Category: Environment

Coalition attacks public access to legal system

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Yesterday Attorney-General George Brandis announced the Federal Government’s intention to repeal a provision of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 in order to stop what the Coalition describes as “vigilante litigation”[1]. The Pirate Party believes that the Australian legal system should remain available to anyone wishing to challenge the legality of administrative decisions, regardless of who they are or what ideology they represent.

“The notion of ‘vigilante litigation’ is frankly ludicrous,” said Simon Frew, President of the Pirate Party. “The law must be followed by the government and its agencies. When it is not, there must be a mechanism for the public to challenge these decisions through impartial courts — especially in the case of environmental issues that often have a regional, national and global impact. If that right is taken away, genuine vigilante actions might be the only way to challenge government action.”

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CSG extraction must stop for the well-being of Australia and its farmers

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A recent study[1] commissioned by the Queensland Government has found irreversible damage has been caused by the release of toxic chemicals and gases into the local environment near Chinchilla. The study indicates that the experimental plant run by Linc Energy is by far the most likely culprit. The Pirate Party, whose official policy includes a moratorium on coal seam gas (“CSG”) extraction[2], believes that this damage is unacceptable and that all CSG extraction should cease until the risks involved are properly understood and protected against.

The Pirate Party is also concerned (although unsurprised) that, while the study has been released to Linc Energy, it has not yet been released to nearby farmers and landowners. Notes released by the ABC detail “explosive levels” of hydrogen, and also highlights that four researchers were hospitalised while testing at the site, most likely due to elevated levels of carbon monoxide. The Pirate Party believes that landowners must immediately be made aware of the presence of dangerous levels of toxic chemicals and gases.

Pirate Party Deputy President Michael Keating commented: “State and federal government preference for mining over food production is dangerously shortsighted. Coal seam gas extraction risks agricultural land for short-term economic benefit and, as this report demonstrates, the risk is just not worth it. With a growing population and increasing risk of drought from climate change, gambling with agricultural land is folly.”

“This one incident has impacted hundreds of square kilometres of agricultural land. We cannot afford to keep losing prime farming land to these experiments, not when the lives and fortunes of our farmers are at risk. Our governments must step in to secure the safety and livelihood of our farmers,” Mr Keating continued.

The Pirate Party remains committed to the environment and ecology of Australia, and supporting the livelihoods of Australian farmers.

[1] http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-08-10/linc-energy-secret-report-reveals-toxic-chemical-risk/6681740
[2] https://pirateparty.org.au/wiki/Policies/Energy,_Environment_and_Climate_Change#Preserving_Australia.E2.80.99s_ecology

UN calls on Federal Government to reconsider Reef dumping plans

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Pirate Party Australia reaffirms its stance on scientific research and evidence-based decision making[1], aligning with hundreds of leading scientists calling into question the decision to allow the dumping of dredge spoil in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage area.

“To approve dredge dumping on the Great Barrier Reef against the advice of hundreds of scientists and many environmental organisations around the world is yet another display of the scientific ignorance and short-sighted, single-minded pandering to mining interests that has come to be a hallmark of this Government,” commented Melanie Thomas, Deputy President of Pirate Party Australia. “Pirate Party Australia advocates the adoption of an open and scientific framework to help inform these developments and protect our natural heritage for generations to come.”

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Great Barrier Reef Marine Authority dumps on scientific evidence

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Pirate Party Australia is critical of the Abbott Government’s “anti-knowledge” approach, after the Federal Environment Minister Greg Hunt and the Great Barrier Reef Marine Authority approved a proposal to dump three million cubic metres of dredge spoil into the waters surrounding the Great Barrier Reef despite expert advice against it[1].

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Authority has stated that it will “use the best available science, knowledge and information to support environmental policy, regulation and conservation outcomes”[2]. Scientists and conservation lobbyists advised the Authority against granting approval in a letter to the Chairman of the Authority dated 29 January 2014. In this letter, it was declared that “The best available science … makes it very clear that expansion of the port at Abbot Point will have detrimental effects on the Great Barrier Reef”[3].

“Not only is this an environmental issue, it also highlights the current Government’s contempt for evidence and research,” said Melanie Thomas, Pirate Party candidate for the Seat of Griffith. “What is the point of consulting with environmental experts if you ignore their advice? This Government is doing all it can to avoid making decisions informed by scientific evidence and instead clinging recklessly to ideologies based on feelings and opinions instead of substance.”

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