The Greens are calling on Labor to tell Tasmanians if they’ve changed their position on a permanent ban on fracking, following repeated attempts to engage with the party on our bill to end the environmentally destructive practise.
The Greens announced our intention to legislate a permanent ban on fossil fuel fracking in February, after a year of discussions with stakeholders.
Tasmania needs a legislated ban on fracking to give farmers the long-term confidence they need. The current moratorium until 2030 doesn’t provide the environmental protection necessary, and it isn’t compatible with the climate crisis. The moratorium can be lifted with the stroke of a pen.
We have been trying to engage Labor on our bill to ban fracking permanently for months. Despite many opportunities to be briefed and ask questions, at no point did Labor raise any concerns with us about the bill.
Out of the blue, hours before the bill was due to come on, we were told that Labor were unwilling to support it. Given Labor’s long-standing support for a permanent ban on fracking, and their previous support for a similar Greens’ bill, we were both surprised and disappointed, as were the stakeholders who wanted this bill and trusted Labor.
Collaboration is key in minority parliaments, and the Greens wanted to work constructively to achieve this long-awaited outcome for Tasmania’s climate and farmers. That’s why we delayed the bill to give it the best chance of success.
Since then, we have tried to engage Labor on their concerns. But we’ve got no closer to understanding why they are unwilling to support the bill.
We heard indirectly that Labor were concerned the bill would impact a new technology, so we’ve worked to develop an amendment to the bill to mitigate this concern, providing pathways for future technology to be exempted where needed. With this amendment, we hope Labor will now be in the position where they can support our legislation.
Labor need to be clear now with Tasmanians. Have they changed their long-standing position on a permanent ban for fracking, betraying farmers and the environment to side with the Liberals? Or will they work constructively across the Parliament as promised to give Tasmanian farmers and the environment the protection needed from fracking.
