Farmers will no longer be prosecuted under draconian land clearing laws which had many facing fines of up to $1 million.

After months of campaigning by The Ben Fordham Show to provide relief to farmers prosecuted for clearing their own land, there has been a breakthrough.

NSW Environment Minister Matt Kean and Agriculture Minister Adam Marshall have announced anyone who is being investigated under the old laws will be cleared.

Under old laws, farmers had to acquire a permit to cut down bush on their own land, but for every hectare of land cleared farmers were forbidden from touching four hectares of their own land.

The Native Vegetation Act was repealed in 2017 to introduce fairer legislation, but farmers were still being prosecuted under the old law.

NSW Environment Minister Matt Kean visited these farmers and has decided the new laws will now be applied retrospectively.

Minister Kean tells Ben Fordham an audit process will begin to determine which of the 164 families under investigation will be cleared.

“We’re trying to give farmers as much flexibility as possible to make their land productive.”

Walgett farmer Cam Rowntree tells Ben he is happy with the news.

“It sounds like there’s a light at the end of the tunnel for the first time in 24 years.”

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