April 3, 2003 - Robin Chapple MLC has demanded that the Minister for the Environment rescind her decision on Portman Mining's Koolyanobbing expansion after it was revealed this morning that Labor party powerbrokers Brian Burke and Julian Grill have sought to influence Cabinet over the issue.
'Yet another key Government decision with Brian Burke and Julian Grill's fingerprints on it,' Mr Chapple said this morning. 'After denying that she had met with the Portman lobbyists, the Minister has admitted that senior advisors had done so.'
'I demand the Premier come clean on just how much influence these people have on Labor Party factions, and how this influence is being exercised at a Cabinet level. What has posessed the Minister to go against the advice of the EPA on the only occasion it has drawn the line against a mining project?'
'This decision can not be allowed to stand. It must be set aside until we have had a full inquiry into the way the Labor party is dealing with lobbyists with strong party connections,' Mr Chapple said.
'I do not think the community can have any confidence that this decision was made with the best interests of environmental protection in mind.'
