Enough talk: Greens call for action on right to say no at COAG meeting
MEDIA RELEASE - 3 December 2015
The Greens NSW mining and agriculture spokesperson Jeremy Buckingham today called on Premier Mike Baird and NSW Resources and Energy Minister Anthony Roberts to support a national framework to give landholders and traditional owners the legal right to say no to coal and gas companies coming onto their land.
Minister Roberts will be attending a meeting of COAG Mining and Energy Ministers on Friday (4 December) and the issue of a landholders’ right to say ‘no’ will be on the agenda after Federal Minister Josh Frydenberg confirmed in October that he would “bring the state ministers together to plan a way forward.”
This follows recent statements from Nationals leader Warren Truss, Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce and Nationals senator Fiona Nash calling for landholders to be able to veto exploration and extraction on their properties.
“The public overwhelmingly support farmers and traditional owners having the right to protect their land and water from coal and gas companies and Friday’s COAG meeting is an opportunity to finally make this a reality,” Greens MP Jeremy Buckingham said.
“The time for talk is over. Mike Baird and Anthony Roberts need to go into the COAG meeting on Friday with a concrete proposal to give landholders and Traditional Owners the legal right to say no to coal and gas mining on their land.
“Landholders have had enough of politicians at a federal and state level narrow casting about the right to say no but then comprehensively failing to deliver on their promises.”
“Coal seam gas and coal exploration is highly disruptive to farming activities and risks polluting the land and water. It is time for the NSW Government to stop the political deception and support legislation to enshrine the right to say no.”
Senator Richard Di Natale, Australian Greens Leader, said COAG must act urgently to give landholders in every state and territory legal rights to say no to coal and gas mining on their land.
“We Greens have legislation in the federal and state Parliaments to give landholders the legal rights they deserve to protect their land, water and climate.
“The Nationals say one thing in regional communities and the media and then do the opposite in Parliament.
“Communities are sick of the empty promises and the Greens are standing with them to demand that COAG finally acts to fix this injustice,” Senator Di Natale said.
Contact (Jeremy Buckingham): Jack Gough – 9230 2202 or 0427 713 101
Contact (Richard Di Natale): Andrew Blyberg – 0457 901 600
Governments need to value land and culture not just money. Greed will kill all of us.
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