❓ The Minister for Lands provides an update on the pastoral lease renewal process, highlighting the successful renewal of 435 out of 437 eligible leases and future plans for diversification opportunities within the pastoral industry. The Minister also contrasts the government's supportive approach with the opposition's perceived negative stance.
AnsweredQoN 569Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
PASTORAL LEASE RENEWAL PROCESS
569. Ms W.M. DUNCAN to the
Minister for Lands:
Can the minister please update the
house on the pastoral lease renewal process?
569. Ms W.M. DUNCAN to the
Minister for Lands:
Can the minister please update the
house on the pastoral lease renewal process?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for Kalgoorlie
very much for the question. The member has significant representation, and will
continue to do so if the boundary changes stick, for a lot of pastoral areas in
Western Australia. What happened on 1 July this year was historic and something
that is very unlikely to occur again: all the pastoral leases in Western Australia
came up for renewal. I am extremely pleased with the process. It has taken some
time—bear in mind that this started about a decade ago—and has
worked towards this particular moment when we were able to renew 435 of the 437
pastoral leases eligible for renewal. They met a very high level of compliance
and we were able to sign them over. I am really pleased with that outcome. Only
two leases were not renewed. One was a deceased estate and none of the
relatives wanted to take on the lease; obviously, that is a valid reason for
nonrenewal. There was another leaseholder who did not choose to seek renewal.
Of the 437 eligible pastoral leases, we were able to renew 435 leases.
I would like to pay tribute to all
those people in the Department of Lands, Landgate, the Pastoralists and
Graziers Association and the Pastoral Lands Board with whom we have engaged. A
number of organisations have played a significant role in getting to the point
at which we were able to renew those pastoral leases and give those
pastoralists certainty about what their futures involve. They are now able to
get on with business. Interestingly, a number of transactions are now coming
onto my table as a result of pastoralists having that certainty going forward.
I would also like to pay tribute to the members for Kalgoorlie and North West
Central, who played a role under the previous Minister for Lands in working
through some of the challenges with pastoralists to achieve the outcomes that
we have come to at this point. That security is now there. Obviously, the fact
that there has been very little media around this issue means that the process
has gone extremely smoothly.
What is next? On a number of
occasions I have talked about the restrictive nature of pastoral leases and the
opportunities for pastoralists to diversify and seek alternative forms of
income. For that reason, we are working through legislative change to achieve
that. That is a discussion we can now put to the forefront, and we are. We are
engaging with the pastoral industry on the mechanisms around that and looking
at the different tenure arrangements and rollover provisions to give them
security. I know it is not something on which we have full support from the
opposite side of the chamber. The member for Gosnells has made known that he
would have liked to have weeded out a number of these pastoral leases. This
side of the chamber is not going to weed out pastoralists; this side of the
chamber is going to support the industry, and we have done that by a very, very
smooth renewal process. We will continue to advocate for diversification
opportunities for that sector, which is so important to regional Western Australia.
very much for the question. The member has significant representation, and will
continue to do so if the boundary changes stick, for a lot of pastoral areas in
Western Australia. What happened on 1 July this year was historic and something
that is very unlikely to occur again: all the pastoral leases in Western Australia
came up for renewal. I am extremely pleased with the process. It has taken some
time—bear in mind that this started about a decade ago—and has
worked towards this particular moment when we were able to renew 435 of the 437
pastoral leases eligible for renewal. They met a very high level of compliance
and we were able to sign them over. I am really pleased with that outcome. Only
two leases were not renewed. One was a deceased estate and none of the
relatives wanted to take on the lease; obviously, that is a valid reason for
nonrenewal. There was another leaseholder who did not choose to seek renewal.
Of the 437 eligible pastoral leases, we were able to renew 435 leases.
I would like to pay tribute to all
those people in the Department of Lands, Landgate, the Pastoralists and
Graziers Association and the Pastoral Lands Board with whom we have engaged. A
number of organisations have played a significant role in getting to the point
at which we were able to renew those pastoral leases and give those
pastoralists certainty about what their futures involve. They are now able to
get on with business. Interestingly, a number of transactions are now coming
onto my table as a result of pastoralists having that certainty going forward.
I would also like to pay tribute to the members for Kalgoorlie and North West
Central, who played a role under the previous Minister for Lands in working
through some of the challenges with pastoralists to achieve the outcomes that
we have come to at this point. That security is now there. Obviously, the fact
that there has been very little media around this issue means that the process
has gone extremely smoothly.
What is next? On a number of
occasions I have talked about the restrictive nature of pastoral leases and the
opportunities for pastoralists to diversify and seek alternative forms of
income. For that reason, we are working through legislative change to achieve
that. That is a discussion we can now put to the forefront, and we are. We are
engaging with the pastoral industry on the mechanisms around that and looking
at the different tenure arrangements and rollover provisions to give them
security. I know it is not something on which we have full support from the
opposite side of the chamber. The member for Gosnells has made known that he
would have liked to have weeded out a number of these pastoral leases. This
side of the chamber is not going to weed out pastoralists; this side of the
chamber is going to support the industry, and we have done that by a very, very
smooth renewal process. We will continue to advocate for diversification
opportunities for that sector, which is so important to regional Western Australia.
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