THE Victorian Coalition has refuted claims it cannot honour its election pledge to return cattle to the Alpine National Park.
East Gippsland independent MP Craig Ingram last week accused the Coalition of making a "hollow pledge" to restore grazing if it won the November 27 state election.
Mr Ingram said the policy would never be implemented unless the Coalition legislated to restore the grazing licensing system the Bracks Government abolished in 2005.
But Nationals deputy leader Peter Walsh said the Coalition had received advice from "senior parliamentary staff" that legislation was not required to return cattle to the park.
"The Coalition has given an unequivocal commitment that we will return cattle to the high country as a tool to reduce fuel loads," Mr Walsh said.
"We have received advice that we don't need to legislate to return the cattle on this basis."
But Mr Ingram said it was clear from the National Parks Act that it would be "almost impossible to return grazing without changes to the legislation and those who supported the Coalition's stance must be very disappointed with the reality".
"Cattle grazing was removed from the Alpine National Park through legislation and it will take legislation to return the grazing," Mr Ingram said.
Mr Walsh, in turn, accused Mr Ingram of "deliberately misrepresenting the facts".
"It would appear Mr Ingram is still acting as a political lapdog for the Labor Party, who he put into power in 1999 and who banned cattle from the high country in the first place," Mr Walsh said.
Mountain Cattlemen's Association acting president Chris Commins also rejected Mr Ingram's claims the Coalition pledge was hollow.
"It's a step in the right direction and if it can be implemented it's a big positive," Mr Commins said. "Given fire and fuel mitigation is such a topical issue, I would have fairly high expectations it would become a fact."
