The Australian Greens have moved to protect South Australian farmers from shale gas fracking, as community concern grows over unconventional mining on farming land.

Australian Greens Senator for South Australia Senator Penny Wright today sponsored a Senate motion in favour of giving landholders legal rights to refuse shale and fracking on their properties.

"This is a dangerous industry that puts our precious water and farming land at risk," Senator Wright said.

We give notice that on the next day of sitting we shall move that -

The Senate notes:

1.    The concern of communities in South Australia and Western Australia about their land and water being threatened by shale and other unconventional gas mining.

2.    That landholders lack the legal right to refuse shale and other unconventional gas mining on their land.

3.    The scientific uncertainty surrounding the environmental and health implications of hydraulic fracturing ('fracking') for shale and other unconventional gas mining.

Greens Senator for Victoria, Dr Richard Di Natale, said today that the Greens will stand against any move to create a new CSG or unconventional gas mining industry in Victoria.

“Regional Victorian communities don’t want CSG or unconventional gas mining in our state, and rightly so,” said Senator Di Natale.

“Subjecting Victoria to CSG for the sake of the private profits of the big mining companies would be plain dumb when the National Water Commission has warned this risky industry threatens our water supplies, which underpin our agricultural industry.

Greens Senator for WA Scott Ludlam will join protestors rallying in Fremantle tomorrow - Saturday 17 August - against the controversial method of underground gas extraction known as fracking.

"The WA Parliamentary Inquiry into hydraulic fracturing or ‘fracking' announced this week is a good idea given the Barnett Government's plans to massively ramp up this industry in the Mid-West, Kimberley and elsewhere in WA," Senator Ludlam said.

The Australian Greens have emerged as the only party concerned about protecting WA's water supplies from a future shale gas industry after the old parties today again turned down moves to impose Federal environmental regulations on shale and tight gas fracking.

"The Greens were the lone Party today voting in favour of modifying the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Amendment Bill 2013 to include protection of groundwater supplies from shale and tight gas extraction alongside protection from the coal seam gas industry," Senator Ludlam said