THE precautionary principle … Water Minister Kons failed to show it if he drank a glass of Atrazine contaminated water when concern about overspraying the water supply of the Carpenters was running at a high.
Primary Industry Minister Kons has now fallen into the crack between two precautions by waiting for a report on the sustainability of a scallop bed when a number of the fishermen harvesting it have voluntarily stopped, claiming a majority of the shellfish are undersize and the bed will be ruined if harvesting continues.
They have also called for another bed to be opened.
What is the Minister to do here?
Decisively wait for a departmental report before acting or close the bed until the report shows whether it can be harvested or not and then decide on the next action.
The fishermen who have stopped voluntarily stand by and watch a few continue to work the bed whilst the report is drafted.
They must wonder if any Atrazine in the glass has had a longer term effect or has the Minister been tamed by his Yes trainers.
Phill Parsons is continues to be amused by inconsistency, it seems to be breaking out everywhere.
David Obendorf
June 4, 2005 at 04:49
Some readers with memories might recall the stunt of the UK Secretary for Agriculture, John Gummer in 1990 when he dismissed fears of Mad Cow Disease (BSE) being linked to human cases of variant-Creutzfeldt-Jacob Diseases (v-CJD) by feeding a beefburger to his 4 year old daughter. Poor, naive child totally was used a prop by her public servant father. In his eagerness to thrust the beefburger down his daughter’s throat, while the camera were there of course, the little girl burnt her tongue and immediately exclaimed, “This is too hot!”
Out of the mouths’ of babes, such truths are sometimes heard.
Six years later (1996) the UK government acknowledged that BSE was the most likely cause of v-CDJ in humans and promptly began the systematic destruction (by incineration) of hundreds of thousands of cattle likely to be infected. The cost of the operation and in compensation was borne by the tax-payer – many billions of pounds. Animal concentration Farms became, the Final Solution through Animal Incineration….quite simple really.
This was yet another case of upfront media opportunism to cover up for short-term denial until the inevitable back down when reality bites!
Sadly, it was ever thus and in my experience there are many, many examples of such obfuscation, denial and delay in Tasmania. The politically-trained would attest that such tactics saves on public accountability, the embarrassment to public officialdom, holds off on doing something sustainable and works on the theory of letting ‘bad news’ out in increments so the ultimate change in public policy – when it comes – seems very straight forward, reasonable and even Statesman-like.
And most importantly those in public-salaried positions stay in the Money.
Tally-ho!…Welcome to the the ‘business as usual’ world.
Prince of Darkness
June 6, 2005 at 04:35
Let’s apply the precautionary principle to the precautionary principle application.