December 7, 2023
Locally owned and independent
The NR Times Rural News
RURAL NEWS 33
The NFF opposes proposal to inject coal waste into farm water supply The National Farmers’ Federation is joining a growing chorus of peak agricultural organisations to oppose mining giant Glencore’s proposal to inject coal mine waste into Australia’s biggest underground water source. The carbon capture and storage proposal before the Queensland
Government involves a trial injection of liquefied carbon dioxide waste from the Millmerran Power Station into the Precipice aquifer. NFF President David Jochinke called on the Queensland Government to reject this proposal to ensure the Great Artesian Basin was protected.
“By injecting coal mine waste into this vital water source, it puts food production at serious risk. “Once you pollute the Basin with toxic waste from a coal mine, there’s no going back from that.” The NFF supports the growing number of voices, including Farmers for Climate
Action, AgForce, Australian Lot feeders’ Association, Queensland Farmers Federation and the Murweh Shire Council Mayor who say the Great Artesian Basin should be provided the same protections as the Great Barrier Reef. Furthermore, a hydrologist had advised the corrosive
nature of the carbon dioxide fluid injected into the Precipice aquifer would cause a 10,000-fold increase in groundwater acidity, dissolve the aquifer rock and cause the leaching of heavy metals, including lead and arsenic. “This is in a region renowned for producing safe, high
quality beef,” Mr Jochinke said. “We simply cannot risk the health of the Basin or the health of this important source of farming water. “The Queensland Government needs to listen to the experts and say no to injecting coal mine waste into the Great Artesian Basin.”
Paperless trade now extends to ePhyto for Australian exports The Department of Agriculture Fisheries and Forestry continues to build on its paperless trade successes with Australia’s first ePhyto exports pilot using the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) ePhyto Hub. This step towards paperless trade provides new opportunities for Australia’s horticulture and grain industries.
Acting Deputy Secretary of the Agriculture Trade Group Nicola Hinder PSM said this was a significant milestone towards the departments paperless trade agenda. “We already have a number of paperless exchanges established with trading partners such as Canada, the European Union, Japan, New Zealand and the
Philippines, across a variety of agricultural goods,” Ms Hinder said. “The department has long been considered a leader in agriculture digital trade and paperless certification, with ePhyto representing an important step for Australia and our commitment to digitising trade.” The move from paper phytosanitary
certification to electronic certificates, known as e-Phyto, cuts down time to process certificates and streamlines boarder clearance processes for the horticulture and grain industries. Fiji will be the first country to shift to e-Phyto certification for Australian exports of horticulture and grain. “We have been working closely with them to put
our technical solution through thorough testing for the past 6 weeks to ensure that the system is performing as it should ahead of this release,” Ms Hinder said. “This is a great achievement for our department and industry and has been a priority for the past 2 years. “We look forward to establishing further ePhyto Hub
arrangements with trading partners across the globe, which will continue to drive our paperless trade agenda. “Our goal is to connect with other countries linked to the IPPC hub throughout 2024.” For more information on electronic certification, visit the DAFF website.
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