Planning laws stump farmers
Lot 110 Cape Tribulation Road was purchased by the Daintree conservation group with hope of revegetating and farming environment credits. Credit: Rainforest Rescue
Landholders say Douglas Shire farmers looking to transition from agriculture or diversify their livelihood could be stopped by antiquated planning laws.
Rainforest Rescue (RR), a conservation group in the Daintree, recently purchased a 75 acre abandoned cane farm in the hopes of revegetating the site and eventually harvest carbon and biodiversity credits.
However, works at 110 Cape Tribulation Road were halted earlier this year when workers realised plans were not allowed under existing planning schemes.
The Mossman site is part of huge swathes of shire land currently zoned as “rural” and reserved for agriculture which require costly development application and public consultation to change.
RR CEO Branden Barber said the rules no longer reflect the economic reality in the region.
“People are being forced by macro circumstances to change their way of living and it’s obviously a very difficult and sensitive subject,” he said.
But you only have to drive up from Port Douglas to Mossman to see a number of for sale signs up along the highway there.
“I think it’s a valid concern for landowners, farmers in particular, if I’m no longer getting a return on the sugarcane, what do I do next?”
For landholders hoping to diversify their property or sell their farm, current planning laws could make this difficult.
One increasingly popular in other parts of the Far North is to sell off or re-purpose unproductive land to generate environmental credits.
Under the 2018 planning scheme, large-scale revegetation projects were not possible in rural zoned land because this would be interpreted as a permanent plantation, one of many prohibited uses.
A spokesman for the Douglas Shire Council said these conditions were to protect the total land available for agriculture.
“Council has not reviewed carbon or biodiversity credits as an alternative form of agriculture within the planning scheme,” the spokesman said.
“Preserving agricultural land supports the viability of local industries. The DA process, mandated by the state, ensures proposed changes are properly assessed and involves significant council time and resources required to assess these impacts.”
The Mossman Mill crushed its last season of cane more than two years ago. Credit: Cairns Post
Cane production in the region has faced a number of existential threats in recent years.
Since 2019, $48m in government funding was provided to save the Mossman Mill that eventually entered voluntary administration and crushed cane for the final time two years ago.
In response, the state government has agreed to stump up $6m to transport cane to Gordonvale for the next five years.
Mr Barber said he didn’t want to take away agricultural land, but landholders needed options.
“We’re not trying to inject restoration and biodiversity and carbon farming into agriculture as a primary practice,” he said.
“But there’s some land that should never have been turned into agriculture.
“What needs to change is land that’s marginal and underproductive should be allowed to be restored because the ecological values far outweigh a loss for agriculture and you can still get to see these positive economic returns.”
Tim Little for Cairns Post.
This article was originally published as “Planning laws stump farmers” on 7th August 2025, by Cairns Post. Note, to view the original article requires a paid subscription.
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