[Greens-Media] PARNELL: Crunch time for reform in final days of Parliament

[Taylor, Sam]

Tuesday 12th November 2013

Crunch time for reform in final days of Parliament

Greens Leader Mark Parnell MLC will this week bring a record six Greens Bills to a vote on topics as diverse as "fracking" on farmland, citizens' rights in planning, voting in elections, protecting significant trees and improving Parliamentary democracy.

"With only five sitting days until State Parliament winds up for the year, it's time for MPs to vote on critical issues before the Parliamentary agenda is wiped clean in the lead-up to the next State election", said Mr Parnell.

Greens Bills coming to a vote this week:

1.      A suite of three Bills to reform the Planning and Development system to make it more transparent and more democratic. It's time to "Put People back into Planning".
2.      A Bill to end backroom preference deals between Parties and candidates at election time, which can result in candidates elected on a tiny fraction of the popular vote.  The recent Senate election is a taste of things to come in SA if we don't fix the system before then.  It's time to put power back into the hands of voters to determine where ALL their votes end up.
3.      A Bill to protect Significant Trees, which are currently being felled without assessment or approval.
4.      Banning "fracking" for unconventional gas (e.g. coal seam gas) in agricultural areas, conservation areas & urban land; and introducing a two-year moratorium everywhere else to better understand the science.

The Greens will also move amendments to the Mining Act to protect land used for growing crops from mining operations unless the mining companies can prove 'exceptional  circumstances' that justify sacrificing valuable farmland for mining.


For further comment contact
Mark Parnell on 0439 215 937




________________________________

The information in this e-mail may be confidential and/or legally privileged. If you are not the intended recipient, access to it is unauthorised and any disclosure, copying, distribution or action taken or omitted to be taken in reliance on it is prohibited and may be unlawful.