The Victorian Greens have slammed the Labor Government for abandoning the proposed Great Forest National Park and choosing shooter lobbyists over protecting some of the state's most precious ecosystems and threatened wildlife.
The Leader for the Victorian Greens, Ellen Sandell said that Environment Minister Steve Dimopoulos had capitulated to hunting and shooting lobbyists, sacrificing the future of Victoria's most endangered ecosystems on the altar of political convenience.
For years, scientists, Traditional Owners and communities have been calling for a Great Forest National Park to safeguard the Central Highland's forests and the animals that rely on them, including the Leadbeater's possum, which needs large, connected areas of protected old-growth forest to survive.
The Greens say Labor's refusal to progress the park is the latest in their pattern of contempt for nature, as they continue to underfund our national parks and have chosen to ignore repeated warnings from the Auditor-General that Victoria's threatened species programs are underfunded, poorly monitored and failing to halt biodiversity collapse.
As stated by the Leader of the Victorian Greens, Ellen Sandell:
"Labor has trashed any claim to caring about the environment. They keep backing destructive projects, ignoring science, and caving to vested interests. The Labor Environment Minister's sell-out to the shooting lobby is just the latest chapter in Labor's war on wildlife, trading away irreplaceable species for cheap political points."
"This is total contempt for nature, and for the Traditional Owners, scientists, and communities who've fought for years to protect these precious places. Labor is choosing destruction over a liveable future, ripping away thriving, healthy nature from generations to come."
