are from urban areas and some are our decision makers. I have thousands of photos taken over the last 15 years that show a HUGE percentage of our land especially in the northern half of Australia is covered in natural scrub. I also note in the areas in the south where we have over cleared in the past line after line and clump after clump of trees have been successfully re-established.
It is most unfortunate that some journalists don’t allow truth to get in the way of a story. The modern farmer /grazier is attuned to his / her land and is diligently taking the utmost care to understand it,maintain and enhance it for the next generations.
Let’s look around to see the good stories rather than rehash old news dressed up in such an illegitimate and sensational manner.
Posted by: Peter Thompson of Roma Region 11:59am today
Comment 22 of 23
TREE CLEARING THREAT TO OUTBACK.
Brian Williams
September 05, 2008 12:00am
FARMERS are still bulldozing the Queensland Outback at an alarming rate despite tree-clearing laws designed to rein in the destruction.
Latest data shows 375,000ha was flattened in 2005-06.
Clearing was 7 per cent up on the previous year, which the department blamed on graziers rushing to use old clearing permits before they expired on December 31, 2006.
G’day Peter,
I’ve linked the Courier Mail headline to the story for you.
This is ‘churn journalism’ at its worst. Is it a coincidence that this article appears in the Courier Mail the day after the disgraceful Crikey piece. - I think not.
Did you notice in the actual paper version it did not even carry Brian Williams Name. You’d hardly want to put your name to this sort of garbage.
The WWF and Crikey would love to return to the days of the jack booted ‘tree police’ storming all over farmers property.
Do you remember Minister Wallace gave Agmates an assurance that the days of the tree police in QLD were over.
See here.
Cheers - Steve
I just have a feeling clicking on the video link above won’t be worth my time
Could I offer a reference for a less-publicised but more positive summary of rural Australians and their land management practices (yes, a govt publication but don’t scoff!)
“Natural Passion - inspiring stories of practical sustainability” from Land and Water Australia. look for it via their website http://www.lwa.gov.au or canprint I think is their print section?
Ah, if prime-time news had more stuff like this publication or landline articles, there’d be a more balanced view!