Darren Chester (Gippsland, National Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Roads and Regional Transport) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to express my support for the Victorian coalition government’s decision to allow a trial of cattle grazing in the high country to help reduce the severity of bushfires. In expressing my support for the current trial, I condemn the Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities for his theatrical display in support of the Greens during question time yesterday. If ever we needed any further proof that Labor is in government but the Greens are in charge, we had it yesterday. In response to a question from the member for Melbourne, the environment minister could not wait to fall in behind his Green masters. It was like whistling to a kelpie in the high country: Bandt whistled and Burke came bounding across the chamber, wagging his tail! I was worried he was going to lick the face of the member for Melbourne, such was his enthusiasm to please his master!

Labor may be in government but there is no doubt the Greens are in charge—and, come 1 July, it is going to get worse for regional Australians. When the Greens secure the balance of power in the Senate, regional Australians have a lot to be worried about. The Greens want to ban live exports, they want to ban rodeos, they want to shut down commercial fishing and the timber industry, they hate recreational anglers and they are already talking about a private member’s bill to kick the cattlemen out of the high country.

Let me tell the House about the boiling resentment in my community. People have had an absolute gutful of city based Greens and Labor MPs telling them how to live their lives. The Greens have never created a job in regional Australia and they are a direct threat to jobs in our traditional industries. The minister for the environment needs to think twice before he becomes the wagging tail for every dog of a policy that the Greens put forward.

The issue of cattle grazing in the Alpine National Park is a contentious one; I acknowledge that. There are strong views on both sides of the debate. But the Victorian government took a clear policy to the state election in November last year that it would take action to return cattle if it was elected. It won a clear mandate for that policy, particularly in the seat of Gippsland East, where Tim Bull removed the last remaining Independent from office. The Labor Party has been wiped out in eastern Victoria because it would not listen to locals.

The Victorian government wants to take direct action to help reduce the severity of further bushfires. We need to reduce the fuel load in the high country. We know that hot fires destroy the environment. But in the past the more extreme elements of the Greens have even opposed fuel reduction burns. Returning the cattle for a trial has been conducted in a responsible manner; for example, there are no cattle in the areas regarded as environmentally sensitive such as the Bogong High Plains.

I can tell you what is up there: noxious weeds, about 8,000 wild brumbies and thousands of deer. We got rid of one ‘Brumby’ in Victoria last year, but there are a lot more to go. If the minister and the member for Melbourne were serious about caring for the environment, they would support practical action. The trial to assess the impact of cattle grazing on reducing fire intensity deserves our support, particularly in the aftermath of the devastating Black Saturday bushfires.

The Greens and Labor have a ‘lock it up and leave it’ mentality when it comes to managing parks and the environment. If the environment minister wants to be taken seriously, why doesn’t he reinstate the $11 million he ripped out of Landcare in his previous job. If the member for Melbourne wants to take on a real environmental issue, support the coalition’s efforts to control wild dogs, foxes and weeds, which are destroying the natural environment. (Time expired)