Aniko Papp, South Lismore
On 19 June, the federal government, after pressure from the Greens and the independents, passed changes to the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act that allows the federal government to veto CSG developments if there was potential damage to the water table.
During the debate, Labor rejected the Greens to extend proposed environmental powers further, to legislate similar powers over national parks and to extend controls over the shale gas industry.
The Greens proposed changes that would have allowed landholders to refuse access to their land by mining companies.
In the federal parliament, neither Labor nor Nationals supported this proposal. Our local MP Janelle Saffin and Kevin Hogan for the Nationals have anti-CSG petitions at their electoral offices and market stalls, what a joke.
Unfortunately politics IS one big joke, played on us, the people…