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| Jennifer and Radha in Sydey with the petition |
So with stocks of printed petitions we hit the streets. We are ordinary people who care. People who Jennifer trusted and people who she knew would support her to bring this action to fruition. We were passionate in our cause. We need to see this industry completely banned, there is no safe place for this type of mining in Australia.
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| Signing the Petition at Wingham Town Hall |
We have actively educated other citizens regarding the lies and the corruption evident between the revolving doors of politics and mining.
I take great pleasure in pointing out the politicians who have taken the cushy mining CEO positions as well as drawing a government pension after leaving politics and after setting up the mining deals while they were in public office.
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| Dr David Gillespie with the Petitions and looking at our signs. |
We gathered as a very concerned and passionate group of people specifically to present the petitions (thousands) to Dr David Gillespie.
Dr Gillespie is the sitting Member for Lyne. We organized the handover to occur at the Port Macquarie Airport as Dr Gillespie was catching his Canberra flight from there. He flew down to Canberra for his sitting in parliament, reason we wanted this on his lips as he left our area.
He was somewhat taken by surprize by the amount of people there waiting for him and the media attention this drew around him. He appeared a little nervous and his answers to media questions regarding Coal Seam Gas Mining were weak and stodgy with no emphasis at all on the important issues of water.
He discussed economic benefits as apposed to looking at the environmental concerns that are far more serious. I didn't hear anything that alluded to banning the industry.
Dr Gillespie said “As the Federal Member I am happy to table or present petitions to the Parliament on behalf of my constituents if requested, regardless of my own views on the broad range of topics that are canvassed across the political spectrum.”
Dr Gillespie transported the petitions to Canberra from Port Macquarie.
Just before 11.00am he tabled these said petitions in the Upper House, below is film of him doing this (via Peter Deane)
Larissa Waters was tabling the Petitions for the Senate, at least she made a firm promise to do this and so there is no concern to whether it will happen or not.
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| Suzanna, Kathy and Larissa Waters at Parliament House Canberra |
Well done to everyone who helped to bring this petition to the Parliament of Australia to effect the kind of change we need to protect our environment for our children's futures.
Comment from Jennifer regarding the process :
"It goes on Hansard as a record that we have requested an immediate moratorium on unconventional gas and a total national ban (this being the ONLY petition to have approached it Nationally) and we now go about getting the 10,000 in as many states and territories as possible (we will try to get a person or committee in each one to oversee it) and then we can demand a 20 min debate in the legislative assembly in all those states.
These will also be the ONLY petitions to demand state/territory wide bans as all other petitions, as far as I know, have been site specific (only interested in a particular area/region) which - if effective - would do nothing more than to ease pressure in that area and force more on other areas. Not acceptable, as far as I'm concerned. NOWHERE should be forced to tolerate this industry for myriad reasons.
Agreed?
(1 min 36 sec) Mel Pretorius's Video Story produced for Fairfax Media (Port Macquarie News) and was posted to their website on Monday 24 March 2014.
In it, we hear from Dame Jennifer Schoelpple, Dame Julie Lyford, and Dr Sir David Gillespie, MP (National Party of Australia).
More Links :
Camden Haven Courier - MP DELIVERS ON CSG PROMISEImages @ Eminpee Fotography
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