Minister full of gas
The Leader of the Nationals, Troy Grant, is using his position as police minister to betray country people and particularly farmers.
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Mr Grant is the driving force behind new laws that crack down on farmers protesting coal seam gas and coal mining.
Farmers and other people taking action to protect good agricultural land and water resources are true Aussie patriots, not criminals – and they will not be intimidated by Mr Grant’s threats of seven years’ jail for disrupting any mining or gas related activity, or 1000 per cent increases in fines for trespass.
Mr Grant needs to understand this is Australia, not Vladimir Putin’s Russia. Australians have a right to free expression and peaceful protest action.
If the Shenhua Watermark coal mine goes ahead on the Liverpool Plains, will Troy Grant instruct the NSW Police to arrest farmers trying to protect their land and water? Does he want to see them sentenced to seven years’ jail?
Mr Grant needs to understand that we need a political solution to land use conflict in NSW.
It is clear that the vast majority of people want good farmland and water resources protected from coal mining and coal seam gas.
The government should respect that opinion rather than turn the NSW Police into a private security force for unwanted industries.
The fact that the president of the National Party was a lobbyist for the Shenhua mine, which Barnaby Joyce has been too useless to stop, and now Troy Grant is pushing laws and threatening farmers with years of jail shows the National Party has lost its way.
And it’s not just coal and gas. Troy Grant is denying farmers the opportunity to grow hemp for highly lucrative food products.
Although the Food Authority has recommended hemp food products be made legal, as in most other countries, Troy Grant as police minister blocking it.
It’s a shame Troy Grant spends more time at the ballet and the races, than he does representing farmers and regional NSW.
He’s allowing regional councils to be wiped out through undemocratic forced amalgamations; he’s gutted Landcare and TAFE; and is sitting idly by as Mike Baird blows billions on inner city motorways while our regional rail network is stuck in the 18th Century.
The National Party has lost its way.
Jeremy Buckingham
Greens Agriculture and Mining Spokesman
Solar might lose its spark
The NSW Government’s lack of planning around the transition of early solar customers to new metering arrangements could trigger a crisis for 150,000 solar homes across the state.
Solar homeowners will be forced to pay for new meters that could cost up to $700 dollars - which in some cases provide less information about their solar than they currently have.
There’s no detail on how the meter change will roll out across the state and it’s not clear whether all solar homes can be fitted with new devices before the 60c/kWh feed-in price expires at the end of the year.
It’s debatable whether there are even enough electricians and meters to deal with this whole-of-state transition. Any solar home left without a new meter will lose access to their solar power and be left paying more for non-solar electricity from the grid.
The Baird Government said NSW can be “Australia’s answer to California” when it comes to clean energy, but NSW has gone from a solar leader to a solar laggard. This needs to be fixed, fast.
