[Greens-Media] Media Release: Federal Government must save national parks from Premier Newman

[Vandeleur, Monique (Sen L. Waters)]

MEDIA RELEASE
Senator Larissa Waters
Senator for Queensland

Thursday, May 16, 2013

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT MUST SAVE NATIONAL PARKS FROM PREMIER NEWMAN

The federal Environment Minister must stop the Newman Government from allowing cattle grazing and logging in national parks, rather than simply expressing his concern to media, as he has today.

"Instead of opening up national parks for grazing, the Queensland and federal governments need to work together to get fodder to drought-stricken cattle immediately to address this animal welfare crisis," Senator Larissa Waters, Australian Greens environment spokesperson, said.
"This is the latest in a long list of environmental attacks by Campbell Newman, who is also allowing logging in national parks and letting hundreds of hectares of native vegetation be cleared.
"The government now needs to come clean on whether they are still contemplating handing off their environment protection powers to environmental vandals like Premier Newman, or whether they will vote for my amendment to keep federal environment powers in federal hands.
"Campbell Newman is a sign of what would be to come under Tony Abbott and Labor is running out of time to leave behind a shred of environmental legacy.
"In 2011, Minister Burke publicly pledged he would protect our national parks, which despite their name are only protected under state law, from threats such as logging and grazing.

"I've repeatedly called on Minister Burke to act on his promise, through correspondence and in the Senate, but he's been all talk and no action.

"Minister Burke still has time to give national parks the protection of national environment law and to safeguard that protection from Tony Abbott's plan to hand national environment law to the states to administer.

"It's time the Environment Minister started acting like one by protecting our threatened species and national parks, which are too precious to lose," Senator Waters said.

At the Press Club on 24 August 2011, Minister Burke said: "I intend to add as a matter of national environmental significance areas that have been protected, the classic examples are national parks, where they are under some form of new threat, whether that new threat be grazing, mining, logging or large scale land clearing."