{"id":13304,"date":"2021-10-10T20:38:05","date_gmt":"2021-10-10T20:38:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/?p=13304"},"modified":"2021-10-10T20:38:05","modified_gmt":"2021-10-10T20:38:05","slug":"pep-11-more-about-politics-than-public-interest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/2021\/10\/10\/pep-11-more-about-politics-than-public-interest\/","title":{"rendered":"PEP-11 more about politics than public interest"},"content":{"rendered":"

Recently on local radio, the new Minister for Industry, Angus Taylor was pressed for answers on why the Minister for Resources, Keith Pitt has failed to deliver a verdict on the Petroleum Exploration Permit (PEP 11) extension.
\nAngus Taylor described Keith Pitt\u2019s indecision as a \u201cbalancing exercise\u201d.
\nBut the only balancing act I see taking place here is the one in the Liberal National party room over PEP 11.
\nWe know that in February this year, former NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro, the other key decision-maker of the Joint Authority, came out strongly against renewing the PEP 11 permit.
\nGiven Minister Pitt has been aware of Mr Barilaro and the NSW Government\u2019s strong objection of this project for over eight months now, why is it taking Minister Pitt so long to make the final decision?
\nIt certainly has many Novocastrians scratching their heads.
\nThe Government\u2019s ongoing delay and indecision has driven individual Members of Parliament, myself included, to lead debates, put Private Members Motions and voice our concerns on the floor of Parliament many, many times. The latest push will be in the form of a Private Members Bill when the Australian Parliament resumes on 18 October.
\nI was very pleased to second this Bill, to ensure that it will be presented to Parliament, but I expect the Morrison Government has zero intention of allowing members to actually vote on this bill.
\nAs the government of the day, the Liberal National Party controls the legislative agenda, and as such determines whether they wish to throw their support behind a Private Members Bill like this one. It\u2019s a historical fact that less than 2 per cent of Private Members Bills are successfully passed in the Australian Parliament.
\nIf the Morrison Government permitted a vote on this Bill, would they grant the Liberal Party MPs whose electorates strongly oppose PEP 11 a \u201cfree vote\u201d?
\nMore importantly, if granted the opportunity, will those MPs who have come out against the permit themselves, be prepared to cross the floor to exercise their \u201cfree vote\u201d?
\nIn February this year the Australian Labor Party made clear our strong opposition to PEP 11 – this is a binding decision of all Labor members. \u00a0The Morrison Government, however, has zero appetite for leadership and is unlikely to adopt a position ahead of the introduction of this Private Members Bill in Parliament.
\nBut we wouldn\u2019t have to bring this Bill before the Parliament if the Minister responsible actually did his job and delivered a verdict in the first place.
\nIt\u2019s safe to say that the Morrison Government only has one agenda \u2013 and that has more to do with politics than public interest.\u00a0<\/strong>
\nThe PEP 11 project is a thorn in the Liberal National Party\u2019s side.
\nKeith Pitt knows that if he accepts the extension of the application, his party colleagues who publicly opposed PEP 11 are going to be met with significant political backlash in their own beaches.
\nThe looming decision on PEP 11 is like staring down the barrel of Morrison Government\u2019s re-election campaign. And this time, it\u2019s locked and loaded.
\nKeith Pitt\u2019s Sydney North Shore and Central Coast colleagues would most certainly have to explain to their constituents why they backflipped on PEP 11. Not an ideal circumstance for Scott Morrison whilst gearing up for an election, especially when the clock is ticking, and time is running out.
\nSo, the real question is, when does this so-called \u201cbalancing exercise\u201d simply become more than an act of political desperation, and rather a subversion of democracy?
\nCommunities along our coastline have overwhelmingly voiced their opposition to PEP 11. This is a project without friends. The Minister knows this. His Liberal and National Party colleagues know this. And his leader, Prime Minister Scott Morrison, most certainly knows this.
\nKeith Pitt\u2019s apparent inability to make a decision on PEP 11 says much more about this government\u2019s determination to prioritise political interests over and above the collective concerns of our community.
\nOver 75,000 people along the coastline have signed petitions to stop PEP 11.
\nJust like his boss, Keith Pitt has failed the greatest test of leadership – taking responsibility.
\nUnlike the Morrison Government, Labor\u2019s position on this proposal has always been crystal clear.
\nAs Anthony Albanese has already stated, Labor won\u2019t rest until this bad idea is 100 per cent dead and buried.
\nCan Scott Morrison and his Liberal National Party colleagues say the same?
\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Recently on local radio, the new Minister for Industry, Angus Taylor was pressed for answers on why the Minister for Resources, Keith Pitt has failed to deliver a verdict on the Petroleum Exploration Permit (PEP 11) extension. Angus Taylor described Keith Pitt\u2019s indecision as a \u201cbalancing exercise\u201d. But the only balancing act I see taking … Continue reading “PEP-11 more about politics than public interest”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13304","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-newcastle"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13304","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13304"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13304\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13304"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13304"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13304"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}