Yesterday in Question Time Minister Duigan confirmed he has renewed the lease over world heritage-listed Halls Island to a company in liquidation, Wild Drake Pty Ltd. This is an unprecedented action and is a new low for a Liberal government with a shocking track record on public protected areas.
This revelation has only raised more questions about exactly what the Liberals are doing, and why they continue to support this project. This is a matter of significant community concern, so it’s crucial Minister Duigan is transparent and immediately releases all lease documentation and communication relating to the Lake Malbena-Halls Island fiasco.
Ignorance is no excuse here. The Greens made sure the minister was fully aware of the liquidation proceedings into this company at the time he was considering the expired Halls Island lease. But he went ahead and renewed it anyway.
It is inexcusable the government is now negotiating with a liquidator to breathe life into the dead corpse that is the Lake Malbena helicopter fantasy. This is the latest in a string of desperate measures taken by the Liberals to prevent the project from falling over.
Yesterday, the Minister was asked to table the variations to the lease by the end of the day and failed to do so, saying the lease is already public. But the Minister’s own correspondence shows the lease has been varied multiple times since a version was published thanks to a Right to Information request.
Minister Duigan has contradicted himself and potentially been misleading. He must in good faith provide all deeds of variation and relating correspondence to the Halls Island lease. On behalf of the Greens, I have written to the Minister requesting this information, in full, by the end of business, Friday 18 October 2024 to shine some light on this murky affair.
