Malcolm Turnbull’s advocacy of dams for the Clarence and Tweed Rivers,
before a thorough environmental analysis, hopelessly compromises his
portfolio, Greens Leader Bob Brown said in Hobart today.
"The job of environment minister, a priori, is to defend the nation’s
environment but here the minister is sacrificing it to pre-election
big-dam water politics. Like Liberal leader Barnett’s plan for canals
to bring water from the Kimberley to Perth, which lost him the last
election in Western Australia, Turnbull’s plan will very likely backfire
with Coalition voters.
"Mr Turnbull is the minister for the environment. There are massive
environmental consequences from these dam proposals. If the Howard
Government was determined to promote these dams, the minister for the
environment should have insisted someone else do it," Senator Brown
said.
"It is incumbent on the minister to put forward prudent and feasible
alternatives to proposals for large dams, but he has sought no option.
It is untenable behaviour from the nation’s chief environmentalist,"
Senator Brown said.