One of the craziest and most destructive acts of the Manning administration was to remove the requirement of quarry operators to get clearance from the Environmental Management Authority for quarrying up to 150 acres. Such an act was tantamount to giving "developers" the licence to destroy the environment. The effects have been visible in stark and graphic pictures of wanton destruction, particularly in the Northern Range.
I thought that one of the first acts of the PP Government would have been to reverse that law. But when I saw pictures in the newspapers of the quarrying lobbyists cozying up to the new Minister of Energy, I knew we were in trou- ble. Instead of quashing the "bad law," the Government proceeded to grant licences to a large number of quarrying operators. Prof Kenny resigned in disgust and despair.
The Government has taken almost two years to respond to the growing threat to the environment and it only reacted after a big public outcry against the destruction being perpetrated close to the Asa Wright Nature Centre. What puzzles me is that the EMA reported that the new change in the law is not retroactive. What is the meaning of this? Does it mean that those quarry operators who have already been granted licences to destroy the environment can continue to do so forever?
People say the law is an ass. But it is people who make it so. Surely if a law is bad or not working for the greater good it should be removed or changed in the interest of the greater good. It should not punish the majority and reward the few, as it did, for example, in the case of the am-nesty granted to the Muslimeen.
James Lee Wah
Tortuga
