Malcolm Roberts (Queensland, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Hansard source

One Nation opposes this motion. Fact: while it's true that one insurance company has withdrawn liability coverage for coal seam gas infrastructure on farmers' property, there are other insurance companies continuing to provide this service. Firstly, the core issue is farmers' rights, which Liberal-National and Labor state governments in Queensland have bypassed in their rush for gas royalties. These rights of farmers over their own property need to be restored. Secondly, gas companies—not farmers—need to provide insurance for their infrastructure. Thirdly, state governments have responsibility for gas mining and effectively underwrite that liability. That is the incentive for state governments to get it right in regulations to protect our valuable natural environment. The issue of insurance is a state government responsibility, and we must oppose the Greens' relentless pursuit of centralisation and the destruction of states' rights, undermining our national Constitution. The federal government has no role in mandating insurance coverage on Queensland farms.