15th Jun 2020, 4:39 PM – Senate Motions - Coal Seam Gas - Insurance

The majority voted against a motion introduced by Queensland Senator Larissa Waters (Greens), which means it failed.

Motion text

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

(i) the Morrison Government is pushing for a 'gas led recovery', which is expected to increase gas extraction across Australia,

(ii) Australia's largest insurance company, Insurance Australia Group, has announced that it will no longer provide liability cover for farmers with coal seam gas (CSG) infrastructure on their property,

(iii) landholders, including farmers and First Nations peoples, have consistently raised concerns regarding the risks that unconventional gas poses to land, water and the climate, and farmers are concerned that loss of insurance cover exposes them to additional liability for those risks,

(iv) on Q&A on 1 June 2020, Senator Matt Canavan said in relation to gas and farmers' rights: "I think we've got the balance wrong in this country. We don't give farmers enough rights ... I've been to some of those landowners and I've sat with them, having cups of tea. And there was not a lot of voluntary participation in lots of the [gas access] agreements", and

(v) the Greens have proposed a number of bills since 2011 to give landholders, including farmers and First Nations peoples, the right to say no to unconventional gas and coal mining on their land, which the Liberal, Labor and National parties have consistently voted against; and

(b) calls on the Federal Government to require gas companies to hold:

(i) public liability insurance coverage over any land where they have CSG infrastructure, and

(ii) comprehensive insurance coverage for environmental damage on that land.