MEDIA RELEASE

Monday 26 January 2015

Time for Maggie Barry to come clean on 1080

National's new Conservation Minister Maggie Barrie appears to have gone into hiding over the raging controversy surrounding New Zealand's continuing use of 1080, according to Democrats for Social Credit health spokesman David Tranter.

While few government ministers are wildly communicative about questions they wish to avoid, two email enquiries last October/November from the Democrats to Maggie Barrie asking about her attitude to 1080 have not even been acknowledged whereas most Ministers' offices do at least respond even if it is only with an acknowledgement of the enquiry.

One conservation campaigner has suggested to me that perhaps the minister's office staff are shielding her from the embarrassment of their boss having publicly stated that she objects to using chemicals on her own garden, whereas she appears to be completely dodging the appalling situation whereby a poisoning campaign deadly to all forms of life which come under its effect continues unabated under her ministry.

For those who may not have seen Maggie Barrie's quote regarding the use of poisons it is as follows; “From garden show days . . . as well as to this day I try not to spray anything. I have been known to use the odd herbicide when I had a bigger garden . . . but I figured early on in the piece I didn’t really want to grow the things that needed spraying every 10 days”.

If the Minister objects to using poisons in her own garden how does she justify spreading vast quantities of 1080 hither and yon all over the country? With growing evidence about the disastrous effects of this poison-everything campaign it is time she stood up and explained herself, Mr. Tranter concluded.

ENDS

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