tag:theconversation.com,2011:/global/topics/tony-windsor-1808/articlesTony Windsor – The Conversation2017-08-24T12:05:14Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/830022017-08-24T12:05:14Z2017-08-24T12:05:14ZGrattan on Friday: A ‘No’ vote in the marriage ballot would be a humiliation for Turnbull<p>The two mega issues dominating federal politics, the citizenship crisis and the marriage ballot, have little in common – except that Malcolm Turnbull desperately needs each to come out the right way for him.</p>
<p>A narrow, black-letter interpretation of the Constitution’s Section 44 (i) which rendered three senior Nationals ineligible to sit in parliament would cause chaos for the government and, internally, for the Coalition.</p>
<p>A “No” result in the postal ballot might be less immediately serious, but it would leave a running sore that would further reduce Turnbull’s diminished authority.</p>
<p>It’s hard to believe that inquiries into the circumstances of Greens senator Scott Ludlam and the Justice Party’s Derryn Hinch by Western Australian barrister John Cameron, a man with no apparent political motive but a long-term preoccupation with questions of citizenship qualifications, could have produced such an extraordinary domino effect.</p>
<p>The government is relying on the High Court to read the Constitution’s section in what the lay person might describe as pragmatic legal terms, rather than literally.</p>
<p>The case has been set down for October 10-12, prolonging the uncertainty for the government, which sought a mid-September hearing.</p>
<p>The government is arguing that of the five referred so far (with the Nationals’ Fiona Nash and crossbencher Nick Xenophon to come), the eligibility of the Nationals’ Barnaby Joyce and Matt Canavan as well as former Greens senator Larissa Waters should be upheld. It maintains Ludlam, who – like Waters – has resigned, should be found ineligible, while One Nation’s Malcolm Roberts’ situation turns on paperwork.</p>
<p>One sidelight of the case is that Tony Windsor, whom Joyce fended off in New England at the election, has been given leave to appear, adding further aggravation for Joyce. Windsor’s lawyer will contest Joyce’s eligibility and would like to cross-examine him.</p>
<p>Under pressure over keeping Joyce and Nash in the ministry while the High Court ponders, the government has been struggling with how to handle the politics. There were suggestions it might refer some Labor people to the court and claims Bill Shorten wouldn’t produce his own renunciation documentation (no-one doubts it is in order) because he was protecting people on his own side. But now the government has pulled back.</p>
<p>Before it gets to consider the citizenship cases, the High Court has to hear, on September 5-6, the challenges to the postal vote, where a main issue is whether the funding, which comes from the advance to the finance minister, is legitimate. The government is using that method to circumvent the lack of parliamentary approval for the spending.</p>
<p>Michael Keating, a former head of the finance department and the prime minister’s department, strongly <a href="https://johnmenadue.com/michael-keating-is-it-legitimate-to-pay-for-a-postal-plebiscite-using-the-advance-to-the-minister-of-finance/">questions</a> this course. Keating sees it as an “entirely inappropriate” use of the advance and cannot recall the finance department ever being asked to facilitate the use of this fund “for a purpose that seemed unlikely to be supported by the parliament”.</p>
<p>Assuming the ballot survives the legal challenges, polls out this week show the battle is starting with the “Yes” case in a good position.</p>
<p>Newspoll found 63% favoured same-sex marriage being legalised; 67% said they would definitely vote and a further 15% probably would. Essential had 57% supporting a change to the law; 63% definitely intended to vote, and 18% indicated they probably would.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, it would be rash to predict the result from these early polls. It’s a voluntary ballot, and the campaign will run for weeks after voting papers are sent out from September 12.</p>
<p>Despite being voluntary, and regardless of Australians’ disillusionment with the political process generally and many people’s scepticism about the postal ballot specifically, early signs suggest voters are quite engaged. </p>
<p>It’s not just the high proportion saying they’ll vote but also the substantial number of new enrolments and people updating their details on the roll. On the latest figures, 90,000 new electors had enrolled, among 765,000 enrolment transactions processed since the announcement of the ballot. </p>
<p>Enrolments closed midnight Thursday; at the end of Thursday there were more than 165,000 transactions still to be processed, with work continuing through the weekend.</p>
<p>With no government funding for campaigning, this battle will test the mobilisation power of both sides: those churches, lobby groups, political figures and others urging a No vote, and the marriage equality groups, Labor, Greens, GetUp!, unions and the like promoting change.</p>
<p>The Yes advocates are trying to narrow the issue, to centre it on the question of rights and justice for the LGBTI community. At the core of their case is the argument that altering the marriage law won’t alter anything for other people.</p>
<p>The opponents are widening the debate in at least two directions.</p>
<p>First, they are taking it to the broad question of religious freedom in Australia, arguing this will be, if it is not already, under threat. This debate is now travelling well beyond the exemptions for those not wanting to have anything to do with same-sex marriage ceremonies.</p>
<p>Second, the critics are going to the general issue of “political correctness” and anger at “elites”. Tony Abbott and others are seeking to hoover up broad discontents and urge people to use a No vote as some sort of general protest.</p>
<p>A Yes win would be a major blow for Abbott, given his heavy political investment in the campaign.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, if the No forces are routed, a rearguard action can be expected from them.</p>
<p>The government says if there is a Yes vote it will facilitate a private member’s bill to implement the result. But the precise terms of that bill are to be agreed on later. A last hurrah from a defeated No side would be over how extensive the protections for critics of same-sex marriage should be in that legislation.</p>
<p>A win for the No side would have deep implications for Turnbull. For him personally, a No victory would be a devastating humiliation. It would have echoes of the rebuff he received at the 1999 republic referendum. </p>
<p>He might have put a lot more effort into that campaign than he plans with this one, but he comes to it as the nation’s leader.</p>
<p>He would have kept an election promise (sort of) but set back a cause once seen as central in his political agenda.</p>
<p>And what about Australia? If more were to vote No, then Australia, a nation that prides itself on the fair go, would have spoken in a way that kept it out of kilter with comparable nations, including Britain, New Zealand, the US, Ireland, and most of western Europe. That surely would send an unfortunate message internationally.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/83002/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michelle Grattan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A ‘No’ result in the postal ballot would leave a running sore that would further reduce Malcolm Turnbull’s diminished authority.Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of CanberraLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/590622016-06-07T20:23:07Z2016-06-07T20:23:07ZElection 2016: the issues in non-metropolitan Australia<p>Rural and regional Australia is a big place. That’s obvious enough. Still, it’s easy to forget that the communities and industries of non-metropolitan Australia are diverse. They face a variety of challenges and often have different, if not competing, stakes in government policy. </p>
<p>But what are the issues that deserve attention leading up to the 2016 federal election? While not everyone living in rural and regional Australia will see eye-to-eye on how these issues should be resolved, I will return to this list closer to election day to see just how many have made their way onto the national political agenda.</p>
<h2>Infrastructure</h2>
<p>Government investments in transport, energy, telecommunications and water infrastructure are fundamental to the productivity of rural and regional industries. </p>
<p>Made well, these investments can enhance economic and social participation, minimise negative environmental impacts, and support adaptation to climate variability and change.</p>
<p>It follows that, when it comes to evaluating the case for public investment, one eye needs to be on the business case while the other needs to be on the potential for social and environmental co-benefits. This is where most of the issues listed below come into play. </p>
<h2>Unemployment</h2>
<p>Nationally, unemployment rates in non-metropolitan Australia are similar to those in the capital cities. However, rural and regional labour markets are volatile, with extremely high unemployment in particular locales. Place-specific strategies to assist these locales deserve consideration.</p>
<p>The loss of over <a href="https://docs.employment.gov.au/documents/australian-jobs-2015-publication">55,000 mining jobs</a> nationally since late 2012 hit a number of regional cities hard. In <a href="https://www.employment.gov.au/small-area-labour-markets-publication">Mackay</a>, unemployment rose from 11.7% to 18.9% in 2015. In <a href="https://www.employment.gov.au/small-area-labour-markets-publication">Muswellbrook</a>, it went from 9.8% to 14.9%. The sector is expected to shed another 31,900 jobs by late 2020.</p>
<p>Other non-metropolitan regions experience particularly high youth unemployment. In March 2016, <a href="http://lmip.gov.au/default.aspx?LMIP/LFR_SAFOUR">young people aged 15-24 were unemployed</a> at rates of 31.3% in western Queensland, 22.3% in Cairns, 19.7% on the NSW mid-north coast and 19.5% in the Hunter Valley. The national average for this age group was 12.2%. For all workers the <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Latestproducts/6202.0Main%20Features2Apr%202016?opendocument&tabname=Summary&prodno=6202.0&issue=Apr%202016&num=&view=">unemployment rate was 5.7%</a>.</p>
<p>Nowhere in the country, though, are unemployment levels higher than in predominantly Indigenous townships like <a href="https://www.employment.gov.au/small-area-labour-markets-publication">Aurukun, Palm Island and Yarrabah</a>. Unemployment today in these former forced relocation sites hovers above 50%. That’s nearly three times the already <a href="https://theconversation.com/eight-ways-we-can-improve-indigenous-employment-60377">high national unemployment rate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people</a>.</p>
<h2>Diversification and new economy jobs</h2>
<p>Changing workforce profiles mean that growth in the value of traditional rural and regional industries won’t necessarily solve the problem of unemployment.</p>
<p>Agricultural produce <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/0/58529ACD49B5ECE0CA2577A000154456?Opendocument">recorded an increase in value</a> between 2010-11 and 2014-15 of about 13%, or A$6 billion. Over roughly the same period, though, <a href="https://docs.employment.gov.au/documents/australian-jobs-2015-publication">agriculture, forestry and fisheries shed nearly 40,000 jobs</a>. Another 9,400 jobs are expected to go by late 2020. Innovation is driving improvements across many aspects of primary production, including labour productivity.</p>
<p>The same pattern is likely to be replicated in mining. Even if we assume a recovery in mineral and energy markets, we must equally assume that investment in labour-saving technology will continue to rise. </p>
<p>Innovations in remote sensing, ITC and robotics will enable the <a href="https://theconversation.com/robots-red-dust-and-the-future-of-mining-towns-5814">automation of more and more jobs</a> on site, favouring a concentration of operational jobs in metropolitan control centres. </p>
<p>By contrast, jobs in health care and social assistance and professional, scientific and technical services <a href="https://docs.employment.gov.au/documents/australian-jobs-2015-publication">grew 20.3%</a> nationally in the five years to November 2015. More than one-third of healthcare and social assistance employees (more than half-a-million people) are located in non-metropolitan regions. Of these, 45% work part-time and 79% are women. </p>
<p>Other human service industries, such as education and training, are also significant and growing regional employers.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, only 18% of professional, scientific and technical services employees (184,200 people) work regionally. Of these, 22% are part-time and 40% are women. </p>
<p>The national shift to professional, scientific and technical services is helping compensate for declining employment in traditionally male, blue-collar industries like manufacturing. However, the benefits of a rapidly growing professional and scientific workforce are concentrated in the major cities. This needs to change. </p>
<p>Both existing industries and industries of the future require access to high-level scientific and technical expertise. The more such expertise can be nurtured within non-metropolitan areas the better placed they will be to sustain their competitiveness, participate in the knowledge economy and diversify employment opportunities.</p>
<h2>Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participation</h2>
<p><a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/DetailsPage/3238.0.55.001June%202011?OpenDocument">Two-thirds of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians</a> live in rural and regional areas. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.dpmc.gov.au/sites/default/files/publications/Closing_the_Gap_2015_Report.pdf">Closing the Gap</a> reports demonstrate little progress against commitments to do so something about the disadvantage many experience. I will focus here on two issues with particularly direct implications for economic and social participation: incarceration and native title.</p>
<p>The rate at which Aboriginal and Torres Strait people <a href="http://www.pc.gov.au/research/ongoing/overcoming-indigenous-disadvantage">were imprisoned</a> rose 57.4% between 2000 and 2013, while the rate for non-Indigenous Australians remained steady. This suggests multiple policy failures related both directly and indirectly to the criminal justice system. </p>
<p>By contrast, the last decade has also seen multiple native title determinations. More than one-third of the Australian land mass is either <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/may/26/indigenous-australia-is-open-for-business-but-we-need-investment-to-realise-our-potential">owned by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander</a> peoples or has those peoples’ interests formally recognised. </p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/is-the-white-paper-a-game-changer-for-northern-australia-43458">Indigenous Ranger programs</a> have proven extremely promising as means to care for these lands and create meaningful employment opportunities. The opportunity to utilise native title assets to build businesses and yet more jobs is immense. Realising that opportunity will require genuine partnerships with native title rights holders and creative approaches to investment. </p>
<h2>Health, education and social services</h2>
<p>Coupled with unemployment, inadequate access to services is a key dimension of <a href="http://ruralhealth.org.au/documents/publicseminars/2013_Sep/Joint-report.pdf">rural disadvantage</a>. </p>
<p>It is no secret that access to services such as health and education diminishes the further you get from capital cities. The cost of delivery goes up and the task of recruiting high-quality staff gets harder. </p>
<p>The situation may not be so bad in large regional centres, but in rural and remote locales it is estimated that <a href="http://ruralhealth.org.au/sites/default/files/publications/fact-sheet-27-election2016-13-may-2016.pdf">lack of access</a> to GPs, dentists, pharmacies and other primary health facilities results in about 60,000 preventable hospitalisations every year. The National Rural Health Alliance identifies access to mental health, dental health, Medicare Locals, aged care and Indigenous health as urgent priorities. </p>
<h2>Climate change</h2>
<p>Almost certainly, climate change will prove a <a href="http://www.acola.org.au/PDF/SAF07/social%20and%20political%20context.pdf">major disruptive force for agriculture</a> and other rural industries. Existing strategies for dealing with climatic variability will help land managers adapt to low levels of temperature rise. As climate change intensifies, though, they will need to consider more fundamental shifts in land use. </p>
<p>Just as importantly, global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions could increase the cost of fossil-fuel-based inputs or create barriers to the sale of produce seen as emissions-intensive. </p>
<p>Rural industries will need to work with government and research institutions to reduce their emissions, adapt to changing environments and develop new income streams.</p>
<h2>Natural resource management</h2>
<p>The environmental impacts of rural land use attract consistent media and political interest. Land clearing, habitat loss, damage to iconic ecosystems, water allocations etc make regular front-page news. </p>
<p>Natural resource management policy has been most successful when it has been less about penalising land users and more about long-term collaboration in support of environmentally and economically sustainable use. </p>
<p>For several electoral cycles, however, natural resource management programs have been <a href="https://theconversation.com/another-broken-promise-budget-switches-landcare-for-green-army-26818">renamed, reprioritised and/or replaced</a>. Regardless of the merits or limitations of individual programs, rural and regional Australia needs a return to coherent and stable resource management policy.</p>
<h2>Agriculture</h2>
<p>Agriculture utilises <a href="http://www.acola.org.au/PDF/SAF07/social%20and%20political%20context.pdf">more than half the land mass</a> and contributes more to the economic vitality of Australia than most people appreciate. Despite decades of declining terms of trade and periods of intense drought, the productivity and value of agriculture have continued to outperform many other parts of the economy. </p>
<p>At the same time, however, thousands of farmers have been forced out of the industry. Fewer people than ever are taking on farming as an occupation.</p>
<p>It is no longer reasonable to expect agriculture alone to support vibrant rural and regional communities. It is reasonable, though, to position Australian agriculture to capitalise on population and income growth in the Asia-Pacific region. </p>
<p>Policy needs both an eye to this potential and a sensitivity to the very real challenges those in the sector face.</p>
<h2>To the election</h2>
<p>Already in this campaign, a handful of non-metropolitan electorates and issues have attracted attention. It will be interesting to see if former independent MP Tony Windsor can pick off Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce <a href="https://theconversation.com/from-top-dog-to-underdog-tony-windsors-fight-in-new-england-59447">in New England</a>, but the dynamics here tell us little about what is going on in rural and regional electorates more generally.</p>
<p>The Great Barrier Reef has emerged as one of the <a href="https://theconversation.com/this-election-is-our-last-chance-to-save-the-great-barrier-reef-59381">more prominent election issues</a> so far. Politicians of all hues have been visiting North Queensland to announce or defend natural resource and climate policies relevant to its health. </p>
<p>The audience for these announcements is probably more national than local. Electorates within the Great Barrier Reef catchment have lost numerous mining jobs and voters there will be just as keen to know the plan for employment growth. Can <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-will-the-barrier-reef-recover-from-the-death-of-one-third-of-its-northern-corals-60186">reef health</a> and employment growth be reconciled?</p>
<p>I’ll comment more on how these issues are playing out closer to election day on July 2. A month is a long long time in politics.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/59062/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stewart Lockie receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the Australian Council of Learned Academies.</span></em></p>What are the issues facing rural and regional Australia? The challenges are many and varied – and only some have made the national political agenda – but these areas deserve better than neglect.Stewart Lockie, Director, The Cairns Institute, James Cook UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/594702016-05-16T06:23:00Z2016-05-16T06:23:00ZElection podcast: the battle for New England<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/122672/original/image-20160516-15904-1nb52zp.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Vikki Campion/Office of Barnaby Joyce</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>This is The Conversation’s first election podcast, where we visit the New South Wales seat of New England. The electorate is held by deputy prime minister and Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce, who is under challenge from former independent member Tony Windsor.</p>
<p>Joyce predicts the government will “take a haircut” at the election, and talks about New England becoming a net exporter of renewable energy in future years. Windsor says if there was a hung parliament he would not go into an alliance, as he did with the Gillard government, and is coy about where his vote would end up.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/59470/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michelle Grattan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>This is The Conversation’s first election podcast, where we visit the NSW seat of New England.Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of CanberraLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/594472016-05-15T12:58:35Z2016-05-15T12:58:35ZFrom top dog to underdog – Tony Windsor’s fight in New England<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/122564/original/image-20160515-12583-gi6azv.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Tony Windsor at his Werris Creek property with Mackdog, who's a hit on social media.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Pat Hutchens/TC</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>There is one question that Tony Windsor, the high-profile former crossbencher from the Gillard years who is attempting a comeback in New England, is unwilling to answer.</p>
<p>That is: in the (admittedly unlikely) event of a hung parliament, which side would he support to form government?</p>
<p>Windsor, who represented the regional New South Wales seat as an independent from 2001 to 2013 when he retired at the election, is proud of what he achieved in the hung parliament. He signed a deal with Julia Gillard and his seat did well out of it.</p>
<p>But if he was elected on July 2 and history repeated itself, he’s adamant that he wouldn’t put his name to an agreement.</p>
<p>Beyond that, he won’t be drawn on where his support would go – a question some voters might like answered given they were surprised by his decision in 2010.</p>
<p>All he will say is: “The government should be formed on the floor of the house.”</p>
<p>Windsor has gone from top dog when he was the member to being, as challenger, the underdog in the seat, which was won in 2013 by the Nationals’ Barnaby Joyce, now deputy prime minister. These days it is Joyce who has the capacity to deliver largesse, a point he makes in campaigning.</p>
<p>Joyce plans to move the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority, part of his Agriculture Department, from Canberra to Armidale, involving 195 jobs. The Canberra public servants don’t like the idea, but Joyce says he believes in decentralisation.</p>
<p>In other circumstances New England might be neglected at this election. But the fact Windsor is standing and it is a tough contest means it gets another round of special attention.</p>
<p>New England’s major centre is Tamworth, Australia’s country music capital. Both Joyce and Windsor live close by. The electorate includes Armidale, home of the University of New England, and also Tenterfield, famous for its links to the federation movement.</p>
<p>Former Nationals leader Ian Sinclair held what was traditionally a Country Party stronghold, but his successor, Stuart St Clair, lost it to Windsor.</p>
<p>At the start of this long campaign Joyce is regarded as favourite, although he was not doing so well in polling done earlier on. He describes himself as “confident but not cocky”.</p>
<p>Windsor says the seat is “winnable”. His supporters are committed and vocal and, thanks to his national profile, include people from outside the electorate. It is said that older female voters are particularly loyal but there is hostility among male voters about his support of the Labor government.</p>
<p>This is surely one of the most personally charged contests in the nation. Windsor, a one-time member of the Nationals, has a long-held hatred of them, based on old grievances. The Nationals reciprocate the bad feeling.</p>
<p>A second high-profile independent, Rob Taber, who is from Armidale and owns a solar business, is bitter about Windsor. Taber ran at the last election and scored a primary vote of nearly 14% and a two-candidate vote of 35.5% against Joyce. This encouraged him to have his eye on this election because he believed he would have an effective monopoly on the independent vote. He says that Windsor had told him twice that he would not contest. Now Taber is the also-ran candidate.</p>
<p>Windsor names as high on his long list of issues Gonski school funding – there are Gonski billboards around the electorate courtesy of the teachers’ union – and the proposed Shenhua coal mine which is now, after the electoral redistribution, just outside the seat.</p>
<p>When The Conversation visited New England at the weekend Windsor drove us to the Liverpool Plains where Shenhua has bought up 43 farms. He talks passionately about the rich black soil and the water system that is under potential threat from mining, if the plan goes ahead.</p>
<p>Windsor, who previously sold land to a mining project, insists he’s “not against mining”. Rather, he believes the proper studies, which he says would take years, have not been done for the Shenhua or a BHP mine that is also in the pipeline.</p>
<p>Joyce says he’s totally against both proposed projects. “Neither mine should go ahead. It’s some of the best agricultural land in Australia. There’s coal under Sydney – I don’t think there should be a mine there either,” he says.</p>
<p>Joyce’s hard line is despite the fact that the federal government has given approval for Shenhua, although Environment Minister Greg Hunt subsequently agreed to a further consideration of water issues, which is not yet complete.</p>
<p>A ReachTEL poll done for the Australia Institute in March of 662 people in the electorate found 62% opposed to the “proposed Shenhua coal mine on the Liverpool plains”, with 26% in favour. </p>
<p>The future of the Shenhua Watermark project is uncertain. It still has to get state government approval, and low coal prices have thrown an economic cloud over it.</p>
<p>Windsor says that gearing up for another run at the seat hasn’t been difficult. “It took me about a day to adjust – then it was like I never left, in terms of the work.” He has ten people working full time in his office and says he has done more than 20 public meetings.</p>
<p>He plays down the blowback for supporting Labor, suggesting many of those people had never backed him. And after Tony Abbott was dumped by the Liberals, people said to him they now understood his decision, he says.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, among some in the electorate memories of his deal are strong and negative.</p>
<p>Windsor will get Labor and Green preferences; Taber is running an open ticket. Windsor argues that given the likely preference flow, Joyce needs a primary vote in the high 40s to win. ABC election analyst Antony Green agrees, pointing out that Liberal MP Sophie Mirabella was defeated in Indi in 2013 on 44.7% primary vote.</p>
<p>The March ReachTEL poll had Joyce on 43.1% primary vote and Windsor on 38.0%, with Labor on 7.1% and the Greens at 3.4%. The Conversation’s poll analyst, Adrian Beaumont, wrote at the time that, while no two-candidate vote was given, it was “likely that Windsor would lead on this poll given strong preference flows from Labor and the Greens”.</p>
<p>Joyce is juggling national and local campaigning, spending three days in his seat some weeks and four in other weeks. He will be in Indi and Murray in Victoria this week, and talking with dairy farmers about the current squeeze on their prices.</p>
<p>When we joined Joyce at the Armidale farmers’ market on Sunday, he was in some of the hardest territory for him. Armidale, with its university-town feel, is the sort of place that is sympathetic to independents – last election Taber beat Joyce there.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/122567/original/image-20160515-10670-b5nvot.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/122567/original/image-20160515-10670-b5nvot.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=641&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/122567/original/image-20160515-10670-b5nvot.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=641&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/122567/original/image-20160515-10670-b5nvot.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=641&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/122567/original/image-20160515-10670-b5nvot.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=806&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/122567/original/image-20160515-10670-b5nvot.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=806&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/122567/original/image-20160515-10670-b5nvot.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=806&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Barnaby Joyce greets constituents at the farmers’ market in Armidale.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Pat Hutchens/TC</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
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<p>On the drive back to Tamworth, Joyce stops at Bendemeer. He hopes to catch his parents, who have a property nearby, at the coffee shop where they drop in after attending mass. He misses them by minutes, but sits down with a local farmer he knows who’s clutching a big “I’m backing Barnaby” sign, which he said was handed out at the church – though not by the priest, he adds hastily. </p>
<p>The farmer proves to be very across some ins and outs of Canberra gossip. An amused if slightly startled Joyce reminds the man he’s just been to mass.</p>
<p>Joyce says he gets a lot of support from such small towns.</p>
<p>One of the ironies of Joyce’s campaign revolves around wind power. He used to be a critic but the other day he opened a A$400 million wind farm project being constructed near Glen Innes. It will be bigger than any wind farm presently operating in NSW, according to a statement last month from Hunt.</p>
<p>“These are the cards I’m dealt,” Joyce says. “I will play them to the best of my ability for the best outcome for the people I represent.” </p>
<p>He says that some years on the New England electorate will be a net exporter of renewable energy.</p>
<p>So, is he a convert to wind power or just a pragmatic realist? He opts for the latter description.</p>
<p><strong>Postscript</strong></p>
<p>Greens candidate Mercurius Goldstein has pointed out that the party’s preferences will be determined by the local membership after nominations close. In 2010 the Greens preferenced Windsor; in 2013, Taber.</p>
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There is one question that Tony Windsor, the high-profile former crossbencher from the Gillard years who is attempting a comeback in New England, is unwilling to answer. That is: in the (admittedly unlikely…Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of CanberraLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/561332016-03-11T01:39:38Z2016-03-11T01:39:38ZVIDEO: Michelle Grattan on Windsor and Joyce<figure>
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<p>Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce found his political future under challenge this week with the gunshot announcement from former MP Tony Windsor that he would try to ride back into his old seat of New England.</p>
<p>University of Canberra Vice-Chancellor Stephen Parker and Professorial Fellow Michelle Grattan peer into the dangers awaiting Joyce in facing the veteran Windsor, who will run hard on “people power” and disenchantment with the major parties. Meanwhile, similar dynamics are expected to play out in the seat of Indi, where Sophie Mirabella will wrestle with popular independent MP Cathy McGowan. </p>
<p>And while politicians on all sides hurtle towards a possible early election, the government still finds itself without a higher education policy.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/56133/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Barnaby Joyce found his political future in doubt this week, with the gunshot announcement from Tony Windsor that he would try to ride back into his old seat of New England.Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of CanberraStephen Parker, Vice-Chancellor, University of CanberraLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/560872016-03-10T19:20:19Z2016-03-10T19:20:19ZGrattan on Friday: Windsor’s challenge will mess with Joyce’s susceptible mind<p>Barnaby Joyce should be afraid. The Nationals profess they’ll hold New England, and Joyce is the favourite. But Tony Windsor is likely to drive him mad and in these days of voter disillusionment, anything can happen.</p>
<p>There will be two riveting contests involving independents at the fast-approaching election – Windsor’s bid to grab back his old NSW seat and MP Cathy McGowan’s fight to hold Indi, in Victoria, against the attempt by former occupant Liberal Sophie Mirabella to regain it.</p>
<p>Both Windsor and McGowan invoke “people power” and localism, and tap into the disenchantment many people feel with major parties.</p>
<p>If McGowan was defeated in Indi, the biggest story would be that Mirabella, who lost the seat in 2013 because she’d neglected it and alienated many people, had made a comeback.</p>
<p>If Joyce were defeated, there would be a huge fallout, with the Nationals searching a thin field for a new leader who, assuming the Turnbull government was re-elected, would become deputy prime minister.</p>
<p>The New England contest will be about many things, but in particular it will test how Joyce handles extreme pressure. Windsor – he of the beaming smile and killer instinct – will mess with Joyce’s susceptible mind. </p>
<p>Windsor plays the man and he plays rough. Joyce has always been a favourite target, described as one of the “Abbott crazies”, an “idiot”, a “vandal” and much else. Windsor gets away with personal attacks where others would not.</p>
<p>Joyce is a volatile character; he has proved himself resilient but he’s easily agitated. Keeping his cool in the face of relentless Windsor strikes will stretch his discipline.</p>
<p>The Windsor assault could not have come at a worse time. Joyce has just stepped up to two positions – the Nationals leadership and the deputy prime ministership that it brings – that are both highly demanding.</p>
<p>Now he has to meet the challenge of these roles with the debilitating distraction of having to defend his seat. He can’t cede his wider responsibility. He is an exceptional retail politician – as leader he needs to be travelling the country to support Nationals candidates. There is no-one who can take his place. But it could be dangerous for him if he doesn’t spend enough time in his home base. Striking the balance will be a fine judgement.</p>
<p>At his Thursday Canberra news conference announcing his run, Windsor showed his skill at creating a political narrative. He is weaving the local story into the national one on issues including the NBN, climate change and Gonski. This helps his wider profile and will encourage support – money and people – to come from outside New England to assist him.</p>
<p>He and Joyce share opposition to the proposed Shenhua coal mine – now outside the electorate following the redistribution – but Windsor does not accept Joyce’s good faith. He accuses him of “sham opposition” and being complicit in the neglect of some of the processes that could have been put in place to examine the proposal.</p>
<p>Some New England voters may relish the chance to give the government a kick, especially if they think it is home and hosed. Others might harbour resentment about Windsor joining forces with the Gillard government. Interestingly, he indicates that in the highly unlikely situation he was a balance of power player again, he’d probably hang loose rather than enter an agreement.</p>
<p>Windsor told his news conference he liked Malcolm Turnbull. “But he’s got to start and do something. And the reason he can’t do it, one of those reasons, is his deputy dog”. He said Joyce and his ilk, who were not prepared to embrace the future, put a handbrake on Turnbull.</p>
<p>With July 2 now shaping up as the most favoured election date, Windsor is quite right that Turnbull has to “do something”. It’s also true Turnbull’s hands are tied on some issues by the Liberal right and his Coalition deal with the Nationals. But the government’s drift can’t be explained in those simple terms. It has much wider parentage and Turnbull himself must take the prime responsibility.</p>
<p>“The world is going fine, as soon as we find our tax plan,” quips one government man. Meeting in Adelaide this week, ministers settled down to more work on the shrunken tax package, amid talk of bringing the budget forward by a week to May 3 to facilitate a July 2 poll, for which momentum has built even if it is not inevitable.</p>
<p>An example of drift on another front was highlighted when Education Minister Simon Birmingham addressed a Universities Australia dinner in Canberra on Wednesday.</p>
<p>Birmingham told his audience there would be a choice at the election “between a Turnbull government that wants to make demand-driven, equitable access to universities financially sustainable for the long term” and a Shorten opposition that “for now promises largely more of the same” with an uncertain long term that could include the recapping of places.</p>
<p>There is a gaping hole in this presentation. Labor has produced a higher education policy. After its earlier fiasco over fee deregulation, the Coalition doesn’t yet have a replacement policy to say how it would make universities “financially sustainable for the long term”.</p>
<p>The government is filling its policy vacuum by hyping to the max its attacks on Labor’s offerings. Turnbull described Labor’s proposed cutback of negative gearing as “an extraordinary restriction on economic freedom”. Labor, he said, was making tax policy on the run. In contrast, the snippy might say, to the government’s making it at a crawl.</p>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michelle Grattan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Barnaby Joyce should be afraid. The Nationals profess they’ll hold New England, and Joyce is the favourite. But Tony Windsor is likely to drive Joyce mad.Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of CanberraLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/560752016-03-10T03:36:29Z2016-03-10T03:36:29ZPolitics podcast: Tony Windsor on his bid for New England<p>In what promises to be one of the toughest contests at the election, former independent MP Tony Windsor will try to retake the seat of New England from Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce. Windsor tells Michelle Grattan he believes the seat is winnable.</p>
<p>“I’m not naive in politics, I know there will be an enormous amount of money thrown at this but my campaign will be based on people – and people power, if it gets positioned correctly, can actually do a tremendous amount,” he says. </p>
<p>Windsor pitches his campaign as a policy battle to be fought on local issues that have national prominence: climate change, the NBN, and the Shenhua mine – to name a few.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/56075/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michelle Grattan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>In what promises to be one of the toughest contests at the election, former independent MP Tony Windsor will try to retake the seat of New England from Barnaby Joyce.Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of CanberraLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/155232013-08-05T20:19:18Z2013-08-05T20:19:18ZNew England: an independent seat in more ways than one<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/27312/original/bpm38cp9-1373520392.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Nationals' Barnaby Joyce is running for New England in the House of Representatives, which he is expected to win comfortably.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Lukas Coch</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The seat of <a href="http://www.aec.gov.au/profiles/nsw/new-england.htm">New England</a>, stretching from the Queensland border in the north, through the New England region and the north-west slopes and to the Liverpool plains in the south, would have been on everyone’s radar but for <a href="news/2013-06-26/tony-windsor-and-rob-oakeshott-are-quitting-politics/4780492">the departure</a> of sitting member Tony Windsor. The seat of will now undoubtedly <a href="http://www.news.com.au/national-affairs/joyce-wins-nationals-preselection-to-contest-nsw-seat-of-new-england/story-fn59niix-1226619724346">be taken</a> by the Nationals’ Barnaby Joyce, but the question is: could Windsor <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2013/06/26/3789867.htm">have won</a>?</p>
<p>The seat is a creation of federation, switching hands between Protectionist and free trade parliamentarians in its early days, and, surprisingly, held by the ALP between 1906 and 1913. From the formation of the Country Party in the early 1920s to Windsor’s <a href="http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/parlment/hansart.nsf/V3Key/LA20011116035">victory in 2001</a>, it was retained by the Country and then National Party. </p>
<p>It is a curious country seat ― typical in its reliance on agriculture but containing an unusual panoply of education institutions and lifestyles. To understand the peculiarity of the seat, Windsor’s victory in 2001 - and the consolidation of his vote in <a href="http://results.aec.gov.au/12246/results/HouseDivisionFirstPrefs-12246-135.htm">2004</a>, <a href="http://results.aec.gov.au/13745/website/HouseDivisionFirstPrefs-13745-135.htm">2007</a> and <a href="http://results.aec.gov.au/15508/Website/HouseDivisionFirstPrefs-15508-135.htm">2010</a> - should be seen in a broader context. </p>
<p>From 1963 until 1998, the seat was held by the National Party’s Ian Sinclair. During that long period Sinclair was able to build up a considerable personal following. </p>
<p>In 1996, the year that John Howard swept to office, Sinclair secured more than 60% of the primary vote. But the more typical primary vote for the National Party in the Sinclair days was of the order of 50% (and considerably less in the 1983 landslide to Bob Hawke and the ALP). </p>
<p>However, during the political disenchantment of the past 15 years or so - expressed in various ways, including the rise of independents - the seat morphed into something quite different from what it was. </p>
<p>The collapse in the National Party vote came in two stages. In 1998, when Sinclair vacated the seat, the Liberal Party contested it, drawing away more than 16% of the non-Labor primary vote. </p>
<p>Additionally, the National Party bled to One Nation, which recorded a primary vote of 13.5%. But that election was also interesting in the way that independent Graham Nuttall (later a staffer in Tony Windsor’s office) recorded a respectable 9%. The Nationals retained the seat, but it was no longer “theirs”.</p>
<h2>Windsor emerges</h2>
<p>In 2001, Windsor, an independent switching from the NSW parliament, attracted 45% of the primary vote over the Nationals’ 39%, the latter’s vote mildly improving. With the Nationals formerly relying on a primary support base of 50%, Windsor was obviously drawing support from quarters beyond the Nationals’ base. </p>
<p>Part of it was from those who voted Liberal ― and perhaps National ― in 1998; a little of it was from those who previously voted One Nation; and a lot came from those who had voted independent or Labor in 1998. What also makes the 2001 result remarkable is that Windsor achieved this momentum against the general swing to the Coalition in that election.</p>
<p>A second shift in the Nationals’ vote came in 2004: some lost to a Liberal, but most lost to Windsor. Although Windsor had captured a hefty chunk of Nationals’ support (about 22 percentage points of the primary vote), his support base was much broader, and included erstwhile Liberals, independent voters, one-time ALP voters, and a personal following. His primary vote was at more than 57%, and the preference flow pushed his two-party-preferred (2PP) figure to 71%.</p>
<p>What is interesting is that, in 2007, the Nationals’ primary vote didn’t recover even though no Liberal ran in that poll. By 2007, it stood at a little over 23%, a result roughly repeated in 2010. Windsor, meanwhile, further consolidated his hold, and in 2007 and 2010 attracted primary votes of nearly 62% and 2PP votes of 74% and 72%.</p>
<p>It’s possible the Nationals could have taken the seat from Windsor in 2013, but not likely. First, internal polling reportedly gave <a href="http://www.weeklytimesnow.com.au/article/2013/05/28/571564_politics-news.html">cause for optimism</a> in the Windsor camp. But, more importantly, and based on what we know from the figures presented here, the Nationals would had to have clawed back well over half the primary vote it had lost to Windsor to have given them a workable primary base of 40% or more. And it needed at least that much to have any show because, from 2001, it could never achieve a 2PP result more than a few points above its primary vote.</p>
<p>In truth, it would have needed considerably more. The Nationals needed to double their primary vote by wresting something very close to the 25% of former Nationals support now held by Windsor. As with so many other things about Tony Windsor, we can believe him when he says he was not afraid of a fight.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/15523/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tim Battin does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The seat of New England, stretching from the Queensland border in the north, through the New England region and the north-west slopes and to the Liverpool plains in the south, would have been on everyone’s…Tim Battin, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, School of Humanities, University of New EnglandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/41362011-11-03T03:06:07Z2011-11-03T03:06:07ZWe need to know more about CSG and groundwater, but does Tony Windsor have it right?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/5134/original/aapone-20041130000012548578-question_time-original.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">It could take years to learn more about the impacts of CSG, but can we afford to wait?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Alan Porritt</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Independent MP Tony Windsor has said he <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/environment/water-issues/coal-gas-dispute-threatens-mine-tax-20111031-1msc4.html#ixzz1cazmLrPv">won’t back</a> the government’s <a href="http://www.treasury.gov.au/contentitem.asp?NavId=037&ContentID=2070">Mineral Resources Rent Tax</a> unless more is done to make coal seam gas mining sustainable.</p>
<p>He has called for $200-400 million annually from the tax revenue to go toward bio-regional assessments. He also wants to see the Commonwealth have greater power over granting coal seam gas mining rights.</p>
<p>The term “coal seam gas” or CSG is being heard more often, and usually generates emotional responses. </p>
<p>The gas, mostly methane, occurs in coal beds that are within sedimentary rock formations in geological basins. In many cases, these basins also support catchments that have drainage systems with prime agricultural soils and prized <a href="http://www.ga.gov.au/groundwater/groundwater-in-australia/alluvial-aquifers.html">alluvial aquifer</a> (sediment deposit) systems. </p>
<p>The gas-bearing coal seams may be shallow or deep. Where they are shallow, these seams are often desirable targets. But in many cases they may also underlie alluvial or other aquifer systems. </p>
<p>Small-scale production of CSG has been around for 10-12 years, but the exponential increase in activities in the past two to three years has caught both governments and the community ill-prepared. In the area of water resources and regulation, most emphasis in the past decade has been on drought-related issues rather than mining. </p>
<p>The relationship between CSG and groundwater is intimate. Within the sedimentary basins there are a variety of aquifers including the highly valuable aquifers of the <a href="http://www.derm.qld.gov.au/water/gab/">Great Artesian Basin (GAB)</a>.</p>
<p>GAB aquifers occur both above and below some of the coal seams, which vary in thickness. These aquifers are the more permeable sandstone layers, and are bounded above and below by low-permeability layers such as shales and siltstone. </p>
<p>Usually the coal seams themselves hold some water. In certain locations they are used as aquifers, commonly for livestock supply. </p>
<p>The GAB artesian water resources are large scale, unique and exceptionally important; they enabled much of western Queensland and NSW to be developed from the late 1890s.</p>
<p>Within the GAB there are numerous sub-basins. These artesian supplies were significantly over-utilised and poorly managed until the 1960s when water pressures started to drop. Combined federal, state, and private strategies were then implemented to reduce waste and restore pressures. </p>
<p>Geological and water resources are part of dynamic natural systems. Management requires understanding and knowledge of these systems. This requires data, which comes from measurements and monitoring. Groundwater systems are an example of a major challenge, as they are “hidden” and require a different approach to surface waters. </p>
<p>The big question is who does this management, and who takes responsibility for it in the long term? There has always been a degree of uncertainty about whether it is state or federal and who pays. Before the mid-1990s and introduction of a user-pays system there was better interaction between federal, state and private agencies, and communities. </p>
<p>There is no doubt that if CSG and water resources are to be managed in a sustainable manner, this must be based on data collection, organisation and assessment. This has certainly started via the <a href="http://www.nwc.gov.au/">National Water Commission</a> (NWC).</p>
<p>State agencies received “blocks” of funding, but mostly for specific projects. Substantial federal funds went to the <a href="http://www.bom.gov.au/">Bureau of Meteorology</a> (BOM) to collect water data nationally. But groundwater still remains a major challenge. </p>
<p>So there are several requirements for improving the sustainability of CSG extraction. One is the broader understanding of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogeology">hydrogeology</a>. This is based on knowing the geology, but considering it from the aspect of bearing water. </p>
<p>The federal government has made Geoscience Australia a focus groundwater agency at a national level. This is an important step in the right direction but state agencies – which are “on the ground” – need more support to compile, integrate and interpret data. This requires additional funding.</p>
<p>Information (such as water levels and salinity) needs to be collected on a regular basis for both groundwater systems (via bores) and surface systems (stream gauging stations). Computer systems these days can handle large data sets, and there is increasing capability for <a href="http://www.truecostofdata.com/telemetry.php">telemetered data</a>, plus remote access. </p>
<p>Data must, however, be in a format that is understandable by the broader community; in formats such as computer-based 3D visualisation, for example. These technologies exist, but are not yet widely implemented at effective scales. </p>
<p>Tony Windsor has <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/environment/water-issues/windsor-calls-for-coal-seam-gas-mining-halt-20111102-1mufz.html">suggested</a> allocating substantial funds from tax revenues for “bio-regional” assessments, and setting limits on CSG exploration. In theory both ideas have merit, but the application is not straightforward. </p>
<p>The additional funding is clearly needed. Regional scientific assessments of natural systems are highly desirable, especially when integrating different disciplines. </p>
<p>A major challenge is who would actually do the work: federal, state, local governments, private sector, consultancies, regional environmental organisations, research agencies, a combination of these? All take a different approach, but data and other outcomes would need to be integrated. Local communities should also play a role.</p>
<p>Regional studies also take many years to complete, and would impose unreasonable delays on utilising this valuable resource. The surface component of these studies could be implemented relatively easily. But the subsurface component would require longer timelines. </p>
<p>New data should also be incorporated. We know a lot about how CSG systems operate, but need to consider each location separately and at different scales spatially (such as local, catchment, basin) and temporally (seasonal, years, decades). </p>
<p>CSG operators appear to have learnt much over the last several years, in particular how to interact with landowners and stakeholders. There is more acceptance of the view that local landscapes should be sustainable in the long term. Increasing effort is therefore put into community consultation. </p>
<p>But there is still a long way to go in developing an holistic assessment of the sedimentary basin groundwater systems of Australia in which the CSG occurs, the needs of other users of groundwater, and interaction with many local stakeholders.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/4136/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Malcolm Cox is actively involved in groundwater research and training related to the CSG industry and government links. He has funding for project development and PhD research from Arrow Energy and Exoma Energy, which is focused on the understanding of hydrogeology and water chemistry. He also has funding from QWC for development of a 3D visualization tool of regional basins. Cox has also provided advice to several consulting companies, and is active in promoting information exchange. Malcolm Cox notes that his primary driver is the science and he has also spent many years working in water supply management, coastal groundwater systems, geothermal systems and environmental issues. </span></em></p>Independent MP Tony Windsor has said he won’t back the government’s Mineral Resources Rent Tax unless more is done to make coal seam gas mining sustainable. He has called for $200-400 million annually…Malcolm Cox, Associate Professor, Hydrogeology, , Queensland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.