A NEW South Wales farmer who starved himself to protest laws preventing him from clearing his own land has grilled former Federal environment minister Dr David Kemp over why the legislation was enacted.

Peter Spencer is locked in a three-week Federal Court property rights hearing in Sydney to fight for compensation for his bankrupt sheep farming business from the Federal and NSW governments.

He made headlines in 2010 when he was hospitalised after a 52-day hunger strike protest on his property near Cooma.

Dr Kemp was questioned over the Commonwealth's commitment to achieve carbon emission reduction levels set out by the Kyoto Protocol which led to a change in legislation.

He agreed the reduction of land clearing, especially in NSW and Queensland, was seen as the most important aspect of the scheme.

"The government I was associated with was determined to reach the targets and believed it had in place the policies to reach those targets," he said.

Mr Spencer has argued the Commonwealth should not be allowed to profit, through carbon offset rights, from restrictions on clearing land it does not own without properly compensating the landowner.

He blames the introduction of state laws which made it illegal for him to clear about 80% of his land for destroying his now-defunct farming business.

Dr Kemp agreed Australia was falling behind in 2001 and 2002 of its target to keep annual emissions to 108% of 1990 levels.

The NSW Native Vegetation Act was enacted in 2003, requiring landholders to gain a permit before clearing any native vegetation on their property.

View original post here:
Katter flies to hungry farmer's side in land rights case

Land clearing with a brush hog
Some land clearing with a brush hog in South Texas to show what the equipment is capable of. http://www.2guysandagoat.com/pasture/

By: ger bgf

View original post here:
Land clearing with a brush hog - Video

December 5, 2014

Orang asli feel marginalised as land is cleared for vegetable farming and illegal foreign workers brought in.

GUA MUSANG: Orang Asli living in several villages in Lojing claim that the climate at the highlands was no longer cool due to serious land-clearing.

One of the orang asli, Basri Tumpang, 33, said temperatures in Lojing had gone up over the last 10 years as the land had been cleared for vegetable farming.

He also claimed that the land was cleared illegally and operators were using illegal foreign labour.

Those of us who live here feel increasingly marginalised as most of our land has been invaded by vegetable farmers, he told Bernama here.

Sabri Limus, 58, said farming activities could also be seen along the roadsides in the area.

There is no more empty land left after it has been filled with vegetable farms even along the roadside and river reserve land he said.

Meanwhile, Galas state assemblyman Ab Aziz Yusof said there were more than 120 operators in Lojing and it was increasingly difficult to contain the situation.

I have previously sent a number of notices to the related authorities to survey the farming area so it does not increase the risk of unwanted incidents, especially mudslides, he said.

Read the original here:
Another Camerons in the making

Queensland MP Bob Katter has said NSW farmer Peter Spencer's court case is nationally important.

The long-running Federal Court case of southern NSW farmer Peter Spencer strikes at the heart of land ownership in Australia, Queensland federal MP Bob Katter says.

Mr Katter has flown to Sydney to support Mr Spencer's legal case against the Commonwealth and the NSW government over land-clearing laws.

He argues restrictions imposed on the clearing of vegetation on his farm constitutes an acquisition of his property.

Speaking outside the court on Thursday, Mr Katter told reporters that the case, which was launched in 2007, was one of the most important in Australia's history.

"Today the question is: who owns the land, the crown or the people?

"If we don't own our own land and a bunch of half-witted politicians own our land, than God help us all.

"This is why I have tracked across Australia to support Peter."

It comes more than four years after Mr Spencer staged a 52-day hunger strike in 2009 and 2010 on a suspended platform on his former property at Shannons Flat, near Cooma.

The leader of Katter's Australian Party said "millions of dollars worth of timber and timber rights" had been taken off Mr Spencer without compensation.

See the article here:
Katter backs Spencer, asks who owns land

Atop a mountain of wood chips, Eric Vaccarello pointed down at the newest arrival to his sprawling plant. A dump truck, stacked full with junked wooden pallets, rolled up to one of the several chippers on site.

All of that, said Mr. Vaccarallo, gesturing toward the spraying wood chips, will be made into a product.

Mr. Vaccarello has worked for two decades to develop more convenient ways to reuse wood waste such as trees, downed branches or other trashed products that would otherwise be burned or left to rot. In the late 1990s, he started two companies: one that specializes in land clearing, and one that cuts up and recycles wood waste.

But its been in the last five years during the boom in Marcellus Shale gas productionthat his business has taken off. His employees have gone from 25 to 100. His processing site in North Fayette has expanded to fill all 35acresof land he owns alongside Route 22.And the mounds of clay-red, light brown and black mulch have swelled so much he drives his pickup truck to the top for fun.

The impact of increased natural gas production in the region has rippled out to local businesses such as restaurants, gas stations and rental homes.

Mr. Vaccarellos ventures which includethetwo companies, Land Clearing Specialists Inc. and Wood Waste Recycling, as well as a recent start-up,Absolute Reclamation Services are positioned for a windfall because they can help advance gas production while promoting environmentally friendly practices, he said.

For starters, he provides services to cover the three steps necessary to recycle a patch of land. Trees and shrubbery cleared by the land clearing specialists feed the wood waste recycling business, which then provides the site remediation service with mulch and other products to reclaim the land.

He employs this process to prepare drilling sites for clients such as Consol Energy, Range Resources and MarkWest Energy Partners Inc. histhree biggest clients in the gas industry. Last week at the Pittsburgh International Airport, one of his teams had begun clearing way for another drilling pad for Consol, while another seeded and mulched at a finished site.

About half of the 600 total jobs finished by his land clearing company in the last year came from the gas industry and mostly involveddrilling sites that are usually about 15 acres and take two weeks to clear.

Butas he also works with railroad companies to make way for additional tracks and with housing companies to clear for more homes,Mr. Vaccarellocontends that he has seen firsthand how shale development has reached intosupporting industries.

See the article here:
Marcellus Shale gas boom means more ... mulch?

Atop a mountain of wood chips, Eric Vaccarello pointed down at the newest arrival to his sprawling plant. A dump truck, stacked full with junked wooden pallets, rolled up to one of the several chippers on site.

All of that, said Mr. Vaccarallo, gesturing toward the spraying wood chips, will be made into a product.

Mr. Vaccarello has worked for two decades to develop more convenient ways to reuse wood waste such as trees, downed branches or other trashed products that would otherwise be burned or left to rot. In the late 1990s, he started two companies: one that specializes in land clearing, and one that cuts up and recycles wood waste.

But its been in the last five years during the boom in Marcellus Shale gas productionthat his business has taken off. His employees have gone from 25 to 100. His processing site in North Fayette has expanded to fill all 35acresof land he owns alongside Route 22.And the mounds of clay-red, light brown and black mulch have swelled so much he drives his pickup truck to the top for fun.

The impact of increased natural gas production in the region has rippled out to local businesses such as restaurants, gas stations and rental homes.

Mr. Vaccarellos ventures which includethetwo companies, Land Clearing Specialists Inc. and Wood Waste Recycling, as well as a recent start-up,Absolute Reclamation Services are positioned for a windfall because they can help advance gas production while promoting environmentally friendly practices, he said.

For starters, he provides services to cover the three steps necessary to recycle a patch of land. Trees and shrubbery cleared by the landscape specialists feed the wood waste recycling business, which then provides the site remediation service with mulch and other products to reclaim the land.

He employs this process to prepare drilling sites for clients such as Consol Energy, Range Resources and MarkWest Energy Partners Inc. histhree biggest clients in the gas industry. Last week at the Pittsburgh International Airport, one of his teams had begun clearing way for another drilling pad for Consol, while another seeded and mulched at a finished site.

About half of the 600 total jobs finished by his land clearing company in the last year came from the gas industry and mostly involveddrilling sites that are usually about 15 acres and take two weeks to clear.

Butas he also works with railroad companies to make way for additional tracks and with housing companies to clear for more homes,Mr. Vaccarellocontends that he has seen firsthand how shale development has reached intosupporting industries.

Read this article:
Gas boom means more ... mulch?

First day of land clearing
Mr. Stewart on the Bush hog.

By: geo504

Original post:
First day of land clearing - Video

floating excavator amphibious swamp Komatsu PC200 8 SLF di Sangatta Kalimantan (part 1)
FLOATING EXCAVATOR is an Amphibious Excavator that can travel and work safely on soft terrain such as swamp, wet land and shallow water. It can float in the water like a boat.

By: abdul lathif

Read more:
floating excavator amphibious swamp Komatsu PC200 8 SLF di Sangatta Kalimantan (part 1) - Video

Organic Land Clearing Before and After
This one acre parcel was cleared using the latest forestry technology. All of the trees where chipped up into mulch and left on the property. None of the roo...

By: Kashif Battla

Visit link:
Organic Land Clearing Before and After - Video

These elections will see opposition parties hoping to cash in on Swapos shortcomings.

Safe as house: Despite widespread dissatisfaction, Swapo supporters, pictured here during a campaign rally in Windhoek, look set to deliver another resounding victory to the ruling party. Photo: Jordaania Andima/AFP

Swapos overwhelming majority could suffer in the Namibian elections scheduled for Friday November 28, in the wake of a rebellion among its youth wing members over the sensitive issue of land.

The backlash started when the ruling party suspended its youth league spokesperson, Job Amupanda, after he had grabbed land in one of Windhoeks upmarket suburbs.

Amupanda moved on to a vacant lot in Kleine Kuppe, which he named Erf 2014, and started clearing the ground. He was protesting against the Windhoek city councils allocation of plots to well-off individuals at discounted prices.

Citing affirmative land repositioning, he also mobilised large numbers of landless people to apply to the council for plots, warning that there would be unrest unless they received a favourable response.

Last week, hundreds of people gathered at the councils offices to submit 14000 applications for land. The municipality was given a July 2015 deadline to respond.

Amupanda, a fan of Economic Freedom Fighters leader Julius Malema, has captured the hearts of many landless Namibians with his stance.

This land uproar comes after the Windhoek council recently sold a plot to the Big Brother Africa 2013 winner, Dillish Mathews, at a discount.

Discounts for family Another plot valued at R8-million was sold to the son of the citys mayor, Agnes Kafula, for R5-million last year. It has also been reported by the Namibian that Kafula sold herself a N$1-million plot in Kleine Kuppe for only N$600000.

View original post here:
Land scandal may unsettle Namibia poll