Larissa Waters (Queensland, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

Mr Tony Abbott. Thank you for that correction, Senator. His thought-bubble lasted 24 hours. The bill would give farmers the right to say no, given the risks to their land. We think they should have the right to say no to this industry. We do not understand its long-term impacts. They should not have to risk their land and the future of their kids. Likewise, they should not have to risk the land that feeds us all—and that feeds the world, given that we are still a net food exporter.

I have introduced countless motions calling on the government to press 'pause' on coal seam gas. There will be another one on Thursday saying, 'This industry is just too dangerous; let's stop it.' This is not a state issue. We are talking about water resources—this country's water resources—that do not respect state boundaries. This has become a national issue, and I am afraid that it is well past time that the old parties started listening to the serious community concern that is being expressed on this issue—and not just in pockets of Queensland; this has gone everywhere now. There is a real uprising in rural communities, and they are being joined by city folk.

People do not want their land destroyed by this industry when we have alternative, cleaner energy sources. We only have one way of growing food and we only have this one water resource. We need to properly look after it. So the Greens will continue to do that. We are proud to stand with the community in their opposition to coal seam gas, and I will be proud, on Thursday, to bring yet another motion to this chamber, which will unfortunately probably expose the old parties' complicity and their continued support for this dirty fossil fuel.