The Northern Territory Cattlemen’s Association (NTCA) has thrown its support behind recommendations to pass the Pastoral Land Legislation Amendment Bill 2017.
The Economic Policy Scrutiny Committee tabled its report “Inquiry into the Pastoral Land Legislation Amendment Bill 2017” today.
The Committee has recommended the Legislative Assembly pass the Bill.
While the additional recommendations are not supported by the NTCA, this one is.
NTCA president Tom Stockwell noted the importance of the proposed amendments to the pastoral sector.
“The changes proposed in this Bill are largely administrative and designed to contemporise and improve the effectiveness of the existing legislation. The purpose of the amendments is to provide certainty to pastoral enterprises around pastoral rent calculation, and provide investors with the security of tenure required to invest in diversification of the pastoral estate, which will drive further economic development and create jobs in regional and remote area,” Mr Stockwell said.
“The pastoral industry is the cornerstone of regional and remote economies across the Northern Territory, and contributes around $800 million annually to our economy.
“Pastoralists manage an area of land equivalent to 45pc of the NT landmass, and provide jobs and employment right across the NT.
“The ability for pastoral leases to enter into a sub-leasing arrangement under the Non-Pastoral Use provisions will open opportunities for economic development across the pastoral estate, bringing investment, jobs and growth across regional NT. Aboriginal people will benefit from much needed employment opportunities that these changes will create.
“Pastoralists have been able to diversify their businesses under the Pastoral Land Act since it was first created in 1992 through Non-Pastoral Use Permits (NPU), and adopting the first four recommendations from the Committee’s report will add another layer of transparency to the Act, provide certainty to the pastoral sector and facilitate growth and employment across the NT.”