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| Campbell Newman - face of the fracking premier |
Santos Ltd., the oil and gas giant, recently struck a deal with Premier Campbell Newman to allow fracking through Queensland's Channel Country. This territory has traditionally been the home of the Mathaka people, whose cultural identity and way of life depend on the waterways that Santos intends to pollute.
Previously, this fragile ecosystem was protected by wild rivers legislation. When pressured by Santos, however, the Newman government changed the law to allow for fracking of shale oil deposits there. The Mathaka, unable to have their voices heard by their own state government, have asked the UN to intervene! This wouldn't be necessary if Premier Newman had not decided that a corporation's profits are more important than citizens' rights.
Sign the petition to Premier Newman, demanding that he reinstate the wild rivers laws and respect indigenous rights!
Fracking is dangerous and destructive to land, wildlife, and people. A new scientific study in America, where fracking has been big business for over a decade, finds that any amount of the chemical cocktail used by frackers is toxic to humans!
Children and developing fetuses, especially, will suffer life-long health problems after exposure to even a small amount of fracking's poisonous mix. Contaminated drinking water is common in areas with fracking – and there's no way to clean up fracking chemicals once they're in the water table.
This is why wild rivers laws exist. Premier Newman's decision to subvert the law and disregard indigenous rights is shameful, and a dangerous precedent not just for Queensland but for the entire nation.
Tell Premier Newman not to exempt frackers from the law, and to protect indigenous rights and wild waterways.
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