Great Barrier Reef destruction

Senator Larissa Waters speaks to the press about the Greens' urgent motion to save the Great Barrier Reef from the damage caused by coal and gas development.

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Department questioned over Gladstone crisis

Senator Larissa Waters questions department officials in Senate Estimates about the work being undertaken to assess the impacts of dredging in Gladstone harbour.

Australian Greens mining spokesperson Larissa Waters welcomes The Chasers' expose on coal seam gas mining and fracking, with the help of Alan Jones.

Senator Larissa Waters addressed a rally of hundreds who turned up to voice their concerns about coal seam gas, in Brisbane, 16 October 2011.

Move for greater protection of threatened species

Senator Larissa Waters and Winston the koala act to strengthen environment laws and stop the approval of developments that push already vulnerable species close to extinction.

Australians will be represented by the Greens in every state, for the first time. We are empowered by more than 1.5 million voters to negotiate with Government and the Opposition to get better outcomes for the nation.

Nationals fail to vote for own policy on coal seam gas

Posted on 09. Nov, 2011 by ElissaMcKay in Media Release, Audio, Agriculture, Environment, Biodiversity and Natural Heritage, Food Security and Regional Australia, Mining

The new Nationals’ blueprint on coal seam gas has been abandoned after just 72 hours, as the Nationals didn’t show up for the vote on the Greens motion backing their first policy principle.

“The Nationals’ first core principle was that;

No coal seam gas development should proceed where it poses a significant impact to the quality of groundwater or surface water systems. It must be absolutely clear that no coal seam gas development should occur unless it is proven safe for the environment.

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Government refuses to stop Great Barrier Reef destruction

Posted on 09. Nov, 2011 by ElissaMcKay in Media Release, Audio, Environment, Biodiversity and Natural Heritage, Fisheries and Marine, Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea, Mining, World Heritage

Both the Government and the Coalition bowed to the whims of the fossil fuel industries today, in voting down a Greens’ motion to suspend dredging and development in the World Heritage listed Great Barrier Reef until the cumulative impacts of the mass dredging projects can be properly assessed.

There was public outrage at the damage to the Reef from coal and coal seam gas ports exposed by Four Corners this week, with more than 40,000 people already signing a petition to save the Reef.

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Australians outraged at Great Barrier Reef destruction

Posted on 08. Nov, 2011 by ElissaMcKay in Media Release, Video, Audio, Environment, Biodiversity and Natural Heritage, Fisheries and Marine, Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea, Mining, World Heritage

Senator Larissa Waters was interviewed by Daniel Bourchier at NITV about the mass dredging of the Great Barrier Reef.

The Australians Greens will today introduce an urgent motion into the Senate to suspend all dredging activity in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage area, following the widespread public condemnation of the damage caused by coal and gas development in the Reef exposed by Four Corners last night.

“19,000 people have signed the GetUp! petition to save the Great Barrier Reef in less than 12 hours,” Australian Greens spokesperson for the environment Senator Larissa Waters said.

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Great Barrier Reef being dredged to death

Posted on 07. Nov, 2011 by ElissaMcKay in Parliament, Question, Question Without Notice, Media Release, Video, Environment, Biodiversity and Natural Heritage, Fisheries and Marine, Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea, Mining, World Heritage

Senator Larissa Waters asks Questions without Notice of Senator Stephen Conroy, regarding the impacts of mass dredging on Gladstone harbour and the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage area.

The inadequate environmental safeguards put in place by the Government when it approved the mass dredging program for Gladstone harbour abutting the Great Barrier Reef were further revealed today in Senate Question Time by Australian Greens spokesperson for the environment Senator Larissa Waters.

“ABC has reported that the chair of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority expressed ‘extreme concern’ to the Government about the dredging and its unacceptable impacts on marine life within the World Heritage area,” Senator Waters said.

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Nationals flop on coal seam gas

Posted on 06. Nov, 2011 by ElissaMcKay in Media Release, Audio, Environment, Biodiversity and Natural Heritage, Food Security and Regional Australia, Mining

The bush deserves better than a discussion paper on coal seam gas, Australian Greens mining spokesperson Senator Larissa Waters said today in response to the Nationals' foray into this area.

“The Nationals are playing catch-up, but they're still far too slow to protect our water and our food security from CSG,” Senator Waters said.

"The bush, the city and the Greens are on a unity ticket to protect water and food security from coal seam gas mining.

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APPEA report same old cherry-picking on coal seam gas

Posted on 04. Nov, 2011 by ElissaMcKay in Media Release, Climate Change, Environment, Biodiversity and Natural Heritage, Food Security and Regional Australia, Mining, Resources and Energy

A report commissioned by the fossil fuel industry to justify claims of the environmental benefits of coal seam gas continues to cherry-pick data to reach its conclusions, the Australian Greens said today.

The report by WorleyParsons for the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association nevertheless concludes that it is only in the unlikely circumstances of best practice gas replacing worst practice coal, and using very low figures for the global warming impact of methane, that the gas industry's claims can be justified.

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