INDEPENDENT MP Tony Windsor will use his potential support of the Federal Government’s $11 billion mining tax as a carrot to push his private bill giving the Commonwealth the power to override the States’ control of mining leases.
Independent support of the Minerals Resource Rent Tax (MRRT) is crucial for the bill to succeed.
But enough is enough for Mr Windsor, who says things came to a head following news of the stand-off between landowners and coal seam gas (CSG) giant, Santos, at Spring Ridge, on the Liverpool Plains.
“I’ve made it clear to the Government that this sort of nonsense from some of these companies has gone on long enough,” he said.
Protestors want Santos to put the handbrakes on its pilot wells until the Namoi Catchment Water Study is released and its results are properly understood.
Santos says the pilot project will add valuable data to the study.
Mr Windsor says his bill, introduced last month with the support of fellow Independent Rob Oakeshott, would enable the Commonwealth to have control of water resources.
It would enable the Commonwealth to specifically ban any mining action “that has, or will have, or is likely to have a significant impact on the water quality, structural integrity or hydraulic balance of a water resource”.
At present, the Federal Government can only intervene over issues such as threatened species and World Heritage sites, but Mr Windsor says issues such as water should trigger Commonwealth scrutiny of proposed mining projects.
“The State-based process that is currently there is more about a localised impact within the mining area where mining or CSG production is to be undertaken,” Mr Windsor told parliament.
“It does not correctly take into account the potential off-site impacts on groundwater resources and the relationship those resources may have with other groundwater systems.
“The State and federal governments have been complicit in their neglect of proper scientific process on these sensitive lands,” he said.
The MRRT is budgeted to raise $11 billion in the first three years from July 1 next year.
Mr Windsor, who held talks with Prime Minister Julia Gillard on Tuesday, wants the MRRT to provide between $200 and $400 million for environmental assessments of regions earmarked for CSG, and a guarantee that country regions will get their share of MRRT funds.
But the Government has already budgeted for the money to be spent elsewhere.
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