Lock the Gate welcomes the announcement made by Premier Palaszczuk at the Maryborough markets today, that if re-elected an ALP Government would ensure there is no fracking in the Wide Bay Burnett region.
The gasfield threat covers two of the most marginal Labor held electorates in QLD: Maryborough and Bundaberg.
Maryborough resident and Lock the Gate organiser Vicki Perrin said:
"I got the best shock of my life at the markets this morning when the Premier told me that they are on board for a ban on fracking gasfield in this region.
“I wanted to give the Premier a big hug, but decided to stick with a handshake. We’ve been working to protect this region for over four years now. This is huge.
“The Premier said that she was 100% behind her local candidate Bruce Saunders, who had been on her case to back the locals and put the region off limits to fracking gasfields.
“The Premier and local ALP candidates have finally listened to the avalanche of community opposition to fracking gasfields across the Wide Bay Burnett region.
"Farmers and communities across Queensland’s gorgeous Wide Bay Burnett region, including the Fraser Coast, are blanketed by licences for fracking gasfields.
"We are very pleased with this no fracking commitment from Labor and look forward to getting the detail in writing."
The ALP commitment for a fracking no-go area matches statements given by The Greens and One Nation.
"Now it's up to Tim Nicholls and the LNP to step up and promise to protect the Wide Bay Burnett and all the agriculture and tourism jobs.
"We need a fully legislated no-go zone for gasfields and fracking across the Wide Bay Burnett region.
"We can't afford to risk our precious farmland and water or allow our thriving agriculture and tourism industries to be destroyed for fracking.
In recent years, twenty communities in the Wide Bay Burnett have declared themselves gasfield free. A whopping 95% of people in those communities agree to defend themselves from the gasfield invasion.
Lock the Gate’s ad running on TV in the Wide Bay region:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAt4yqYuqCc
Lock the Gate is now seeking a formal written commitment from the QLD Labor party to legally protect the Wide Bay Burnett region from fracking gasfields. The group will asking the LNP to offer bi-partisan support for the fracking no-go-zone in the Wide Bay Burnett.