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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1999 Week 9 Hansard (2 September) . . Page.. 2770 ..

MR SMYTH (continuing):

extremely difficult to legislate to ensure that these transactions were notified so that the 50 per cent payment due to the Territory could be demanded. For this reason it would be inappropriate and irresponsible to exempt transfers to family companies from the 50 per cent payment.

The third element of this Bill is the requirement for rural lessees to have land management agreements. One of the most difficult tasks which face all governments in relation to rural holdings is the need to balance the rights of farmers to earn a living from the land against the environment conservation requirements which increase with our improving knowledge of the fragility of our environment. Existing rural leases have a clause that require rural lessees to have property management agreements. The task force report recommended that the requirement for a management agreement be removed from the lease and put into the Act.

The Government agreed that a legislative requirement for management agreements was a sensible approach. A new division within Part VI of the Land Act has been drafted. This division specifies that the Executive will grant a rural lease, grant a further rural lease, vary a rural lease or consent to the assignment or transfer of a rural lease only if the proposed lessee has entered into a land management agreement with the Territory.

The Government has taken the opportunity to develop, in consultation with rural lessees and community organisations, a pro forma land management agreement that will provide detailed guidance to rural lessees on what management regimes are required for their property and identify any special conservation areas within their lease requiring special management. This has been a cooperative effort, recognising that both the rural lessees and the Government have a responsibility to protect our ecological communities, while enabling rural lessees to continue their business as farmers.

In order for the land management agreements to be effective management tools, the Act has also been amended to make the land management agreements subject to the "Orders" provision in Part VI of the Act. This means that if a rural lessee does not manage their lease in accordance with the approved land management agreement action can be taken to require them to meet their responsibilities under the agreement. Schedule 5 of the Act has also been amended to provide for a financial penalty of 50 penalty units, which is $5,000, where the lessee continues to manage their lease contrary to their agreement. The land management agreement has been trialled with some rural lessees, and if this amendment is passed I will, in accordance with the new provisions, approve that pro forma for immediate use.

The task force also made recommendations on the development of farm tourism on rural leases. I wish to advise members that I intend to table a new regulation under the Land (Planning and Environment) Act 1991 that permits farm occupations and farm businesses where rural purposes are permitted by a lease. As with existing home business approvals, there will now be levels of farm occupations and businesses which will not require approval under the Land Act. However, where the level of activity is more intense, a development application will be necessary to fully assess the impact of that proposal.

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