Minister evangelastic with Green Zone data

Minister for Climate Change, Kate Jones, today sunk to new lows with claims that a new report proved that her unpopular and draconian Green zone policy was working.*

Member for Cleveland, Mark Robinson said Kate Jones, like her boss Premier Bligh, was guilty of stretching credibility to breaking point. The minister has again been 'evangelastic' when it comes to reporting the truth.

"The minister's claims that recently reported increases in fish and crab stocks in Moreton Bay were due to the Labor-Green alliance's 18 month old Green zone policy are just not believable," Dr Robinson said.

"The minister quoted from a report that no-one has seen and that she did not make available for public scrutiny, so her claims cannot be verified until she releases her secret report.

"Like Premier Bligh, this minister has proved that she cannot be counted on to report information accurately. In fact, the minister's interpretation of fisheries data in the past has had all the credibility of an American TV evangelist, a little information with a lot of froth and bubble.

"In the minister's previous attempts to be a marine scientist, she helped ban the use of inverted crab dillies throughout Queensland based on her claims that the science showed that they killed many turtles. When pressed for the science the fisheries minister contradicted her, revealing that the large number was in fact one turtle death in a five year period. #

"Then there was the claim that the Tiwi Pearl artificial reef in Moreton Bay had been an instant success because a school of fish was spotted swimming around the wreck just days after the sinking. What the minister inferred as instant fisheries success was in fact a school of fish sheltering from a storm, not a boost in the fish stocks. ^

"It is clear that the minister has no idea about fishing or Moreton Bay and should leave interpreting fisheries data to the scientists. I look forward to receiving the facts supposedly in her report.

Mark Robinson MP
Member for Cleveland
2 September 2010

* Kate Jones ministerial statement and speech in parliament 2nd September, 2010

# Answer provided 11 March 2010 by Sustainability Minister to a Question on notice from the Member for Cleveland, 9 February 2010.

^ Ministerial statement 16th, March 2010. Climate Change and Sustainability Minister Kate Jones said she was delighted to confirm that officers had already done testing and shown fish were being attracted to the Tiwi Pearl. "While sounding the vessel on Monday morning (15 March), sonar returns indicated there were already fish schooling above and around the Tiwi Pearl," Ms Jones said.

Permanent Link: Minister evangelastic with Green Zone data
Publish Date: 05 Sep 10