A team of senators from the Morrison Government, the Labor party, and Nick Xenophon’s Centre Alliance has rejected a motion calling for a ban on dangerous underground coal gasification. It followed a protest at Leigh Creek Energy’s AGM today.
“It is a disgrace that the Morrison Government, the Labor party and Nick Xenophon’s Centre Alliance teamed up today to vote down a motion that called on a ban to underground coal gasification. They were faced with the facts of the disastrous effects UCG has on communities and still backed poison over people,” Greens environment spokesperson Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.
“Passionate activists and community advocates are working hard to put an end to this poisonous practice in Leigh Creek. The Greens will continue to fight in the Parliament for a nation-wide ban, in the hope that the environmental disaster seen in Queensland is never repeated.
“Poisoning the water table and contaminating soil and air for the sake of profits that will mostly go offshore does not fly with the South Australian community. It is widely known that this toxic practice is not only harmful to the environment, but it makes workers sick and has been linked to some cancers.
“Queensland has acknowledged what a gross error it made when it allowed underground coal gasification to go ahead, and it was revealed yesterday that taxpayers are forced to pay the clean-up bill. It is devastating that the project ever got the go-ahead in South Australia.
“The Greens will continue to fight against this toxic project, and stand up for the community in Leigh Creek, and the traditional owners who want this project stopped.”
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Greens Senate motion:
The Senate—
a) notes that Leigh Creek Energy have produced their first syngas using underground coal gasification (UCG);
b) notes that UCG was banned in 2016 in Queensland after the Linc Energy disaster in Chinchilla, which was declared Queensland’s worst environmental disaster;
c) notes further that UCG has been responsible for incidents of poisoning the water table and contaminating soil and air and has been linked to an increase in cancers, including lung and breast cancers.
Calls on the government to urgently intervene and stop the Leigh Creek project from progressing any further and ban UCG across the country.
Senator Sarah Hanson-Young
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