The $50 billion coal seam gas industry will be at risk of collapse if independent federal MP Tony Windsor gets his way, Queensland Premier Anna Bligh says.
Mr Windsor is pushing for the federal government to clamp down on coal seam gas exploration and demanding the Commonwealth have greater powers to override project approvals.
He also wants hundreds of millions of dollars spent on studies into the effects the industry is having on sensitive farmland.
He says he won't support the government's minerals resource rent tax (MRRT), currently before parliament, unless he gets his way.
Ms Bligh said Mr Windsor's push would jeopardise billions of dollars worth of projects.
"There is a $50 billion gas industry that would be put at risk by Tony Windsor's legislation," Ms Bligh told reporters in Brisbane.
"That's thousands of jobs, that's prosperity for regional Queensland and the Queensland government is going to do everything in our power to make sure it continues with all of the protections it has."
Regional Queensland towns facing declining populations and economies have also been buoyed by the industry, Ms Bligh said.
She invited Mr Windsor to Queensland to better understand the environmental protections around the industry, which are the toughest in all mining, including uranium.
"The federal government understands that and I hope that is brought to bear in any of their thinking on Tony Windsor's legislation," she said.
9 MSNEWS
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