{"id":1271,"date":"2019-09-05T09:02:10","date_gmt":"2019-09-05T01:02:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dingo.news\/voice\/?p=1271"},"modified":"2021-10-08T00:46:56","modified_gmt":"2021-10-07T16:46:56","slug":"grassgate-ii-josh-frydenbergs-independent-grassgate-review-that-never-was","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dingo.news\/voice\/grassgate-ii-josh-frydenbergs-independent-grassgate-review-that-never-was\/","title":{"rendered":"Grassgate II – Josh Frydenberg’s “independent” grassgate review that never was…"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

Thread: #Grassgate<\/a><\/span> II Here\u2019s a very new story that hasn\u2019t broken in the media yet. It\u2019s about the Liberal National\u2019s game of mates and the Josh Frydenberg ordered, taxpayer funded \u201cindependent\u201d grassgate review that never was. (researcher @jommy_tee<\/span><\/a><\/span>)<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Those of you following <\/span>#Grassgate<\/span><\/a><\/span> will be aware of the Senate inquiry last week or so where the issue raised its ugly head again. Senator Janet Rice & her committee were very interested in how the Nationals & Angus Taylor had managed to set up an \u201cindependent\u201d review.<\/span><\/div>\n
 <\/div>\n
 <\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
 <\/div>\n
\n
\n
\"\"<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Source – Guardian | 26 August 2019<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
 <\/div>\n
\n

You\u2019ll recall Angus Taylor\u2019s brother Richard was alleged to have unlawfully cleared native grasses.<\/p>\n

In return, the Taylors & their fellow farmers unleashed hell in the media and via their special advocates in Canberra.<\/p>\n

So much so that they got a special review of the EPBC Act.<\/p>\n

Now the Environment Protection & Biodiversity Conservation Act (1999) is a massive statute protecting almost all of our special heritage, habitat & environment in Australia. And Taylor & the Nationals told Josh Frydenberg they wanted it looked at – but only the native grasslands bit.<\/span><\/p>\n

Frydenberg & Littleproud acquiesced to Angus Taylor & the Nationals, announcing a review into the EPBC Act \u2013 but only where the environment interfered with agriculture. In March 2018, the federal govt announced Dr Wendy Craik would conduct the \u201cindependent review”. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

However, in the recent Senate inquiry, Dr Craik seemed confused & told Senator Gallagher she\u2019d been asked in April 2018 to do the EPBC Act review. But it was the consulting company Aither who\u2019d asked her. Isn’t promising a contract to a firm before it goes to tender illegal?<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

So the circumstances were very muddled & if we didn\u2019t know better, we\u2019d say Dr Craik had been chosen by the federal government to control this review before the necessary arrangements had been put in place And perhaps the independent review wasn\u2019t quite so independent after all.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

You see Dr Craik has other paid employment.<\/p>\n

She\u2019s the Director of the Australian Farm Institute.<\/p>\n

We also know NSW Farmers & Graingrowers Ltd all pushed for this review as well, with NSW Farmers even making a very large & impressive submission to this “independent review”.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Dr Craik\u2019s director\u2019s position at the AFI is funded by the very same groups that submitted to her independent review & who agitated for it. In a blatant breach of independence & probity, Dr Craik undertook submissions & audiences in her review – from her sponsors.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Dr Craik’s Australian Farm Institute also has a Research Advisory Council, and one of its key members is David Sackett.<\/p>\n

David Sackett is the managing director of Growth Farms – a company founded by Angus and Richard Taylor and still part-owned by them.<\/p>\n

Which is lucky.<\/p>\n

Dr Craik also owns a 25 hectare small farm property near Yass; like many farmers from Yass. The property Dr Craik owns sits within the boundaries of the temperate grassland listed under the EPBC Act \u2013 the same native grasslands Dr Craik was independently reviewing.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It’s not clear if the Commonwealth\u2019s overlay specifically impacts on the property owned by Dr Craik. However, Dr Craik\u2019s land does contain an overlay of \u201cvulnerable regulated land\u201d as per NSW legislation, where clearing of native vegetation may not be permitted.<\/p>\n

What else in this EPBC Act review was compromised you ask? Additional examples were revealed during the Senate Committee hearing in August, when the Committee heard no less than nine Department of Environment officials visited the Monaro region to discuss the EPBC review.<\/p>\n

The entourage included the Department of Environment’s Deputy Secretary, First Assistant Secretary, an Assistant Secretary and – the departmental official in charge of compliance. The same compliance department investigating the <\/span>#grassgate<\/span><\/a><\/span> issue.<\/span><\/div>\n
 <\/div>\n
 <\/div>\n
 \"\"<\/div>\n

This extraordinary level of departmental representation in both numbers and seniority was only given to the Taylor’s Monaro region and its farmers (including Richard Taylor.)<\/p>\n

It was never extended to any other party to the review.<\/p>\n

At least Dr Craik thought very highly of them.<\/p>\n

\"\"And what we are left with is a totally corrupted process.<\/p>\n

It appears that not once throughout the process – either at the EPBC Act review’s conception, announcement, commencement and conduct – were the the potential conflicts of interest of the Chair of the review raised at all.<\/p>\n

But from what the Australian public have seen of the entire #Grassgate<\/a><\/span> issue so far – that should not come as a surprise at all.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Thread: #Grassgate II Here\u2019s a very new story that hasn\u2019t broken in the media yet. It\u2019s about the Liberal National\u2019s game of mates and the Josh Frydenberg ordered, taxpayer funded \u201cindependent\u201d grassgate review that never was. (researcher @jommy_tee)   Those of you following #Grassgate will be aware of the Senate inquiry last week or so […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1282,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[476,135,301,6,3,82],"tags":[103,105,104],"class_list":["post-1271","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles-by-ronni-salt-jommy-tee","category-australias-move-to-the-right","category-corruption","category-environment","category-political-issues","category-politics-with-angus-taylor","tag-angus-taylor","tag-grassgate","tag-grasslands"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t