THE president of the Guernsey Milk Retailers Association has expressed both frustration and relief that the milk distribution debate will return to the States.

Jason Piriou said he felt frustrated that despite overwhelming support for Deputy Mary Lowe’s April 2007 amendment, Commerce and Employment minister Carla McNulty Bauer (pictured) had made impossible the implementation of the House’s decision.

‘Deputy McNulty Bauer has sought to use every twist and turn, and at a significant cost, to delay the implementation of the previous House’s clear decision and is now opportunistically engineering further debate before the new House in the hope of overturning that decision,’ he said.

But he was relieved to know that there would soon be a further – and hopefully final – instruction from the States.

‘On the other hand, having seen protracted discussion prove fruitless and the GMRA’S own compromise position rejected by Commerce and Employment, we are relieved that we are going to see the end to Deputy McNulty Bauer’s procrastination,’ he said.