The ACT Government has announced progress towards resolving the longstanding issue of land tenure for Majura Valley farmers.
Landholders’ 99-year leases expired 20 years ago; since then, farmers have clung on by their fingertips to short-term leases, knowing that if the ACT Government wanted their land, they would have to vacate within three months.
The farmers accepted the government’s offer of a 25-year lease in October 2022. The government promised to work with Defence to degazette blocks of land, changing their status from National Land to Territory Land at no cost. When the process was begun in late 2022, it was expected to be completed in a few months; but the blocks had not been degazetted more than a year later, leaving farmers desperate. At the start of this year, the Canberra Liberals announced that they would support the farmers in their “long-running battle for lease certainty”.
On Friday, ACT planning minister Chris Steel reiterated the government’s commitment to provide 25-year leases, with no withdrawal clauses.
“The no withdrawal clause is significant because this means the farmers can continue to use their land, with certainty, for the full 25-year term of the proposed future leases,” Mr Steel said.
However, Mr Steel remarked that the land might be needed for development after the 25-year period “to support the long term industrial and employment needs of the Territory, subject to further investigation to finalise its suitability for this purpose”.
The government will finalise negotiations with the Commonwealth to transfer the national land portion of the split blocks to the ACT Government.
The government might need to introduce legislation next term to issue new leases to the farmers.
“Having been planning minister for a period of nine months, I acknowledge that this issue has been going on for almost 20 years, and that it needed to be resolved as soon as possible,” Mr Steel said.
“However, we needed to be sure that any changes to land tenure would have the right legal effect for both the farmers and the Government.”
Paul Keir, fifth-generation farmer and chairman of the Majura Valley Landcare Group, expressed cautious optimism.
“The farmers are breathing a little easier tonight. However, the only thing in the back of our minds is that we have heard this before, with the previous offer from [then-planning minister] Mick Gentleman two years ago. I have also been contacted by the Greens, and they explained to me that this statement has cabinet approval, so it will happen.
“So, in summary, we are all pleased with what has been stated today, before the up-coming election and the level of commitment announced – but as a community of families and farmers, we sure hope this lease comes to fruition sooner rather than later, as we can’t take any more false promises, and 20 years is a very, very long time to wait.”
