2. Setting the Scene

2.1 Clarence Valley overview

Clarence Valley is the largest LGA on the North Coast and encompasses an area of 10,441km2. Approximately 69% of the LGA is part of an RU or rural zone, with a significant portion of the LGA also consisting of bushland, national park or drinking water catchments, including a further 6% of conservation (previously known as “environmental”) zones that are subject to this Strategy process.

Grafton was the first city on the North Coast and remains a significant regional centre. Other important town centres include Maclean and Yamba, as well as smaller townships along Clarence River, along the coast and throughout the hinterland.

The upgraded Pacific Highway links the towns and industries of the Clarence Valley with the Far North Coast and the substantial population base of Southeast Queensland. The standard gauge rail link between Brisbane and Sydney passes through Grafton and the Clarence Valley Regional Airport provides direct flights to Sydney and beyond. facilitator

69%

of Clarence Valley land is within a Rural “RU” zone

6%

of Clarence Valley land is within a Conservation “C” zone

1 2019/2020 ID Economy Full-time equivalent employment by industry sector https://economy.id.com.au/clarence-valley/employment-by-industry-fte - accessed 28 August 2021

Rural economy

As a major component of the Clarence Valley’s rural lands, the agriculture, forestry and fishing industry employs more than 1,300 people1 and more than 3,800 people are employed in the agri-food economy2. This sector is also the largest export sector in the LGA, close to double the next sector (manufacturing) and having almost doubled in value since 2014/15 – including an almost tripling of agricultural exports3 .

While forestry, sugarcane, beef, dairy and aquaculture have long been established, emerging industries such as berries, macadamia nuts, as well as specialist food and vegetables are also developing. Added value is being garnered through a trend of consumers wanting to know where and how food has been produced, with premiums placed on sustainability, social benefits, local connection and history.

7.8%

of Clarence Valley employment is in agriculture, forestry and fishing in 2019/20

26%

of all Clarence Valley exports ($216M) in agriculture, forestry and fishing in 2019/20

2 Clarence Valley Local Strategic Planning Statement (2020) 3 Total exports by industry sector - https://economy.id.com.au/clarence-valley/exports-by-industry accessed 10 November 2021

Agricultural production

An “Agricultural Census”, which is undertaken every five years, was last undertaken in 2016 (and again in 2021 though no data has been released at the time of writing). This means that whilst the latest consistent / comparable LGA level data is becoming dated (being from the 2015/2016 census period and published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) in 2017), it can still provide an indication of the existing situation.

According to the 2015/16 agricultural census, the Clarence Valley has a combined agricultural gross value product of approximately $119.8 million, having doubled over the previous 10 years. This accounts for 22.8% of the Northern Rivers sub-region and makes the Clarence Valley the biggest individual contributor to gross value product for agriculture in the area.

Beef was the largest agricultural industry in the LGA at the time, totaling $52 million in gross value product, followed by sugarcane at $37 million and dairy production at $12 million. Similar figures are identified in more recent data released by DPI4, although the value of broadacre crops - sugarcane has increased to almost $43 million.

Emerging/ growth industries include berry and nut production

Traditional industries, including sugarcane and beef remain strong

4 DPI Agriculture Industry Snapshot for Planning Northern Rivers Sub Region – August 2020 Since 20015, the output value of the ANZSIC economic sector of agriculture, fishing and forestry has grown from $217 to $362 million. Within the broader economy, this sector has shown the second highest growth (excluding construction), only being outperformed by the health care and social assistance sector as highlighted in Figure 2. This long-term economic performance highlights the importance of agricultural activities and the need for planning for rural lands.

Figure 2: Economic sector performance - 2000/01 to 2019/20 ($ millions)

Within the subset industry sectors within agriculture, forestry and fishing, there has been recent growth in both the areas of agriculture and forestry / logging. Agriculture has been the largest sector throughout this period, continuing to grow across each period and

5 According to Council’s Economy ID – Accessed 10 November 2021

recently within the most recent period to 2019/2020. Forestry and logging has also been a strong component of the overall sector, albeit has had some more muted economic performance across the period before seeing more substantial growth in the most recent period. The relative performance of the sub-sector over the past 20 years is shown in Figure 3.

$200 $180

$160 $140 $120 $100 $80 $60 $40 $20 $0

2000/01 2005/06 2010/11 2015/16 2019/20

Agriculture

Forestry and Logging

Support Services

Aquaculture

Fishing, Hunting & Trapping

Figure 3: Sub-sector economic performance - 00/01 to 19/20 ($ millions)

It is acknowledged that different industries have more recent valuations and production levels / values can vary from year to year. Further details regarding relative growth in industries and their value within the region and across NSW is also provided in Section 2.3. Further details of various industries are also discussed within the context of key issues, outcomes and actions throughout this document.

Rural land use

The use of rural land is generally not actively monitored, and the extent of uses can be difficult to quality in detail at the current day. However, past mapping does provide an indication of the extent and types of uses that occur across the Clarence Valley. The “Land Use in Rural Lands” shown at Figure 5 overleaf provides an indication of historical uses based on NSW Department of Land and Water Conservation mapping undertaken in the late 1990’s.

This map highlights the extensive areas of grazing, forestry and conservation / native vegetation uses within the areas subject to the Rural Lands Strategy area, as also shown in the graph below.

Intensive Animal Production

Recreation and Culture Manufacturing and Industrial Urban Residential Mining and Quarries Infrastructure and Utilities Farm buildings and infrastructure Horticulture Rural Residential Cropping Nature Park or Nature Reserve Sugar Waterway, Reservoirs Forestry Other conservation / native veg

Grazing pastures

22

91

192

203

486

896

1,253 1,384

6,260 6,389 9,461 10,417 23,833

206,499 226,328

280,999

- 100,000 200,000 300,000

Figure 4: Extent of rural land by use (based on DLWC 1997 mapping)

Figure 5: Land use in rural areas across the Clarence Valley Figure 5: Rurals lands area by use type

Population growth

Recent forecasts (May 2021) indicate the Clarence Valley LGA is set to grow to 60,735 residents by 2041, which equates to 17.65% growth over the next 20 years (up from 53,110 in 2021). Key growth areas are expected in the Wooli-TucabiaUlmarra, Angourie-Yamba and GulmarradTownsend areas, though all planning areas are expected to experience growth over this time. The LGA also has an aging population, with the largest age brackets of growth anticipated in the 70+ aged age groups6 .

5,000 4,500 4,000 3,500 3,000 2,500 2,000 1,500

1,000 500 0 2021 2031 2041

0 to 4

5 to 9 10 to 14 15 to 19

20 to 24 25 to 29 30 to 34 35 to 39 40 to 44 45 to 49 50 to 54 55 to 59 60 to 64 65 to 69 70 to 74 75 to 79 80 to 84 85 and over

Figure 6: Projected population growth by age cohort

6 ID Population Forecast results- https://forecast.id.com.au/clarence-valley/population-agestructure?WebID=10 accessed 28 August 2021 7 See https://www.realestateinvestar.com.au/Property/nsw/clarence+valley – accessed 11

November 21

Housing and land values

While the Clarence Valley enjoys lower median house and rental market prices than some surrounding council areas, house prices have still increased significantly in recent years, from a median house price of less than $320,000 in 2014 to around $485,000 at the current time, including 17.7% growth over the last two years7. Notably, growth in surrounding local government areas has typically been much higher (e.g. Richmond Valley LGA has increased by 19.1%, Coffs Harbour by 23%, Ballina by 32.8% and Byron Shire 60%), suggesting that there may continue to be increasing price pressures on land in the area into the foreseeable future.

This increase in land value also extends to rural lands, with a combination of increasing land value for agricultural pursuits being exacerbated by the growing popularity of lifestyle farms and appetite for sea / tree-change opportunities this has been highlighted in the annual Rural Bank – Australian Farmland Values 2021 report8 , and as shown in the historical graph below for NSW9 .

8 From ruralbank.com.au – accessed 11 November 21 9 Rural Bank – Australian Farmland Values (2021)

Figure 7: Rural land price increases

Increases have anecdotally increased into 2021, particularly as a consequence of the current pandemic, and placing greater pressure on the balance between farm viability and entry for new participants.

2.2 Cultural land context

Clarence Valley is the traditional lands of the Bundjalung, Gumbaynggirr and Yaegl nations. Intimate knowledge of the land and environment has allowed these traditional owners to manage and utilise the resources and food available within their land for many millennia.

There are a large number of Local Aboriginal Land Councils (LALC) whose boundaries cross into, or are within, the Clarence Valley LGA as shown in Figure 8. These include Armidale, Baryulgil, Birrigan Gargle, Bogal, Coffs Harbour, Dorrigo Plateau, Glen Innes, Grafton Ngerrie, Jana Ngalee, Jubullum and Yaegl LALCs.

Figure 8: Boundaries of Local Aboriginal Land Councils

As of July 2021, there are a number of Native Title claims over areas of rural land included in this Strategy. A successfully determined Native Title claim recognises that traditional owners have the right to hunt, fish, camp, gather natural resources and practice natural laws and customs on the land. It also protects sacred sites and means that government agencies which oversee land and water use may need to negotiate with Native Title holders in the future.

Determined Native Title Claims as identified through the nativetitle.org.au website (accessed 22 July 2021) include:

o Bandjalang Aboriginal Corporation (three claims determined with Native Title existing in part of determination area and includes areas north of Grafton) o Ngullingah Jugun (Our Country) Aboriginal Corporation (two claims determined with Native Title existing in part of determination area and includes areas primarily north-west of Grafton) o Yaegl Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation (three claims determined with Native Title existing in part of two determination areas and the entire third determination area and includes areas primarily east of Grafton)

Council has also undertaken, or in the process of undertaking, a number of notable projects associated with identifying and recognising important Aboriginal lands across the rural landscape. These include cultural mapping projects and working with Aboriginal communities in the process of recovery from the 2019/2020 bushfire season.

2.3 Regional agricultural context

The Clarence Valley is one of seven LGAs within the Northern Rivers DPI agricultural sub-region, with all six other LGAs being located to the north. Of these, the Clarence Valley has the greatest value in agricultural production (see Figure 9), primarily due to the extent of rural lands within the Clarence Valley LGA and the existence of longestablished industries on these rural lands.

Figure 9: Agricultural value by LGA (Northern Rivers sub-region)

By commodity type, key industries from a regional perspective are beef, sugarcane and dairy. Sugarcane is also a significant contributor in NSW, with the Clarence, Richmond and Tweed areas being the only sugarcane production areas within the State. The value of Clarence

Valley’s agricultural production in relation to the Northern Rivers sub region and NSW in 2015/16 is outlined in Table 1.

10

Table 1: Comparative value of agricultural commodities

Commodity Group Clarence Valley Northern Rivers Clarence Valley Value $M % of as a proportion NR of NSW Total production % of Total

Value $M % of NSW Total

Beef $52 37% $142 6% 2%

Sugarcane $37 52% $72 95.4% 50%

Dairy

Fruit and nuts $12 19% $62 10% 2%

$6 6% $95 17% 1%

Nursery, cut flower and turf $4 8% $47 16% 1%

As noted earlier, it is acknowledged that different industries have more recent valuations and production levels / values can vary from year to year. Further details of various industries are also discussed within the context of key issues, outcomes and actions throughout this document.

Council approaches to agriculture

Across the region there are also differing approaches from respective councils to agriculture. Within the context of Clarence Valley Council, there is no centralised officer or position that is associated with

10 See DPI Agriculture Industry Snapshot for Planning - Northern Rivers Sub Region - August 2020 with figures based on ABS Value of Agricultural Commodities Produced, Australia–2015-16 agricultural activities. Nonetheless, Council’s LSPS has a clear intent to “Protect agricultural land and increase opportunities for access to locally produced fresh food and economic growth” (Priority 13). There are also identified directions within the context of rural / hinterland tourism and the desire for biodiversity protection across the rural lands network.

Other councils in the region have identified the need for a focus on rural land activities, and particularly to assist small farm productivity and sustainability. Examples include:

o Tweed “Sustainable Agriculture Program” that works with local landholders, community groups, State agencies, and research organisations to improve the viability and environmental capacity of the Tweed’s farmland. This includes education programs, on-ground research and demonstration projects, policy work and advocacy. o Byron Council offers a free onsite farm consultation through their Agricultural Extension Officer alongside guides and toolkits for farmers in the area, as well as ongoing coordination of workshops, field days, farming events and grant opportunities.

Discussions with industry, not-for-profits and State agencies, as further discussed throughout this Background Paper, highlight the benefits of this direct connection to these councils. This creates greater opportunities for leveraging of resources given that many issues and sectors cross LGA boundaries.