Tuesday 1 May 2012

Ryan resists mining veto calls

www.abc.net.au
23 Apr 2012

The Victorian Government is resisting calls to give landholders the power to veto mining activity on their land. Households can currently veto wind farm projects within a 2 km radius and the Victorian Farmers Federation says the laws should also apply to mining projects. It says farmers are particularly concerned about the risks associated with coal seam gas projects. However, Deputy Premier Peter Ryan says the current environment laws provide adequate protection.

"Through the laws that govern our mining regime in this state, anybody who wants to explore, for let alone actually mine coal seam gas in this state, will have to comply with the most rigorous laws in this nation", he said. He says coal seam gas projects do not pose a risk to the state's agriculture industry. "We have the best laws in Australia to make sure that not only is exploration very, very heavily monitored but to then make the next stage to mining is a huge quantum leap", he said. "We are very, very protective of all the environmental issues, particularly around the watertables".

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