A parliamentary committee has given the thumbs-down to a Greens bill that would allow the federal government to veto coal seam gas (CSG) mining operations assessed as likely to harm water quality.
The bill was opposed by farmers and miners.
The Senate's Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Legislation Committee concluded that existing commonwealth and state initiatives rendered the bill duplicative and unnecessary.
The legislation - the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Amendment (Protecting Australia's Water Resources) Bill 2011 - was introduced as a private bill by Australian Greens senator Larissa Waters.
In a dissenting report, she said surface and ancient groundwater systems were under threat from significant and potentially irreversible impacts from mining across Australia.
The Brisbane Times
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