WA Environment minister Reece Whitby reacted angrily to Rick Wilson MHR’s suggestion there were secret plans to expand the South Coast Marine Park west of Bremer Bay.
“I want to be clear, because Mr Wilson appears intent on spreading lies and disinformation,” Mr Whitby said.
“The State Government is not going to expand the South Coast Marine Park to include Albany, Denmark, Peaceful Bay, Walpole, Windy Harbour, or Augusta.”
His comments came after Member for O’Connor Rick Wilson issued a statement asking WA environment minister Reece Whitby to categorically rule out extensions to the fishing bans he had imposed from the WA border west to Bremer Bay.
“He has taken a leaf from Mark McGowan’s media playbook in refusing to rule out an extension of the divisive south coast marine park to Albany, Denmark, Peaceful Bay, Nornalup, Walpole, Windy Harbour and Augusta,” Mr Wilson said.
“Mr Whitby indicated only that he had ‘no plans’ to elongate his fishing exclusion zones.”
Mr Whitby dismissed this as “yet another cheap political stunt by Rick Wilson”.
“Whether it be through his ideological opposition to marine parks or his support for Peter Dutton’s nuclear power plant in Collie, Mr Wilson has consistently demonstrated he will not always do what’s right by Western Australians,” Mr Whitby said.
Mr Wilson said the minister, a former TV journalist, was “well-versed in the dark art of Labor spin-doctoring”.
“He is trying to buy himself wriggle room by not ruling out a marine park extension if Labor is re-elected,” Mr Wilson said.
“In stark contrast, Liberal Shadow Minister for the Environment The Hon Neil Thomson MLC, in response to a recent letter from me, has categorically ruled out extending the marine park in the next term of parliament if the Liberals are elected to govern.”
Last month Peter Rundle MLA said his National Party would launch a special inquiry into the selection of all new WA marine parks and possibly scrap the South Coast Marine Park if elected to Government in March.
