Federal Environment Minister Tony Burke has given the Victorian Government until April 8 to get cattle out of the Alpine National Park….
He described the Victorian Government’s responses to his department’s requests for information about the trial as “a joke”.
Good.
It will be interesting to see how hard the Victorian government resists this decision. My strong suspicion is – not very.
One might contrast the hastiness of the alpine grazing trial with the rather more measured pace – at least as perceived from outside – of other changes being made by the Baillieu government. A slapdash effort which made it easy for the federal government to overrule them. The federal government gets to bolster their credentials with environmentalists. The state government gets to bolster its credentials with the “Fertilize the bush – doze in a greenie” crowd. What a fortuitous coincidence.
“Good” says it all.
The pastoralists should be very pissed off with this government for leading them astray.
There was a leak, today, from park rangers saying that they are spending all their valuable ‘cattle sitting’ so they will be happy with the latest news.
What powers does Burke have to get the cows out?
Yes, good theatre for everyone. “Mountain Cattlemen Care for the High Country” bumper sticker sales will go through the roof.
If any of these cattle need agistment I have a nice cold erm, spot for them. (licks chops)
Can’t find the details to hand, but as I recall it…
If you’re going to conduct activities in a national park that have the potential to significantly damage the environment, federal law requires the Environment Minister to approve it.
The Victorian government didn’t seek approval.
The question was for Tony Burke and his department was then whether it met the threshold. They asked the Victorian government to please explain.
After the please explain arrived, they thought about it further and judged that it was indeed a “significant activity” or whatever the threshold was. Hence the ability to remove the cattle, at least for now.
It should be noted that the cattle will come out soon anyway – it’s going to get cold up in the Alps pretty soon…
I heard some
arsehole with a sense of entitlementsturdy son of the soil whining about how much he cared for the bush, and that was why he’d put his cows into the national park on the radio earlier today.Did you know that (according to said rugged individualist) grazing keeps the fuel load down (in an area that almost never burns), and he’d got burnt out once, and that’s why he felt so strongly about it.
Sam @3, I don’t think Tony Burke has exercised any statutory power as yet – he’s just demanded that the cattle be removed from the Park. If the demand isn’t complied with he can apply to the Federal Court for a prohibitory injunction under section 475 of the EPBC Act. Potentially, rangers or inspectors authorised under the EPBC Act could also exercise their search and seizure powers to seize any cattle in the park, although I imagine that would be impractical.
David’s link @7 “A farmer in Victoria’s high country who has been defying a ban on alpine grazing in national parks says if Environment Minister Tony Bourke wants his cattle out of the park he will have to come and retrieve them himself.”
I wish I was Tony Burke. And Robert Merkel, by making light fun I don’t mean any offense and believe this is a very positive move and thanks for your post.
This was one of those commitments that Baillieu had to make to the National Party. I don’t think he cares that much. It’ll give him an opportunity to indulge in a bit of Canberra bashing while ridding himself of an environmental embarrassment. The state Labor Party will be wedged between supporting their Federal colleagues, supporting a Green cause and supporting “the regions”. They’ll probably say nothing.
Burke, meanwhile, repairs a few Green relationships that he damaged over the Gunns’ pulp mill.
All in a day’s work for everybody.
Hooray for the Feds for terminating this embarrassingly stupid rubbish from the VIC coalition.
About time.
Can that nice Minister Burke please also save Nationals Leader Peter Ryan from his critical election winning promise, to track down the pussy cats, that are demonising the Otways, with a flamethrower, over his dead body, by declaring them a protected species?
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/ipad/government-commits-to-big-cat-probe/story-fn6bfmgc-1225996478032
I wonder if the mountain cattlemen’s friend at Sydney University, Mark Adams, is still going to get his $0.5M to conduct the trial on how feeding alpine national parks to cows will prevent bushfires?
Salient Green, I’m certainly not offended.
In fact, I was thinking something very similar…
Just shift Mark Adams and the grant to cat exterminating territory. Two birds, hopefully no cats.
All makes sense now, Robert, thanks. Nice theatre all round then!
Even the Vic Farmers Fed bloke on
Stateline7:30 [Local?] tonight in the ill-fitting shirt and 1995 tie didn’t seem to give a toss.So this was all about one hundred and forty-seven votes in some shit-struck hamlet that was gonna vote Nats anyway? Unless it was part of the push to remove that Snowy river indie.
Sam @3 – The Victorian government should have gone through a quite lengthy legal process, including public advertisements and calls for submissions pending a formal enquiry, if they had done it legally. In early January, before they sent the cattle in, the DSE was supposed the Minister (ie Tony Burke). After that, the Minister is required to publish the notice on the internet and invite public comment. After “consultations with the public and relevant ministers”, the Minister would be required to decide whether the activity is a Controlled Action under the EPBC Act.
The impacts must then be assessed (and there are already reams of information on the damaging impact of hooved grazing animals on the Alpine environment, such as the 2005 Alpine Grazing Taskforce report and the 2006 CSIRO study into the Alpine ecology, grazing and fire.) Following assessment, the Minister then may determine whether or not to allow the Controlled Action under the EPBC Act.
It is an offence to carry out activities which may be Controlled Actions without the consent of the Federal Minister for the Environment.
For starters, they sent the cattle in before the so-called “study” was kicked off, so there was no information gathering before they were let in. It was a complete sham, or as the USians say, Kabuki, to keep the Nats and rural voters happy.
@10 – That’s it, exactly.
@wbb – The Weekly Times was positively gloating about the return of cattle to the parks. I expect to see an at least temporary outbreak of wailing and greenie-hating in the next week or 3.
Yes, it’s good that Tony Burke has stepped in on this issue. Pity about the Tarkine and the pulp mill in Tasmania.
Now, about a certain barbaric “sporting” season that commences in Victoria today. Fuck a duck!
Glad that the Federal government says “no more alpine grazing”
Quite happy for the cattle to be agisted at my place, licking chops.
As the 400 cattle didn’t pay adjistment fees, nor lease fees I hope those precious few entitled bastards share their profits with the grateful Victorian taxpayer especially those poor farmers in north western Victoria whose properties are still covered in anaerobic flood waters
I have heard that in previous duck shooting seasons the wily feathered birds flock into townships because they know its an offence to shoot in a built up area. Go the quackers!
Helen, here’s hoping the Devine Miranda doesn’t reprise her “string greenies up on lampposts” routine.
@19, and all for something that tastes like rancid fat, so people who have absolutely no need to shoot anything to provide themselves or their families with food can beat their chests.
@22, perhaps we could run a string Miranda Devein up from the nearest lamp post campaign. Apart from anything else, we’d be doing the country a favour.
Just this am heard a grazier from Omeo(Philip Maguire) talking/boasting on ABC SE about his incursion into the NP. The interview was staggering in that he was bombastic about his right to graze and his derogatory comments re Burke were deeply offensive. He stated that he had no intention whatsoever in removing his cattle because, in reference to the minister,”he’s just an idiot,we call him kermit”. On and on went this rant, with the interviewer snickering as he attacked the National parks legitamacy as well as the fact that cattle are a feral species.
This situation has a long way to go, just expressed my disgust to my local ABC.