Lock the Gate Alliance welcomes OBE Organic’s strong public opposition to new oil and gas projects on the Channel Country rivers and floodplains of the Lake Eyre Basin.
Queensland’s largest organic beef exporter released a statement this week saying it supports strong protections for the rivers and floodplains of the Channel Country in Western Queensland, which are under threat from oil and gas exploration.
Despite repeated promises to protect the region’s rivers and floodplains, the Palaszczuk Government has so far failed to act, and has repeatedly delayed the release of a report in response to multiple stakeholder meetings.
Lock the Gate’s Queensland Outreach Coordinator and grazier Nick Holliday said oil and gas production could not coexist with the beef industry in the Channel Country.
“The floodplains of the Channel Country rivers of the Lake Eyre Basin are among Queensland’s most productive beef cattle country. If the Palaszczuk Government gives gas companies permission to industrialise this landscape, it will have far-reaching and potentially irreversible negative consequences for graziers and their customers,” he said.
“With increasing concerns about food security and significant demand for clean, green beef both at home and worldwide, there’s never been a more important time to prioritise the protection of the Channel Country for food production over the dangerous plans of the oil and gas industry.
“It’s fantastic to see respected voices like OBE Organics asking the Queensland Palaszczuk Government to honour its long-standing commitment to protecting the Channel Country from oil and gas fracking. We’re behind it all the way.
“The protection of these rivers and floodplains is long overdue. The Palaszczuk Government must enact its long standing election promise, and preserve the region’s clean, green beef industry and all else that makes the Channel Country special for future generations.”
OBE Organics is a farmer-owned company exporting organic Queensland beef domestically and internationally. The company sources beef grown on more than eight million hectares of the Lake Eyre Basin, known as the Channel Country, for its unique wide channel-like floodplains.
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