The Palaszczuk Government’s dishonesty over the consultation process concerning proposed changes to Queensland’s vegetation management framework has been exposed during budget estimates this week.

On Wednesday, Natural Resources Minister, Anthony Lynham, was forced to admit the commitments he had given to rural stakeholders about the consultation process on Labor’s proposed vegetation management amendments had not been fulfilled.

LNP Shadow Natural Resources Minister, Andrew Cripps, said Minister Lynham had repeatedly given undertakings that the consultation process would involve a report and recommendations from a stakeholder roundtable.

“The promised consultation process has been a complete failure – Queensland’s farmers and landholders were told that the stakeholder roundtable process would guide any changes to Queensland’s vegetation management framework” said Mr Cripps.

“The roundtable met only once in July last year and never produced a report, or any recommendations – yet the Palaszczuk Government has gone ahead and honoured its political debt to the Greens” he said.

Mr Cripps said when Labor introduced the Vegetation Management (Reinstatement) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill on 17 March 2016, it had blatantly ignored the commitments Minister Lynham had given to Queensland’s farmers and landholders.

“Despite the clear undertakings by Minister Lynham about the process, Labor has disgracefully double-crossed Queensland’s farmers and landholders and paid back the Greens for their preferences at the last state election”.

“This behavior is absolutely shameful and the stakeholders who will be affected by Labor’s proposed changes have every right to be furious about the dishonesty of the Palaszczuk Government on this issue – Minister Lynham must consider his position”.