THERE is "no secret" about the preference deals done between Labor and the Greens which have shaped policies like the regrowth clearing bans and the locking up of wild rivers in Cape York, Queensland Premier Anna Bligh has said.
In a speech to the National Press Club last week, Ms Bligh defended her Government's decision introduce harsh environmental laws in regional Queensland amidst fierce criticism of alleged behind-closed-doors deals with the Wilderness Society and The Greens to secure election-winning votes.
Ms Bligh is on a crusade to improve accountability and honesty in election campaigns, and clean up a culture of perceived "vote-buying" by big business and lobbyists.
Ms Bligh said public confidence in our democracy is "seriously eroded" when "ordinary citizens start to believe that influence can be bought for a price that is beyond their means".
But despite the call for reforms, not just in Queensland but hopefully nationally too, Ms Bligh feels there has been no compromise in terms of environmental policy nor the need for further transparency regarding the events and decisions leading to the lock up of wild rivers in Cape York or the moratorium on clearing endangered regrowth vegetation across pastoral Queensland.
On the ABC's Q&A program last week, NSW Liberal Senator Bill Heffernan, said the State's previous Premier, Peter Beattie, had admitted to doing a deal The Wilderness Society to get inner city preferences on the wild rivers issue.
"They’ve locked up production, which has irritated the indigenous community," Senator Heffernan said.
"Cape York peninsular is the size of Victoria. There are 800,000 feral pigs there, 20,000 feral cattle, 14,000 people living off the coast, 12,000 of whom are indigenous and that mad mob up there have said to the indigenous people: you can’t get any development opportunities out of that, we’re locking it up!"
But Ms Bligh said the Wild Rivers legislation was a commitment from her government in the 2004 State election to protect the area's pristine river systems.
"There's no doubt that, you know, government didn't dream this idea up by itself, there was a public debate at the time about the need for us to do better in protecting river systems," Ms Bligh said.
"That was as much informed by things like natural resource groups in local catchment areas as it was by any of the major groups like the Wilderness Society.
"So there's nothing secret about that, and we've taken it to each of the last three elections and committed to continue the process.
"In Queensland we've committed to a number of environmental issues publicly, nothing secret. And as a result of that, the Greens Party has made an assessment of where they will put their preferences.
"I know that there are some people who don't necessarily agree with the Wild Rivers legislation, but I don't think that should be confused with any undermining of what is a very legitimate democratic process."
Ms Bligh said she appreciated the need to "get the balance right" between land clearing and environmental protection and this would be reflected with a regrowth clearing decision due soon.
"We see a very important need for us to encourage food production, and we understand that that does mean getting the balance right between land clearing and environmental protection.
"There will be, I think, an outcome which demonstrates that we do understand there does need to be some protection of rural producers' abilities to produce.
"But we certainly, as we indicated already publicly, we'll be really targeting endangered vegetation and we'll be targeting those areas particularly that would otherwise be in, that are in reef catchment areas.
"So we're trying to be very targeted and strategic rather than a blanket rule that would then have a lot of inadvertent effects."
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