States can stop CSG on prime agricultural,urban land - if they want to

In an interview with Alan Jones broadcast on 2GB on 12 December 2012 the NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell, the Premier said he was bound by coal seam gas (CSG) licences and exploration rights on prime agricultural and urban land and even near major dam catchment areas granted by the previous Labor government.

If he did, he says, the government would be liable to pay massive compensation. Now in this interview broadcast on 14 December 2012 Alan Jones speaks to CANdo’s Professor David Flint.

Flint argues that there is no constitutional or legal barrier to stop the Premier from acting in the way the voters at the last election expected.

Parliament, he says, could stop these activities. Indeed he wonders why Parliament did not enact immediately after the last election a Protection of Prime Agricultural and Urban Land (including Water Catchments) Act, 2011

It will be said that if such a law empowered the government to act acts, investors would lose confidence.

Some CSG miners who are lusting after prime agricultural land and urban land will. But this is only because the land is close to infrastructure.

Infrastructure funded by the taxpayers.

Do we really need them?

The country is sitting on a sea of CSG – so why don’t they leave prime agricultural land to future generations?

Governments –especially in NSW and Queensland – will be more and more on the nose if they don’t do what they were elected for. More evidence – if there need be – for the people to be empowered with the tools of direct democracy.