Senate Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Legislation Committee, , 2:00:42 to 2:10:20
The committee examines a report on deforestation linked to beef production and questions the department's lack of real-time monitoring tools for land use changes.
Topics: Land management, Climate change
Speakers: Senator Vanessa Bleyer, Matt Lowe, Senator Glenn Sterle, Unknown Speaker, Miss Victoria Anderson
>> Thanks, Senator Blair. Does anyone want to follow on on these questions? If not, I'll go back to Senator Blair. Okay, Senator Blair, it's yours. What about if we do this uh to take it up to the 11:00 break >> and then when we come back after 15 minutes, we'll go to the opposition questions. >> Okay. So, Senator Bl.
>> Thank you. I I'll ask my shorter line of questioning next then having regard to the time available and and I expect we'll be able to get it done. >> Uh Secretary, is the department aware of a report recently produced by the Australian Conservation Foundation highlighting 150 cases of deforestation in Australia, the majority of which is for beef production.
>> Thanks, Senator. I think I'll rely on my colleagues from Mr. Lowe's group.
information on it.
>> If you're aware of that report.
>> I'm personally not aware of it, Senator, but um we'll see if my colleagues have
>> Okay. So, you're not aware of that report? >> Thank you. Um, so it was produced in September 2026. I might table a document. So it's
suggest might assist the officers.
>> Yeah, let us table that document, please. Thank you very much, Mr. What the report concludes is that Australia has no early detection and mapping system for deforestation. And so the Australian Conservation Foundation engaged investigators and also thousands of citizen scientists who scanned more than 10 million hectares of satellite imagery in 2026 and detected 150 cases of deforestation. Does the department have any tools that are available to it >> that can enable it to detect cases of deforestation across Australia?
>> Uh Senator, I um I think the short answer is no, we don't. Um while we are um very concerned with um the matter of land use change um more generally um in Australia and as it particularly pertains to agriculture sector and it is something that um we if you like kind of do do work on and report on um through a um we don't have if you like a kind of a real-time monitoring capability in that regard um probably um we would of course um always want to improve the ability for us to kind of I guess increase the fatality fidelity and the um and the frequency in which we could monitor land use change. Um but um those data sets kind of do come out relatively infrequently and um and as they do we update our information accordingly.
>> Thank you Mr. Hello. And uh I have to hand uh a report that I thank the department of agricultural etc. for um the material materiality assessment outcomes. Um that was a May 2024 document and it shows that um deforestation has the third most significant impact and also um a massive um adverse financial impact. And so the department having identified that in its own report ought to be prioritizing deforestation and its work in respect of it particularly given the volume of unlawful deforestation being undertaken for beef production in this country. Do you agree with that?
I might just um make sure I understand fully the the nature of that report um if if that's possible and
>> I'll take that report then chair
>> we are in a privileged position in DAFF where we do um put out a number of reports um to add to the uh information set out there in the sector and and more broadly. So um we might if you like take that that question on notice um until we can see that report.
>> Yeah. Well you can take it on notice. It is a a report. It was an extensive report. I've I've simply extracted some pages of it and it clearly identifies the great adverse impact that deforestation has both from an environmental perspective but also from a financial perspective across this country. And given your finding of how significant the issues are with deforestation, I would have thought that you would have tools to identify it and monitor it and do more about it pursuant to the duties of the department that you represent.
So I think um Senator what what I'd offer back to you is um as I said we do monitor these things in aggregate um and and we do monitor them kind of if you like over over a period of time um and as I said the the frequency which we do that um is limited um your your I guess comments and questions go to deforestation. What I can I guess offer is that um Australia's total forest area has increased overall since 2008 including by.75 million hectares between 2016 and 2021. Um and in 2020 2021 primary clearing and reclearing were at their lowest levels since 1990 um and were exceeded by forestry growth following previous clearing. And as you say and this is not something that um our department um has any responsibility for um but it is important that any land clearing um that occurs or deforestation that does does occur um happens in accordance with legal legal frameworks and those legal legal frameworks are administered by either the um DQ or state and territory governments in
general. And where were you reading those statistics from please Mr. Low?
>> Um [clears throat] they're Abe's statistics. Um so Abe's forest area change over time 2023 using the national inventory port report 2021 data.
>> Uh well I'm pleased that I have tabled and now provided you with a copy of a 2026 report that has more updated statistics um based reliably on the work that was undertaken to reach them. and I uh commend that report to you.
>> Thank you, Senator.
>> Um you may also be aware, Mr. Low, um that at COP 28 in Dubai in December 2023, Australia joined other parties in adopting the first global stock take which called for enhanced efforts towards halting and reversing deforestation and forest degradation by 2030. Are you aware of that?
Uh I don't know that I am aware of it specifically, but um to
>> to avoid me tableing more documents, will will you accept that um that that's a fact. I I do have the um United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change with me. >> Um and that is one of the matters that Australia has agreed to. Will you accept
>> Um I accept that as as far as you've read it to me. Yes. Sorry, Senator.
>> I'm grateful. I can assure you I'm not being misleading. I'm simply [clears throat] reading from a publicly available document um that Australia is a party to >> and so with 2030 fast approaching [clears throat] don't you think that we need those tools that we were talking about earlier don't you think that we need proper commonwealth moni monitoring programs and and data sets so that we can measure gross for deforestation and so we can meet our obligations that we've agreed to with our international friends. Um I
don't think you'll find any disagreement from me in terms of our interest in improving our ability to monitor land use change in Australia. Um particularly as it pertains to the agriculture sector. That is something we are um uh quite invested in. Uh and it's a capability we continue to seek to develop and and we don't want to do that in isolation. Um there are data sets and capabilities across the Australian government that are also concerned with this um with this subject area. Um so it is um not simply the kind of the purview of DAFF. Um it would also be the purview of agencies like DQ. Um I'm sure there's >> The the National Environment Protection Authority for example. Um so so um while we are concerned with it we also acknowledge that it's it's something that um is not our domain alone.