Hill and Beattie Trade Blame While Woodlands 'Holocaust' Accelera tes

[Oquist, Ben (Sen B. Brown)]

Monday, 29 November 1999


Hill and Beattie Trade Blame While Woodlands 'Holocaust' Accelerates


Environment Minister Robert Hill has turned his back on one of the nation's
great current environmental calamities - the destruction of Queensland
woodlands at a rate of 1000 hectares a day, Greens Senator Bob Brown said
today.

Senator Hill avoided answering Senator Brown's call for the Commonwealth to
contribute funding to stop the Queensland clearing.

"Senator Hill is refusing either to intervene directly, using Commonwealth
power to stop the destruction, or give Queensland financial help to do it.
Every day the State and the Commonwealth bicker over this, another 1000
hectares goes west.

"This tragedy underscores the perversity of Senator Hill's new Environment
Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act which ignores native vegetation
clearance while devolving even more powers to the states.

"The Commonwealth has a suite of powers, including corporation laws,
national estate laws and rare and endangered species protection laws which
could be used, but Senator Hill's state rights ideology means the holocaust
goes on", Senator Brown said.

More information: Ben Oquist  02 6277 3170 or  0419 704 095


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Ben Oquist
Greens Senator Bob Brown
Parliament House, Canberra 2600
Australia
+61 2 62773170 ph
+61 2 62773185 fx
www.greens.org.au/bobbrown
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