Koala ‘massacre’ farmer tells of death threats
Trump tweets flip flop on Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump project
The man accused of Victoria’s alleged koala massacre says he has been subject to a campaign of death threats after the incident that sparked a global online outcry.
But Keith Troeth – whose mother Judith Troeth was a senator for Victoria and parliamentary secretary for forestry in the Howard government – says he has done nothing wrong and will return to Victoria to face wildlife authorities, who he labelled ‘‘fascists’’.
Investigators from Victoria’s Conservation Regulator were still in the Cape Bridgewater area on Thursday, interviewing witnesses after at least 40 koalas were found dead and more than 140 were rescued from the former blue gum plantation after it had been logged and then bulldozed.
An angry Victorian government has threatened a tough legal response, but Troeth, who is working in NSW and remains adamant that most of the koalas found dead on the land died of starvation, says he is confident he is not guilty of animal cruelty.
Troeth retired from politics nine years ago, has had no involvement in the family farming business for
President Donald Trump yesterday appeared to reverse his position on a proposal to create a national nuclear waste dump at Yucca Mountain in Nevada after his administration tried for several years to revive the mothballed project.
‘‘Nevada, I hear you on Yucca Mountain and my Administration will RESPECT you!’’ Trump said in a tweet.
‘‘Congress and previous Administrations have long failed to find lasting solutions – my Administration is committed to exploring innovative approaches – I’m confident we can get it done!’’
Adam Laxalt, Trump’s Republican re-election campaign chief in Nevada, said he believed the president was expressing support for opponents of the project, which was first proposed in the 1980s to entomb 70,000 tonnes of the nation’s most highly radioactive spent nuclear fuel in tunnels under an ancient the past 30 years, has no financial interest in the land at Cape Bridgewater and no involvement in the logging or clearing operation.
She could not be contacted on Thursday for comment.
Troeth told The Age he had been targeted online since the news broke by ‘‘whackos’’ making threats against himself and his elderly father, Russell, who owns the property at Cape Bridgewater.
‘‘I’ve got a massive hate campaign against me and I’m copping death threats right, left and centre,’’ Troeth said.
‘‘They’re gonna burn down our house, with us in it, that’s their other threat.’’
Troeth said the former plantation remained locked down by investigators but that he was not concerned by the prospect of returning to Victoria to face wildlife authorities.
‘‘I’m not concerned because I’ve done nothing wrong,’’ he said.
‘‘I’ll come back, I’ve got nothing to hide.
‘‘The fascists have yet to complete their investigations so until that happens, I won’t be making any more comment.’’
A spokeswoman from the Department of Environment, Land Water and Planning said the full extent of volcanic
Vegas.
Laxalt, a former state attorney general, fought federal efforts to resume work at the site using a wide range of objections revolving around safety, security and science.
Yucca Mountain was among topics he said he discussed with the president last weekend at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida. Laxalt yesterday tweeted thanks to Trump, saying, ‘‘We are so fortunate that you listened to us.’’
‘‘I know others have been speaking with him about Yucca Mountain,’’ Laxalt told The Associated Press. ‘‘We don’t support it. It’s not good for the state.’’
Trump administration officials and Nevada’s congressional delegation did not immediately have details to share about the president’s new position.
The US Department of Energy referred questions about the president’s tweet to the White House. The White House referred questions to ridge northwest of Las koala deaths at the property was unknown.
‘‘We are still working through exact numbers while teams carry out searches of the site,’’ she said.
‘‘To date 143 koalas have been assessed with 84 released back into the wild.
‘‘The Conservation Regulator’s Major Investigations Unit remains on site collecting evidence and taking witness statements.’’ – Nine the Office of Management and Budget, which did not immediately respond.
State officials have argued that seismic activity and nearby Air Force testing would make the site about 160km from Las Vegas unsuitable to safely store radioactive material from elsewhere in the US.
Nevada is a political swing state that Trump lost in 2016. His reelection campaign is targeting Nevada in 2020 as a battleground state it hopes to capture.
As a presidential candidate, Trump was ambiguous about the Yucca Mountain project.
Once he took office, his administration included requests for money to revive federal licensing for the project in his budget proposals, though Nevada’s congressional delegation successfully fought to keep the funding out of the budget.
Nevada’s senior senator, Democrat Catherine Cortez Masto, said in a tweet that she looks forward to working with the president on the ‘‘critical issue for Nevada’’ and ensuring Trump’s budget ‘‘doesn’t include any funding to restart the failed Yucca Mountain project that a majority of Nevadans reject, regardless of party’’.
Ryan King, a spokesman for Cortez Masto, said the senator’s office had not heard from the White House about the president’s new position before Trump’s tweet appeared.
Nevada’s Democratic members of Congress welcomed the news but at least one expressed scepticism about whether Trump would follow through and abandon a push for the project.
‘‘They say if you can’t beat them, join them,’’ said Rep. Dina Titus. ‘‘President Trump tried to shove nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain down our throats for three years. We beat him badly – three times in a row – and he knows it.’’
‘‘The hard work of the Nevada Delegation has clearly put pressure on the White House, as evidenced by the President’s newfound commitment to finding alternatives,’’ Rep.
Steven Horsford tweeted.
Nevada’s Democratic Governor Steve Sisolak said he welcomed the announcement and looks forward to seeing no funding for the Yucca Mountain project in Trump’s budget proposal expected next week.
Rep. Mark Amodei, Nevada’s sole Republican in Congress, did not immediately return a message seeking comment.
Mary Love, a spokeswoman for the Nuclear Energy Institute, a Washington-based nuclear power advocacy group, said she could not speculate on the president’s tweet but said ‘‘the political stalemate over used fuel remains an unfortunate reality’’.
‘‘The government has failed to meet its legal obligation to take possession of used fuel and this abdication is costing US taxpayers,’’ Love said in a statement.
‘‘We remain committed to development of a consolidated storage facility in parallel with the licensing and operation of a permanent geological repository.’’ –AP