Lobbying by MPs forced government to back off on land-clearing enforcement

Environment department originally wrote to landowners asking them to show why planned clearing was not illegal, but later reversed course Attempts by the federal government to stop potentially unlawful clearing in Queensland were reversed after political intervention, with a highly unusual apology letter sent to every landholder suspected of planning unlawful clearing at the direct request of the minister, documents obtained by the Guardian under FOI laws reveal.In December 2015 and January 2016