Big Parties Prioritise Forestry Over Human Health
www.tas.greens.org.au
The Tasmanian Greens today expressed their extreme disappointment at the couldn’t-care-less-attitude of the Bartlett Government and Liberal Opposition, and accused both of prioritising the economics of the forest industry over the long-term health of Tasmanians, after both combined to vote down the Greens’ motion for a total ban on the use of Triazine herbicides in Tasmania.
Greens Water spokesperson Tim Morris MP said the Greens are aware of at least 139 positive Triazine contamination test results around Tasmania in recent years, including 13 at drinking water treatment plants for Launceston and Hobart, as well as another 77 positive contamination results in rivers and creeks that supply drinking water to Tasmanian towns and cities.
Mr Morris also said that the Tasmanian Labor Party, which is now in government, took a policy to the 1996 State election that promised to, “[1]an the use of the Triazine group of chemicals where detected in drinking water catchments and introduce a phase-out period for general use of this group of chemicals,” yet since that time Triazine contamination had increased massively while the State Labor Government has sat back and done nothing about the growing problem.
“How can the Liberal Opposition and especially the Labor Government justify their decision to vote down this motion after seeing the evidence of widespread Triazine contamination with their own eyes?,” said Mr Morris.
“The forest industry are the main users of the Triazine chemicals, which are a cheaper option than other, safer chemicals, and the worst contamination events are regularly occurring downstream from large forestry operations and plantations.”
“Forestry Tasmania voluntarily stopped using Atrazine due to increasing public concern, but still uses Simazine, which begs the question, if one Triazine chemical is bad enough for one major Tasmanian user to stop its use, then how can the Laborials justify the other Triazines still being in use?”
“It is increasingly obvious that the Labor and the Liberal parties’ subservience to the forest industry is the only reason for their decision to allow the continued contamination of Tasmania’s drinking water supplies.”
“These endocrine-disrupting chemicals should never be found in drinking water supplies, something the Labor party recognised 13 years ago but has since conveniently forgotten, and it is now up to the Labor and Liberal parties to explain to the people why they are allowing the continued use of Triazines in Tasmania, and the subsequent, inevitable, contamination of our drinking water supplies,” said Mr Morris.
Attached: ALP 1996 State Election Environment Policy Statement, p5.
Oct28_ALP1996StateElectionPolicyStatement_TriazineBan_TMorris_ATTACH.pdf
Tim Morris MP Greens Water Spokesperson
