Two Queensland women have travelled to Sydney and joined forces with Queensland Senators Glenn Lazarus and Larissa Waters to deliver a petition to the Prime Ministers Manly electorate office today asking him to deliver coal seam gas protections promised when he first took office.
The Prime Minister visited Tara in southern Queensland in November 2013 and promised Tara resident Debbie Orr that never again would a gas well be built so close to residential areas and that nobody should be forced to have a gas well on their property.
More than a year later, there is still no right for landholders to refuse gas wells on their property, there are gas wells being drilled near homes in Gloucester, and there are no routine health impact assessments of coal seam gas projects.
More than 9,000 people have signed a petition to Mr Abbott asking him to deliver on his promise and give landholders the right to say no to coal seam gas, introduce mandatory setbacks from homes and health impact assessments for unconventional gas.
Senators Lazarus has delivered the petition to Mr Abbott's electorate office in Manly with Queensland farmer Shay Dougall and mother of eleven, Narelle Nothdurft along with Camden mother, Danielle Hodges.
Shay's community at Hopeland are surrounded by gasfields, and have recently declared themselves gasfield free by direct community democracy.
Mrs Dougall said, We up in Queensland know the worst of what coal seam gas can do. My community has declared itself gasfield free, and we think our Governments should respect that, and give us the right to say no to unconventional gas wells.
Mrs Hodges said, Camden is one of the States important residential growth areas, but we have an operating gasfield very close to homes and it is making our children sick, just as it does in Queensland. We want the Prime Minister to deliver his promise and make sure gas wells stay away from our kids, and that proper health assessments are done.�
Lock the Gate National Coordinator, Phil Laird, said, People from around the country are facing the same challenges and the same lack of basic rights and protections. The Prime Minister took the trouble to visit Tara, but 9,000 people have signed this statement asking him to walk the walk and deliver on his promises.
We are grateful to Senators Lazarus and Waters and to Shay and Narelle for travelling to Sydney to deliver this petition. If we work together across the country, we can stop this dangerous industry from damaging our land and water and that's what we plan to do.