Published: 7 Dec 2018
The Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) has described the McGowan Government’s decision to approve fracking in Western Australia as a betrayal of labour values and is further evidence that the WA ALP Government is more interested in pandering to the interests of big business than looking after ordinary Western Australians.
On 19th November 2018, the ALP State Executive overwhelmingly passed a motion calling for an extension to the moratorium to fracking. The endorsed motion called upon “the WA Labor Party to protect our land and our underground water supplies from fracking by implementing a state-wide ban on all forms of unconventional gas fracking, providing the entire state with the same protections already in place for the southwest region”.
The ALP cabinet have shown absolute contempt for the Western Australian membership of the Australian Labor Party in their decision to approve fracking in WA. Stephen Dawson, Minister for the Environment should stand down in light of his extraordinary efforts to lobby the Government in support of fracking. Surely his job is to protect the environment, not wreck the environment.
The MUA is calling for an independent review of the process leading to the decision of the WA Government to approve fracking in Western Australia. It is clear that certain lobbyists with strong ties to ALP power brokers have got their way and steamrolled the rank and file members of the party. The WA State Government regard the State Executive of the ALP as a toothless tiger and irrelevant to the decision-making process of government.
Quotes attributable to MUA National President & MUA WA Branch Secretary Chris Cain:
“The Western Australian Government have proved once again that they are more supportive of big mining, oil and gas companies than they are about the environment and the future generations of Western Australians”.
“The Environment Minister should resign and if he won’t resign, he should be sacked immediately. Dawson should be protecting the environment not wrecking the environment”.
“The McGowan Government should hang their heads in shame in rolling the dice with its decision to approve fracking in Western Australia and this is a gamble which future generations of Western Australia will regret. Their decision is short sighted, reckless and demonstrates the same arrogance and hubris of the Barnett Government that was thrown out of office at the last State election”.
