Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Education and Training) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Wang for the question and, given the question contains some very specific informational requests, I thank him for the prior warning. As you, and I am sure many other senators, are aware, the Minister for the Environment, Mr Hunt, has stopped the clock on the Watermark coal project to seek further information from the Independent Expert Scientific Committee on Coal Seam Gas and Large Coal Mining Development. This will ensure that the most up-to-date scientific information is utilised for the assessment of the project under our national environmental laws. This follows Minister Hunt taking the step of visiting the area and listening to the concerns of farmers—