Lock the Gate Alliance president Drew Hutton said he “supported wholeheartedly” all 20 of the recommendations of the Select Committee on Certain Aspects of Queensland Government Administration related to Commonwealth Government Affairs.
Mr Hutton called on the ALP to reverse its opposition to recommendations calling for a moratorium on new coal seam gas approvals, a Royal Commission into the human impacts of CSG mining, and the ban on fracking in Queensland.
“It's a shame Labor opposed four of the most crucial recommendations,” Mr Hutton said. “Now is the time for the ALP to clear the decks and cut its links with the former State Labor administration and the former LNP government.
“Queenslanders know some really dodgy deals went down under both the previous ALP and LNP governments and now is the time to right those wrongs.
“The report highlights the reasons why the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation powers should not be handed back to the states – they just can’t be trusted as the sole approving authority for major developments.
“Both the new ALP state government and the Federal Government should be pushing for a Queensland ICAC and a Resources Ombudsman to stamp out corruption and bring transparency back to this state.
“The report highlights the harrowing evidence given by people living in the gasfields who have experienced negative impacts on their health, their farming businesses and their land values.
“We are very disappointed that the Liberal Senator issued a dissenting report and that the Liberal Senators did not even bother turning up at sittings to hear evidence from people living in gasfields.
Mr Hutton congratulated the members of the committee “particularly Queensland Senators’ Larissa Waters and Glenn Lazarus who acted in an exemplary manner despite the appalling behavior of Coalition committee members who constantly tried to undermine the proceedings.”
Report here: http://www.aph.gov.au/~/media/Committees/Senate/committee/qldgov_ctte/report.pdf