Melina Bath MP – Animal Justice Party and Labor back ideology over farmers again
Labor sided with Animal Justice Party (AJP) in state parliament by agreeing to review authority to control wildlife (ATCW) permits instead of backing Victorian famers.
The Nationals’ Melina Bath spoke against an Animal Justice Party motion which stopped short of calling on the Allan Government to ban authorised use of ATCW permits on wombats.
“The issuing of ACTW permits to a landholder involves rigorous assessment by the Conservation Regulator and are only granted as a last resort after other methods have failed.
“Wombats are known for their ability to impact vital farm infrastructure such as shedding and fencing and ACTW is used to control numbers.
“The Nationals categorically rejects the AJP’s assertion that our hardworking farmers are a threat to the wombat population when they are not listed as a vulnerable species.
“The AJP’s aim is to shut down livestock farming in Victoria and the Allan Labor Government is emboldening this ideological agenda by backing the motion.”
Ms Bath said the most significant threat to Victoria’s wombat populations is out of control and intense bushfire in the landscape.
“The Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research in 2020 conservatively measured Victoria’s wombat population at 433,000 and attributed 83,000 wombat deaths to the Black Summer fires.
“If the AJP and Labor were genuinely interested in protecting wombat populations they would support an increase in preparatory burns to reduce fuel load and the bushfire risk.
“The Allan Labor Government should be standing up for farmers and blocking the AJP’s repeated attacks on Victoria’s agriculture industry.
“The Nationals will continue to stand by our agriculture industry and the millions of people they feed and clothe locally and internationally”.