CONTINUING PROBLEMS WITH INTENSIVE HORTICULTURE IN NSW

How much environmental damage will it take before the intensive horticultural industry is properly regulated?

If I want a swimming pool, I have to lodge a development application. However, berry growers can transform forests into a ‘sea’ of plastic with little or no approval needed. Certainly, no environmental impact assessment is required.

Just this week, I received an email from a distressed Corindi resident, claiming: “In the past year there has been an alarming rate of land clearing between Coffs Harbour and Grafton. We are talking about clear felling of established trees with the ground scraped bare. The fallen trees are then burned, destroying whatever else may have been harbouring in them.  

Almost invariably this is done before blueberries are established and covered with nets, resulting in total habitat destruction.

The advent of these farms seems to coincide with an almost complete disappearance of bees, both exotic and native species, that I am used to have visiting my garden, I used to have scores of tetragonulas, several peacock carpenter and carpenter bees, and resin bees visiting and nesting but this season despite an abundance of flowers, both native and exotics, they have all but disappeared.

I am very saddened and concerned about this, but have no idea how to address this or who to talk to”.

How do we respond to this cry for help? The Clarence Environment Centre, and others, have called for the horticultural industry to be regulated for almost 20 years.

We have continually lobbied authorities, and Ministers, to no avail. One Minister even responded saying he was not in favour of regulation because it "encouraged non-compliance". How's that for pathetic?

Scandals like the discovery of excessive nutrients in Coffs waterways, and illegal migrant workers as well as the revelation that over 80% of growers investigated were non-compliant with water regulations (i.e. stealing water), and the latest pollution of Woolgoolga Lake, have all failed to bring change. Instead, the government simply throws more money on advisory committees, and grants to help growers follow "best practice".

- John Edwards

 Published in the "Voices for the Earth" column in The Clarence Valley Independent , September 9,, 2021

 

FINALLY - ACTION ON BLUEBERRY INDUSTRY NON-COMPLIANCE

 More than a decade since local environment groups first began voicing concerns about the ballooning intensive horticulture industry in the Coffs – Clarence area, the Natural Resource Access Regulator decides to clamp down on non-compliance. So why has it taken so long?

 

About five years ago, in response to a deluge of complaints about the industry, an inter-agency advisory committee was finally formed, which seemingly included virtually every government agency and Council on the north coast.

 

By 2017 the committee had reported widespread illegal land-clearing, including repeat offenders, and the conclusion that “growers are prepared to pay fines as a business cost”. Complaints about water use, pesticide use and spray drift, poor worker accommodation and site safety, along with observations that erosion control was virtually non-existent, were also reported in committee minutes.

 

That committee was only able to support planning and promote best practice, with no regulatory power to enforce it. That was apparently against government policy at the time. In fact the then Minister wrote to one environment group in the Clarence Valley saying he was opposed to regulation because it “might encourage non-compliance”.

 

In 2017, Water NSW, the then regulatory authority, was so determined that problems relating to water use by blueberry growers not be aired, that they employed a lawyer at tax-payers' expense to prevent one local environment group from giving evidence to a tribunal hearing over a water licence application.

 

Despite no real compliance monitoring or enforcement throughout the past decade, this latest “crack down” has been widely reported in the media, seemingly used as some sort of a public relations coup!

 

Last week The Sydney Morning Herald reported Coffs Harbour's former deputy Mayor making the point that many of the current problems have arisen as a result of intensive horticulture not being required to present a development application (DA). However, all that would be needed is to add that activity to the existing list of developments that already require a DA on rural zoned land. All it takes is political will, but there is little evidence of that at this time.

 

            - John Edwards

 

This article was originally published in the VOICES FOR THE EARTH column in The Daily Examiner on September 28 ,  2020. 

THE BLUEBERRY INDUSTRY IN THE CLARENCE VALLEY AND WATER USE

The Daily Examiner's headline (on June 10 this year) “Regulator begins new water works”, with the responsible regional director, admitting his team has a big job ahead, certainly attracted attention.

Compliance monitoring of the local intensive horticulture industry has been virtually non-existent to date, so closer scrutiny, particularly of its water usage, is welcomed. However, why wasn't action taken sooner, and why were earlier reported problems ignored?

The Clarence Environment Centre (CEC) first raised concerns about the industry's activities in 2011, in response to reports of illegal land clearing near Halfway Creek. That offender was reportedly fined $150,000, a penalty we later learned is often regarded by the industry as “a cost of doing business” (Inter-agency Blueberry Working Group minutes, February 15, 2017).

In ensuing years, the CEC fought several irrigation proposals, including one to pump water from State Significant wetlands.

In 2015, an industry push to be allowed to dam larger streams and harvest more water, saw the government undertake a review into water regulation and invite public input.  The CEC put in a submission to this review.

In March 2016, Clarence Valley Council announced the development of Australia's largest blueberry farm alongside the Orara River (a tributary of the Clarence River). A subsequent application to pump 60 megalitres (ML) a year, from the Orara was opposed by CEC, who argued that it, and their 90 ML harvestable rights, was only sufficient water for 70 ha of blueberries. Given the Lower Orara has only 800 ML available for irrigation under licence', the question was, where would the remaining 2,000 ML come from.

That matter went before a Tribunal hearing in early 2017 where, incredibly, Water NSW used a tax-payer funded lawyer, to successfully argue that the CEC's evidence not be heard.

The licence approval was subsequently granted and approximately 400 ha prepared for planting, complete with buried drip irrigation pipe and plastic covering. Then, in late 2018, all work stopped and the entire operation was advertised for sale.

With rumours that the operation cannot proceed because there's insufficient water, it will be interesting to see what the promised compliance blitz uncovers.

            - John Edwards

 This article was originally published in the VOICES FOR THE EARTH column in The Daily Examiner on June 24, 2019

THE PROBLEM WITH BLUEBERRIES AND WATER

The proliferation of white netting and plastic covered igloos that are springing up across the region is hard to ignore as the flourishing blueberry industry takes off.

Bringing “jobs and growth” to the North Coast, this type of intensive horticulture is receiving strong support from governments at all levels. However, the industry is almost totally unregulated, allowed to clear what is termed regrowth forest, build enormous dams, and transform rural landscapes into a 'sea' of plastic without the need to seek any approvals whatsoever.

The problem is, blueberries are largely grown hydroponically, and so are highly dependent on water, hence the huge dams to capture the 10% of rainfall run-off that each landowner is entitled to.

Last year an international consortium purchased a large grazing property adjoining the Orara River and announced their intention to set up Australia's largest blueberry farm, 850 hectares. They are entitled to capture 90 megalitres (ML) of rainfall run-off and have applied to extract an additional 66 ML/year from the Orara. However, blueberries require between 2 and 3 megalitres of water per hectare annually, so already they have an annual water shortfall of close to 2,000 ML.

Since declaring their plans for the mega-plantation, the same consortium has reportedly purchased another property of similar size nearby, and are currently preparing that land for planting. We also have other blueberry farms starting up at Glenreagh, Kremnos, Halfway Creek, Kungala, Lanitza (north and south), and Qwyarigo, all within the Lower Orara catchment area.  Nobody appears to be giving any thought as to where the necessary water will come from, or what impact the damming of all first and second order streams will have on flows in the river itself.

The current total available water for irrigation from the Lower Orara is under 800 ML annually. You don't need to be a mathematician to see the problem.

Councils need to take control, and change their LEPs to require commercial intensive horticultural ventures to seek approval via a development application, along with and a comprehensive water management plan.

            - John Edwards

This article was originally published in the VOICES FOR THE EARTH column in The Daily Examiner on April 17, 2017.