Larissa Waters (Queensland, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

In lieu of dividing, I seek leave to make a one-minute statement.

Leave granted.

I thank the chamber. A month ago, fracking for gas began in the Beetaloo Basin in the Northern Territory against the wishes of local traditional owners, local farmers and pastoralists. This motion calls on the government to listen to traditional owners and landowners in the Beetaloo, who are terrified about the impact of fracking on their water resources. Uncle Ray Dixon, who is a Mudburra elder, has pleaded with Origin Energy to stop fracking and protect water. Northern Territory pastoralists are so concerned about access and environmental impacts that the owner of Amunjee Munjee Station has commenced legal action challenging the fracking plans. Fracking the Beetaloo threatens water resources and would unleash a carbon bomb that would undermine any prospect of Australia's meeting its international climate responsibilities, yet neither the climate impacts nor the water impacts of this fracking are even considered by our national environmental laws. This motion calls on the government to respect traditional owners, to listen to them; to support my bill to ban fracking; and to fix our environmental laws.

Question negatived.