2016-01-22
It's long past the moment he could do so graciously, but the WA Premier needs to give up his monomaniacal Roe 8 push instead of wasting more WA taxpayer funds complaining about the umpire's call, the Australian Greens said today.
"The public say no to Roe 8. The local councils say no. The Supreme Court said no. How many times does Mr Barnett need to be told?" Australian Greens Deputy Leader and Senator for WA Scott Ludlam said today.
"The WA budget is in meltdown, but Mr Barnett's hubris is blind to balance sheets. He's asked for the EPA to redo their assessment - with no change to the regulations or additional safeguards so the same mistakes can be repeated - and he also wants to appeal the Supreme Court decision. These two processes will take months and months, and millions of dollars.
"The contradiction is ridiculous. The government will contend that the EPA assessment should stand and the Supreme Court was wrong to overturn them, yet they will also ask the EPA to assess the area again as well. It seems that in Mr Barnett's world, you can never spend too much money on a project nobody wants," Senator Ludlam concluded.