Page 3285 - Week 09 - Wednesday, 21 August 2019
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More broadly, this government is committed to sustainability and environmental protection. The government remains committed to protecting and managing our environment and water catchments and moving to a more sustainable future. A significant proportion of the ACT environment is protected and the ACT has legislative and policy frameworks to conserve, maintain and enhance biodiversity within these protected areas.
Through the implementation of the nature conservation strategy 2013-23 the ACTÂ government aims to further improve and maintain native vegetation and biodiversity and ensure that landscapes are more resilient to climate change. The government also recognises that sustainable management of environmental values on our farms is critical for the long-term viability of rural Australia. Better management of ecological communities and soils can benefit farm and forestry productivity, rural communities and the environment and may help reduce the impacts of climate change. It also provides many ecosystem services such as clean water and flood mitigation.
The ACT strongly supports a sustainable rural industry in Canberra, achieving off-reserve conservation objectives and balancing environmental protection with sustainable agriculture. That is why all rural landholders are required to enter into a land management agreement with the ACT government for the sustainable use of land.
The two principal objectives of the LMA are to provide a basis for a cooperative land management regime between farmers in the ACT and the government and to conserve biodiversity, protect habitats, waterways and species, and provide for productive and sustainable agricultural land use in the ACT.
Intensive animal farming or industrial livestock production, also known as factory farming, is not compatible with these objectives. For this reason and in the interests of animal welfare the ACT does not support intensive farming practices. That is why in 2014 the Animal Welfare (Factory Farming) Amendment Bill was passed by the ACTÂ Legislative Assembly. This bill is noteworthy as it is the first time that certain intensive farming practices, specifically the use of battery cages in egg production and the use of sow stalls and gestational crates for pigs, were banned in any Australian jurisdiction.
The ACT is now credited with having one of the most progressive animal welfare legislations in the country. The ACT now has only one commercial intensive animal production operation, namely the barn-laid egg production facility at Parkwood, which transitioned from a battery cage system in 2014.
The ACT is also working on building a rural sector more resilient to climate change, through the national Landcare program. There are two key projects funded under this program. Resilient farms: supporting adaptation to climate and market variability aims to support ACT farmers to adapt to significant changes in climate and market demands for information on provenance and sustainable production. The other, protecting and connecting endangered woodlands, aims to protect and connect endangered woodlands, primarily on ACT rural lands.
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