TAP Into A Better Tasmania, MR
A delegation of 6 members of TAP Into A Better Tasmania will attend the ALP National Conference to be held at Darling Harbour in Sydney beginning on July 30. The delegation will demand the sacking of Tony Burke, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.
“We’ll be representing the interests of the farmers, orchardists and viticulturalists of the Tamar Valley and the fishermen of Bass Strait”, said Bob McMahon, TAP spokesperson, “because politicians, especially Minister Burke, have abandoned and betrayed them.
“Minister Burke is only concerned with the forestry part of his portfolio. He seems to have little interest in agriculture and fisheries.
“He has spruiked the Gunns mill in Parliament in order to pump up its attraction to hypothetical foreign investors. In so doing he has betrayed the vibrant agriculture and fishing industries of the Tamar Region which stand to suffer under a whole range of impacts from the pulp mill should it ever be built, impacts that have deliberately not been assessed.
“Burke, like his predecessor Eric Abetz, is a forest industry stooge. Take a look at his recent parliamentary performances. In addition to his outrageous spruiking of Gunns, he has spruiked MIS tree plantation schemes in the face of the collapse of the MIS companies and the government promoted MIS ponzi schemes, with losses to investors and taxpayers of billions of dollars.
“We must have a Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry who does not sing from the Abetz song book and who understands how critically important it is for the national security of this country that we safeguard food production. Our security is tied up with water and food, not pulp mills and tree plantations.
“Labor has traditionally had a poor relationship with rural Australia. This Minister is plumbing the depths of that relationship.
“It’s time Rudd cut him loose and appoint someone who cares”, concluded McMahon.
