MONOGRAPH 40 volume 1

122 Transparent and consistent sentencing in the Land and Environment Court of NSW: orders for costs as an aspect of punishment Judicial Commission of NSW regional and rural areas of NSW. 662 The objects of the NV Act , which were framed explicitly in accordance with the principles of ecologically sustainable development, 663 were: (a) to provide for, encourage and promote the management of native vegetation on a regional basis in the social, economic and environmental interests of the State, and (b) to prevent broad-scale clearing unless it improves or maintains environmental outcomes, and (c) to protect native vegetation of high conservation value having regard to its contribution to such matters as water quality, biodiversity, or the prevention of salinity or land degradation, and (d) to improve the condition of existing native vegetation, particularly where it has high conservation value, and (e) to encourage the revegetation of land, and the rehabilitation of land, with appropriate native vegetation. 664 The NV Act was assented to on 11 December 2003 but did not commence until 1 December 2005. 665 The Act was supplemented by the Native Vegetation Regulation 2013 666 which was introduced in recognition of “the need to strike the right balance between sustainable agriculture and protecting the environment”, “to streamline existing clearing controls” and to introduce “codes of practice for vegetation clearing, including self-assessable codes of practice for certain low-risk clearing activities”. 667 The NV Act is to be repealed on the commencement of s 3 of the Local Land Services Amendment Act 2016 which is cognate with the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016. 668 Under s 12 of the NV Act , native vegetation must not be cleared except in accordance with development consent from the appropriate regulatory authority or a Property Vegetation Plan (PVP). 669 Division 3 of the Act sets out the activities which are permitted to be carried out without the authority conferred by a development consent or PVP that do not constitute the clearing of native vegetation. Permitted activities under the provisions of ss 22–24 include: routine agricultural management activities; continuation of existing farming activities; and sustainable grazing. 662 The NV Act does not apply to the following land under s 5(1)(a)–(d): National park estate and other conservation areas; State forestry land; urban areas; and, biodiversity certified land within the meaning of Pt 7AA of the Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995. 663 Section 3 of the NV Act states that its objects are “in accordance with the principles of ecologically sustainable development”. For a detailed account of “economic sustainable development” see: International Union for the Conservation of Nature (1980) “World conservation strategy: living resource conservation for sustainable development”; Australian Government Publishing Service (1983), National conservation strategy for Australia: living resource conservation for sustainable development ; and, Bates, above n 38, pp 117–140. 664 NV Act , s 3. The NV Act replaced the Native Vegetation Conservation Act 1997 which, for the first time in NSW brought the clearing of native vegetation under one legislative framework. 665 See www.legislation.nsw.gov.au/acts/2003-103.pdf , accessed 8 June 2017. The apparent reason for this delay in the commencement of the NV Act was “in finalising the draft Native Vegetation Regulations [sic] … to accompany the Act”: Environmental Defenders Office NSW, above n 286, p 166. 666 The Native Vegetation Regulation 2013 replaced the Native Vegetation Regulation 2005 on 23 September 2013, see cll 2, 64 of the 2013 regulation. 667 NSW Office of Environment and Heritage at www.environment.nsw.gov.au/vegetation/ , accessed 16 May 2017. 668 The Local Land Services Amendment Act 2016, No 64 of 2016, was assented to on 23 November 2016 and commences on proclamation. At the time of publication, it had not commenced. See www.legislation.nsw.gov.au/acts/2016-64.pdf. 669 Section 12(1)(b) of the NV Act . Part 4 of the Act defines and describes a Property Vegetation Plan (PVP). A PVP is a legally-binding agreement entered voluntarily by the landholder with a Local Land Service, which provides advice and assistance to landholders on native vegetation management. According to the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage (at www.environment.nsw.gov.au/vegetation/pvp.htm , accessed 16 May 2017), a PVP may be obtained for a number of reasons, including: • to obtain clearing approval, and to secure any offsets associated with that clearing • to confirm that native vegetation on a property is regrowth, providing a landholder with assurance that they will not need future clearing approval • to change the regrowth date of native vegetation to an earlier date, provided that landholders can demonstrate a history of rotational farming practices on the land • to confirm whether existing rotational farming, grazing or cultivation practices meet the definitions of these in the Act so that clearing approval will not be required • applying for native vegetation incentive funding • to protect native vegetation for future generations.