BERRIES Australia executive director Rachel Mackenzie drove from Brisbane to address Nambucca Valley Council on the eve of its decision whether to require development applications (DA) for intensive horticulture operations in the region.

Berries Australia is the joint venture of Australian Blueberry Growers Association (ABGA), Strawberries Australia Inc. (SA) and Raspberries and Blackberries Australia Incorporated (RABA).

Ms Mackenzie has led the organisation since 2019.

Her visit follows the appearance of OZGroup CEO James Kellaway at Council in April.

Ms Mackenzie presented her organisation’s concerns regarding the proposed changes under five major points.

“The proposal does not clearly articulate why DAs are needed or how they will solve the perceived issues of land use conflict,” she explained to councillors.

“The issues identified are all managed by existing legislation and are not planning issues.

“No consideration has been given to how the proposal will impact the productive capacity of the region.

“The draft DCP (Development Control Plan) is unimplementable and would open the Council up to expensive litigation.

“For all of the above reasons, the proposal does not meet the conditions of a gateway determination and does not align with state level strategies around rural land.”

Ms Mackenzie said protected cropping – netting and tunnels – is considered best practice as it reduces reliance on chemicals.

“The guts of the issue,” Ms Mackenzie said, is that requiring a DA to install these fixtures as proposed would be unworkable for growers in the Valley.

Ms Mackenzie explained that while Kempsey Shire already requires that intensive horticulture operations apply for a DA, there are “exactly zero blueberry farmers in Kempsey and I think that tells you all you need to know in terms of how this would impact investment in the industry”.

When questioned over the strength of the organisation’s (voluntary code of) best-practice guidelines for berry growers, which includes high standards for water capture, run-off, buffer zones and chemical use, she was forced to admit Berries Australia had little capacity to ensure growers followed the rules.

She was adamant however that existing bodies such as the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) were doing their job.

“I’m not a policeman and I can’t condemn anyone like that but what I do is I report (to the EPA and other relevant authorities) and I have on a number of issues over the years,” she said.

By Ned COWIE