WA's right to Farm impeded

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By Dwain Duxson

WA's right to Farm impeded - The WA Farming industry is up in arms over a new state government act set to come into effect on July 1.

The Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Bill will affect every Farmer and Pastoralist in the state. Everyday Farming acts like Scarifying, Seeding, Delving, Deep Ripping, Shed Building, Drainage work, Fencing, and even pulling out a dead tree stump will require a permit to do so. Any ground disturbance to a depth of 50mm is included.

It is reported that it will cost the state government $77 million to implement over the next four years. To allocate the permits, a series of Local Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Service (LACHS) offices will be established across the state.

You can see what's going to happen here. Some permits will take months to be approved, and the window for Seeding, Ripping, etc, will close before a permit is allocated. One WA Farmer told me, "if we get caught doing the wrong thing, the fines are massive, apparently". He also said, "our right to Farm is going to get taken away from us through this act. It will be a shit show".

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