www.tas.greens.org.au
The Tasmanian Greens today tabled a further 133 signatures on their petition to ban the use of the Triazine herbicides in Tasmania, and again called on the Bartlett Government to honour the policy that Labor took the 1996 election to ban the use of Triazines where they have been detected in drinking water catchments.
Greens Water spokesperson Tim Morris MP said that 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.
“The Tasmanian Labor Party, which is now in government, took a policy to the 1996 State election that promised to, “ban 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 problems,” said Mr Morris.
“It seems that the Bartlett Government just doesn’t care about the regular contamination of Tasmanian waterways and drinking water catchments.”
“These endocrine-disrupting Triazines 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 Bartlett Government 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, page 5.
Nov18_ALP1996StateElectionPolicyStatement_TriazineBan_TMorris_ATTACH.pdf
Tim Morris MP Greens Water spokesperson
