Mines minister Norman Moore has attacked South West Greens MLC Lyn MacLaren accusing her of whipping up hysteria over the issue of a proposed coal mine in Margaret River.
Mr Moore said Ms MacLaren misrepresented comments he made in State Parliament regarding the proposed mine.
In a press release yesterday, Ms MacLaren claimed Mr Moore told the Legislative Assembly that, "most of the vineyards ... that the Member wants to protect have been built on the proceeds of the mining industry, probably most of them if the truth be known."
She further accused him of a tirade against Margaret River after he said that the Hunter Valley had "perfectly good wines and perfectly good coalmines" and said there was nothing pristine about Margaret River, adding that it used to be cow country.
Mr Moore hit back today and said that the government is yet to receive an application for the mine.
He said until it did all speculation about the issue remain hypothetical.
"Anybody can read the parliamentary Hansard on the debate and see at no stage did I imply vineyard owners and operators were hypocrites.
"In the same vein, at no stage did I launch a tirade against Margaret River."
"In fact the opposite is true," he said.
"The record shows that I made special note of the fantastic development of tourism and hospitality industry in the area and the magnificent food and wines which can be found there.
"It is also mischievous for Ms MacLaren to infer that I suggested tourism and coal mining were a good mix.
"Although I mentioned the indisputable fact that both wine production and coal mining occur in the Hunter Valley region ... I also said I did not know if they co-existed well."
Mr Moore reiterated that until the submission for the coal mine is received the Government is not in a position to make a judgment as to whether it should or should not proceed.
"Such a submission, if it is received, will undergo an extremely rigorous approvals process and there is no guarantee the company would ever succeed in proceeding to developing a working mine."
