Greens Member for the Mining and Pastoral Region Robin Chapple MLC has criticized the National Party’s newly released ‘vision for agriculture’ as it relates to the Kimberley region, calling it a thinly veiled attempt to put the damming of the Fitzroy River back on the State’s agenda.
“I will oppose any attempt to dam the Fitzroy River for agriculture or any other purposes, and resist all moves to clear native vegetation for broad scale irrigated agriculture projects such as those proposed in the late 1990s and early 2000s for the cultivation of genetically modified cotton.
“Brendon Grylls and the Nationals have clearly never given up on ruining one of the last remaining major wild rivers in northern Australia for their own political ends.
“Studies that have been carried out on the feasibility of building dams on the Fitzroy River and establishing broad scale irrigated agriculture in the West Kimberley have all cautioned against the move on environmental and financial grounds.
“This is a foolish proposal by people who are driven by their egos and have no understanding of the Kimberley. It must be stopped once and for all,” Mr Chapple said.
Nationals Agricultural Policy: http://www.nationalswa.com/Portals/0/FINAL_Agriculture%20policy.pdf
For more information please contact Robin Chapple on 0409 379 263 or 9486 8255
