Yeadon Misled Parliament about Mogo Tree Poisoning – Opposition Calls on Minister to Resign

Andrew Humpherson MP
Shadow Minister for Planning
Shadow Minister for Environment
Shadow Minister for Sydney water
Member for Davidson

The State Opposition today called on Premier Carr to explain immediately why State Forests continued to poison trees in forests that will supply product to the proposed Mogo Charcoal plant for over a month after Forestry Minister, Kim Yeadon told Parliament the practice had ceased.

Shadow Environment Minister, Andrew Humpherson, released a leaked document showing a pattern of deceit and intrigue in the lead up to the State Government’s approval of the charcoal plant at Mogo on the South Coast.

“Kim Yeadon has clearly misled Parliament. The document proves that tree poisoning had not stopped when the Minister had said it had.

“Kim Yeadon was sacked by the Premier from the water conservation portfolio in the face of community outrage and now he should be sacked from Cabinet.”

“It is clear there has been a plan to enable tree poisoning to continue to create ‘waste’ which can be used for charcoal production.

“Trees in Native Forests belonging to the people of NSW have been killed in order for them to be burnt as charcoal.

“There seems to have been serious internal conflicts and the staged release of false information – including to the Parliament – in the lead up to the approval of the charcoal plant.

Questions the Premier must answer immediately include:

• Why did State Forests continue to poison trees on the South Coast for at least a month after Minister Yeadon told parliament the practice had ceased?
• Why did the Government fail to correct the record when told they had misled Parliament and the community?
• Why did a senior Forestry officer have so little confidence in Minister Yeadon that he by-passed his office and complained to the office of the Treasurer, Michael Egan?
• What action did the Premier take after his office was briefed about the cover-up?
• Was the poisoning designed to provide product for the charcoal plant? If not why was it suspended in the lead up to the approval of the charcoal operation?
• Why was the leaked document (attached) not included in the State Forest papers tabled in response to the Legislative Council resolution that all papers associated with the Mogo project be tabled?
• What other document has the Government held back?
• Who orchestrated what appears to be a serious cover-up?

“The Premier must come clean with the truth,” Mr Humpherson said.