Agricultural lands close to Australia`s cities under threat from development plans may be able to be conserved, according to a new discussion paper.
The paper was recently released by the
Centre for Regional and Rural Innovation – Queensland (CRRI-Q), a collaborative research arm of The University of Queensland, Department of Primary Industries and CSIRO.
Co-author Dr Nick Emtage said the discussion paper detailed a collection of planning tools and economic mechanisms gathered from around the world.
They could be used to ensure land surrounding metropolitan areas continued to be used for agricultural production despite the pressures for development into urban or rural residential lots.
“Australian and the USA experience has shown that poorly controlled urban development leads to unnecessary losses in agricultural production,” Dr Emtage said.
“The quality of life is rapidly reduced and the costs of servicing urban sprawl increased,” he said.
“Using some innovative social technology, we might be able conserve agriculturally productive land nested up close to cities.”
In Queensland, the draft SEQ regional plan, while relating mainly to the planning of urban development, has recognised the importance of maintaining open space and agricultural production in the SEQ region.
Dr Emtage said approximately 110,000 ha of land had been rezoned from rural to non-rural uses in the SEQ region alone between 1996 and 2003 according to figures from the Department of Natural Resources and Mines and the Department of Local Government and Planning.
“Architects of the regional plan aim to conserve 80 percent of the land in the region as open space.”
“Almost 60 percent of land in the region currently used for agricultural production, an important part of the character and the charm of the region for residents and visitors alike,” Dr Emtage said.
QUT’s Emeritus Professor Helen Armstrong, lead author of the paper, has listed some of the planning tools that have been traditionally used in Australia, such as zoning regulations, as well as a variety of mechanisms that have been extensively used overseas to address problems of urban sprawl but which are yet to be widely adopted in Australia.
She said the mechanisms that had not been widely used in Australia included those used to compensate rural landholders who are prevented from subdividing their properties or to reduce the rate burden on landholders.
“There are many mechanisms for protecting and developing land, possibly as new forms of green, some of which we’ve used in Australia and many of which we haven’t,” Professor Armstrong said.
“It’s our responsibility to build an intelligent and creative toolkit to deal with the re-zoning decisions that are facing us now and which will face us in the future.”
Dr Emtage said Australia had an opportunity to take advantage of the lessons drawn from North American experiences in which various tools are used to protect agricultural land.
“For decades the SEQ region has had the fastest growing population in Australia, and it wasn’t until the 1990s that the state government, the Brisbane City Council and the other councils surrounding Brisbane have been able to agree to the need for regional planning,” he said.
“There’s now a very clear focus on protecting open space in the region, including agricultural lands.”
“Now that the State government and the councils have made the commitment to developing a comprehensive regional plan they are in the position to put in place integrated packages to ensure that community objectives for maintaining agriculture production in the region are fulfilled.”
CRRI-Q is committed to supporting excellence in rural development and planning. CRRI-Q is currently leading a project on new forms of green with CSIRO, UQ and QDPI-F. CRRI-Q is also developing a series of intensive courses to provide professional training for rural planners. These courses are designed to assist those interested in rural planning to stay abreast of the current trends in rural planning and development issues. Details about the courses will be posted on the CRRI-Q website at www.crriq.edu.au
Media:Dr Nick Emtage (Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, CRRI-Q (07) 3214 2556; Mobile: 0417761590
Email: nick.emtage@uq.edu.au
Dr Emtage will be available for interviews May 26 and 27. A pic is available from UQ Photographic library coordinator Diana Lilley telephone 07 3365 2573.
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