Grafton Nannas Against Gas and Greed joined a community campaign – Fund Our Future Not Gas – in the lead-up to May 2021 Federal Budget

 GRAFTON KNITTING NANNAS CAMPAIGN ON FUNDING OUR FUTURE - NOT GAS

Knitting Nannas setting up for the day in Grafton
Photographs supplied

The Grafton Nannas Against Gas and Greed joined a community campaign – Fund Our Future Not Gas – in the lead-up to May’s Federal Budget. Those participating in this campaign include Nannas from around the state, 350.org and GetUp. The campaign aims to raise awareness about the folly of the federal government’s gas led recovery and highlight where budget money should go to improve the lot of all Australians – not just the polluting fossil fuel companies which the Government plans to shower with largesse.

At the Grafton knit-in outside MP Kevin Hogan’s Prince Street office on Thursday April 22, interested passers-by were asked what they thought should be in the budget. Among the suggestions were improved funding for aged care, hospitals and health, education, the NDIS, homelessness, public housing, first home buyers, Closing the Gap, environmental protection, the ABC, and the CSIRO. As well there were calls for electric car subsidies, more renewable energy, and effective climate action. Another suggestion was not to give more money to the already rich.

Some suggestions were less about budget expenditure but highlighting the concerns many people have about politicians’ ethics and their accountability as well as the health of our democracy. These included calls for honesty, stopping lying, banning big business lobbyists, stopping the press monopoly, and stopping secret deals.

Also there were calls to stop relying on poorly paid workers from overseas (and get rid of 457 Visas) as well as for women’s rights that were real, not token, and the establishment of a Federal ICAC.

Some of those who chatted with the Nannas did not want to add anything to the list but expressed support for what had been listed while others approved of what the Nannas were doing to draw attention to the need for fairness in the budget and applauded the Nannas for getting out and campaigning.

In the follow-up to their knit-in the Nannas will be writing to Kevin Hogan about these suggestions and other general comments they received. The Grafton Nannas believe it would be in Mr Hogan’s interest to listen to what his constituents say about ditching the gas folly and ensuring public money works for his community. He should know that after our local Metgasco experience there is unlikely to be much support here for a gas led recovery, particularly amongst the increasing number of people who want fossil fuels phased out in order to cut our carbon emissions drastically.

- Leonie Blain

On behalf of the Grafton Knitting Nannas Against Gas and Greed

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NSW Labor MLA for Lismore Janelle Saffin speaks out about Nationals support of extensive coal seam gas exploration and mining in New South Wales

Janelle Saffin, Labor MLA for Lismore, media release, 4 June 2020:

Ben ‘Fracker' Franklin should pack up his Byron Bay digs and head back to Sydney: Saffin

STATE Member for Lismore Janelle Saffin today (Thursday 4 June 2020) slammed the NSW Nationals for voting against a Private Members Bill that would permanently protect the Northern Rivers from harmful Coal Seam Gas mining.

“Byron Bay-based Parliamentary Secretary for Energy and the Arts Ben Franklin and his fellow Nationals did a 360-degree turn last night hoping no one would notice and sought to turn the guns on others,” Ms Saffin said.

Ms Saffin said with the bill due to be debated in the Legislative Assembly today (June 4), she would be watching to see whether North Coast-based Nationals MPs Gurmesh Singh (Coffs Harbour), Chris Gulaptis (Clarence) and Geoff Provest (Tweed) would become turncoats as well.

“If these MPs are serious about protecting the Northern Rivers and North Coast they will vote for this bill,” Ms Saffin said.

“In 2015 at the Nationals’ State Conference, Ben Franklin seconded a motion put by Chris Gulaptis, calling for the need to recognise widespread opposition to CSG and to buy back CSG licences.

“Ben Franklin then warned that a solution was needed otherwise the Nationals could lose the seats on the Northern Rivers for a generation, and that ‘if we do not get this right the people of the Northern Rivers will not listen to us on anything else’

“You got that right Ben as you lost another seat, Lismore in 2019 and went backwards, and the people of the Northern Rivers will never listen to you or your Nationals mates again.

“You had the chance to protect the water, the farmers, the agricultural industry in the Northern Rivers and Narrabri, and you ran away from it.

“Ben ‘Fracker’ Franklin should pack up his Byron Bay digs and head back to Sydney, because he has sealed his fate by putting city interests ahead of country people.”

Ms Saffin accused the Nationals of not being serious about protecting our people, our water, our farmlands and our agricultural jobs in the Northern Rivers from the harmful effects of CSG.

“They are only serious about protecting their own jobs, whether it be the Deputy Premier spot or a seat they “claim” as theirs as of right,” Ms Saffin said.

“They only reacted to electoral loss for them -- losing the state seat of Ballina and nearly losing Lismore in 2015. It was not support and protection for us; it was ‘jobs’ protection for them.

“I stood up against Metgasco when I researched and discovered the harmful effects of CSG mining. I took it into the Federal Parliament and advocated hard to get whatever power the Federal Government had in this matter enacted to protect our water.

“I helped secure ‘water trigger’ legislation which was subsequently weakened by the Abbott Government and the Nationals.”

Ms Saffin said the Petroleum (Onshore) Amendment (Coal Seam Gas Moratorium) Bill 2019, has the following key elements:

* It imposes a moratorium on the prospecting for, or the mining of, coal seam gas across New South Wales.

* It applies no-go zones to particular areas deemed off limits, including the local government areas of the Northern Rivers region, drinking water catchments, national parks, residential areas and prime agricultural land.

The Northern Rivers is made up of Tweed Shire, Byron Shire, Ballina, Lismore City, Kyogle, Richmond Valley and Clarence Valley.

Ms Saffin said: “Farmers want the permanent protections of this bill, locals want this, anyone who cares about water wants this -- that is all of us -- the agricultural, fishing tourism sector want this.

“I have advocated for a statewide CSG moratorium to my NSW Labor colleagues and indicated that I would cross the floor of Parliament if I had to,” Ms Saffin said.

“The 2019 bill is similar to (NSW Shadow Minister for the North Coast and Shadow Minister for Climate Change) Adam Searle MLC’s 2015 bill so we (Labor) have a long history of standing up to protect the Northern Rivers.

“I also moved a motion at NSW Labor’s State Conference to create no-go zones here on the Northern Rivers.”

Berejiklian Government determined to expand coal seam gas mining in New South Wales voted down bill to reintroduce the public interest as a ground for certain decisions relating to petroleum titles and impose a moratorium on CSG exploration & mining

The Sydney Morning Herald, 4 June 2020: 

The Berejiklian government has rushed to defeat a private member's bill to derail the controversial Narrabri gas project, as anti-coal seam gas groups were preparing to target National party seats. 

In a rare move, the Coalition suspended the day's parliamentary agenda on Thursday to debate a coal seam gas moratorium bill, in a bid to fast-track its demise in the Legislative Assembly. 

It comes after the bill, put forward by independent MP Justin Field, passed the NSW upper house on Wednesday night with the support of Labor and the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party. 
 

Santos's Narrabri project could supply up to half of NSW's gas needs.CREDIT:DEAN SEWELL

 
The bill, which the government voted down in the lower house, sought to impose an immediate moratorium on the prospecting or mining of coal seam gas in NSW, and classifies certain areas as permanent "no go zones". 

One of these zones is the Great Artesian Basin recharge zone, which covers part of the area for Santos' proposed $3 billion project to drill 850 gas wells in Narrabri, northern NSW, many of them within the Pilliga state forest. 

Deputy Premier John Barilaro attacked the Shooters party - the Nationals' key rivals in the bush - for their "unholy alliance" with Labor and the Greens in supporting the bill, which he said would "destroy" jobs..... 

Coal seam gas mining has long been a vexed issue for the National Party, amid fierce opposition from farmers and community groups. It was a key factor in the party losing the northern NSW seat of Ballina to the Greens at the 2015 election. 

Shooters MP Roy Butler, whose seat of Barwon includes the township of Narrabri, said the "vast majority" of his electorate opposed coal seam gas, predominantly out of concern for groundwater contamination. 

"The reality is if you don't have a good domestic supply of water in a town like Narrabri, Coonamble, any of those places, it doesn't matter how many jobs you've got, because you're not going to have anyone in the town," Mr Butler said..... 

BACKGROUND 

Petroleum (Onshore) Amendment (Coal Seam Gas Moratorium) Bill 2019 [NSW]Explanatory note

The first and second reading of this bill occurred on 22 August 2019.

In the vote of 5 June 2020 which defeated the bill both Nationals MP for Clarence Chris Gulaptis and Labor MP for Lismore Janelle Saffin were designated as "Pairs" and therefore deemed absent from the vote.

Coaltion Government MLAs who voted down the bill and their electorates:

Anderson, K. (Tamworth) Ayres, S. (Penrith) Barilaro, J. (Monaro) Berejiklian, G. (Willoughby) Clancy, J. (Albury) Conolly, K. (Riverstone) Constance, A. (Bega) Cooke, S. (Cootamundra) Coure, M. (Oatley) Crouch, A. (Terrigal) Davies, T. (Mulgoa) Dominello, V. (Ryde) Elliott, D. (Baulkham Hills) Evans, L. (Heathcoate) Gibbons, M. (Holsworthy) Griffin, J. (Manly) Henskens, A. (Ku-ring-gai) Johnsen, M. (Upper Hunter) Kean, M. (Hornsby) Lee, G. (Parramatta) Lindsay, W. (East Hills) Marshall, A. (Northern Tablelands) O'Dea, J. (Davidson) Pavey, M. (Oxley) Perrottet, D. (Epping) Petinos, E. (Miranda) Preston, R. (Hawkesbury) Roberts, A. (Lane Cove) Saunders, D. (Dubbo) Sidgreaves, P. (Camden) Sidoti, J. (Drummoyne) Smith, N. (Wollondilly) Speakman, M. (Cronulla) Taylor, M. (Seven Hills) Toole, P. (Bathurst) Tuckerman, W. (Goulburn) Upton, G. (Vaucluse) Ward, G. (Kiama).