NSW Nationals TV Campaign

Finishing the Pacific Highway

Stop the Carbon Tax

Labor has sold out regional Australia to the Greens and Independents, who demanded a carbon tax as a condition of support for Julia Gillard’s minority government.

The carbon tax will send Australian jobs offshore to countries without a carbon tax, and will devastate our mining and agricultural industries. Australian families will pay more for many everyday necessities, putting even more pressure on the family budget.

The worst part is that the carbon tax will not help stop climate change.

You can help stop the carbon tax by:

• Writing a letter to your local newspaper
• Calling your local radio station
• Volunteering to help The Nationals
• Joining The Nationals
• Signing our petition

The best way to stop the carbon tax is to vote for The Nationals at the next federal election.

Mining and Coal Seam Gas

Clean water and productive land are priceless, and we have a responsibility to protect them for future generations.

However our nation needs energy and raw materials to maintain the standard of life that we enjoy.

When Labor was last in government they presided over a massive expansion of mining and gas extraction on agricultural land.

On the other side Greens and the Independents want to stop all mining and gas exploration, a position that sounds good on the soapbox but could never work as a government policy.

The Nationals believe that a balance must be struck, and we have worked hard for many years to find that balance.

Before the last election we drove the formulation of the Coalition’s Strategic Lands Policy, which will identify prime agricultural land and protect it from minerals exploration.

We also placed a moratorium on fraccing, and banned the use of harmful BTEX chemicals in gas extraction.

We’ll continue to pursue responsible policies to ensure that minerals exploration and extraction does not harm our environment or reduce the productive value of our prime agricultural land.

To read our strategic lands policy click here, or visit the NSW Government’s Strategic Regional Land Use Site here, where you can have your say on the issue.

Murray-Darling Basin Plan

Sign up for updates when the draft plan is announced.

In 2010 the Federal Labor-Greens-Independent government released the first draft of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan, which many hoped find a balance between the environment and the needs of irrigation communities. Instead, the document proposed massive cuts to water rights, up to 37%, and effectively consigned the future of towns like Griffith, Coleambally, Warren and Collarenebri to the scrapheap.

The release of the plan led to an uproar across the state, and Nationals MPs such as Michael McCormack, Member for Riverina, were at the forefront.

“The Murray-Darling Basin Commission came to Griffith and we told them in no uncertain terms what the draft plan would mean for our communities” Mr McCormack said.

Some farmers burnt copies of the draft plan in the streets.

In the face of such a massive backlash the government withdrew the plan, appointed a new Chairman to the MDBC, and announced that a new plan would be released that would consider social and economic factors as well as environmental needs.

The new draft plan is due to be released at the end of November, but the Commission has not advertised any consultation dates in regional towns.

The Nationals are concerned that the draft plan will be released without appropriate consultation with the people who will be affected by cuts to water entitlements.

If you want to make sure your voice is heard we urge you to contact the Murray Darling Basin Commission to request a hearing in your area – by phone on 1800 230 067 or at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .