What action is the Commonwealth taking to stop unregulated land clearing.

The honourable member would be well aware that regulation of land clearing is a State/Territory responsibility.

The Howard Government is however concerned about the level of land clearing in Australia and has taken positive action to address this important issue.

The Bushcare Program of the Natural Heritage Trust, an initiative of this Government, is the largest investment in the sustainable management of Australia's native vegetation ever made by an Australian Government. The goal of Bushcare is the reversal of the long term trend of native vegetation decline in Australia through funding on-ground projects and providing incentives to assist farmers and other landholders to reduce land clearing and increase revegetation; to catalyse institutional reform; and to assist communities at local and regional levels to improve native vegetation management. In signing the Natural Heritage Trust Partnership Agreements all State and Territory Governments made a commitment to contribute to that national goal.

A further key initiative of the current Government is the National Framework for the Management and Monitoring of Australia's Native Vegetation which was endorsed by the Australia and New Zealand Environment and Conservation Council at its meeting in December 1999. The Framework provides a vehicle to implement the commitment made by the Commonwealth and State/Territory Governments to reverse the long-term decline in the quality and extent of Australia's vegetation cover by June 2001. Interim work plans have also been prepared by all jurisdictions as the principle means of implementing the National Framework in a consistent and coherent manner.

This is a major step forward in the protection of Australia's native vegetation. Regulation of land clearing is only one aspect of a best-practice framework for managing native vegetation. Through Bushcare and the Natural Heritage Trust, the Commonwealth is working with landholders, communities, industry and all tiers of government to develop more effective and practical incentives for the conservation of native vegetation. For example, I have to date approved Bushcare funding of $20m in Queensland and $15m in New South Wales for conserving remnant native vegetation and enhancing well-planned revegetation efforts. The Commonwealth is also investing directly in the conservation of high priority native vegetation throughout Australia.