Queensland farmers rally against laws to curb land clearing

Labor is poised to finally pass the reforms but farmers say the changes will harm the state's agricultural sectoro Sign up to receive the top stories in Australia every day at noonThe Queensland government is expected to pass new land-clearing laws on Tuesday amid fierce protests by farmers on the steps of the state parliament.The laws are an attempt to rein in soaring clearing rates and restore environmental protections that were scrapped in 2013. The Climate Council estimates bushland more than seven times the size of Brisbane - about 1m hectares - was cleared between 2012 and 2016. Continue reading...