THE Victorian Coalition has vowed to sack public servants who refuse to implement its election policy to restore cattle to the Alpine National Park.
The Coalition's pledge to reintroduce cattle as a management tool to reduce fire risk, should it win the November 27 state election, has been labelled hollow by the State Government.
The Bracks Government legislated to ban grazing in 2005 by removing the licensing system under which Victoria's mountain cattlemen took stock into the park each summer.
But while the Coalition has promised to revive park grazing, it will not do so by legislating to restore the licensing system.
Instead, Coalition agriculture spokesman and Nationals deputy leader Peter Walsh said expressions of interest would be sent out seeking graziers to take cattle into the park.
Mr Walsh said Department of Sustainability and Environment and Parks Victoria staff would decide on where and when to put cattle to keep fuel loads down and reduce fire risk.
He denied the policy was impractical and that the well-known opposition in DSE to park grazing would prevent its implementation.
"If the public servants aren't professional enough to implement the policy of the government of the day, we would find new public servants," Mr Walsh said.
"At the end of the day it's the Government that makes decisions about what happens in Victoria."
However, East Gippsland independent MP Craig Ingram said cattle would never return to the park without legislation.
"If it's up to Parks Victoria and DSE on where and when grazing should return, it will never happen," Mr Ingram said.
"If you believe this is the right thing to do, it should be unequivocal - you should legislate."
Mr Ingram said the Coalition was "hedging their bets so the Liberals in the city can say one thing and the Libs and Nats in regional electorates can say another".
Mountain Cattlemen's Association of Victoria president Doug Treasure denied the Coalition policy only provided false hope.
"At least someone has had a look at this and that gives me a lot of hope," he said.
However, he also said: "I found it very positive but I'm not going to buy a big mob of cattle on the basis of it".
Environment Minister Gavin Jennings said the Coalition's policy "would only create confusion for graziers" and "would no doubt open the floodgates for uncontrolled and destructive grazing".
