2016-08-30
With the ban on fracking announced in Victoria, the Australian Greens will move for a nation-wide ban on fracking to protect farmland and water and call on federal Labor to follow their state colleagues and back the move.
"The move by the Victorian Government to listen to the science, the community and the Greens and ban fracking is very welcome - and should be followed by Labor Governments and oppositions around the country," said Senator Larissa Waters, Australian Greens Deputy Leader and spokesperson on environment and mining.
"For five years we Greens have had legislation before the federal parliament to let landholders say ‘no' to coal and coal seam gas and to ban the dangerous process of fracking.
"This week I will re-introduce my bill into the Senate to ban fracking and give landholders the right to refuse coal and coal seam gas.
"I call on federal Labor to adopt the position of their state colleagues in Victoria, NSW, WA, NT and Tasmania and back my bill to ban fracking. With support from the crossbench in the Senate, this bill could present a united front which challenges the government to prioritise farmland, water and clean energy over multinational profits.
"The Greens will continue to be a voice for communities who want their land and water protected from dangerous fracking and investment in clean energy.
"It's high time both Labor and Minister Frydenberg abandon the dangerous myth that fracked gas can be a ‘transition' fuel to a pollution-free future rather than a dirty, dangerous distraction which risks our agricultural productivity and our climate.
Media contact: Asia Munro 0419 626 725