Martin Ferguson
Martin Ferguson is the federal Minister for Resources and Energy and the Australian Labor Party member in the federal seat of Batman.
Contents
Articles and Resources
Sources
Martin Ferguson, the federal Minister for Resources and Energy, strongly supports the powerful energy and mining company interests active in resource exploitation and power generation in Australia. Local community climate group Yarra Climate action Now maintains that he "rejects renewable energy and supports nuclear, coal, gas, oil and mining interests."[1]
In December 2011 the Labor Party overturned it's policy on not selling uranium to countries who have not signed the Nuclear non-Proliferation Treaty, to export uranium to India. Ferguson, a strong supporter of the uranium industry, strongly lobbied within the government for Labor to re-instate the previous Howard Government policy.[2]
Ferguson said in an interview with ABC Radio on May 25, 2011 that "the reality of the international economy is that it is growing, hence there is a growing demand for energy. Australia is well positioned, not only for the continued export of coal but also, I might say, an expanded opportunity in LNG, including coal-seam methane LNG exports." Asked what the implications were of the emissions from Australian , Ferguson argued Australian coal was cleaner than alternatives. "Well firstly on coal, Australian coal, especially from Queensland and New South Wales, which are export corridors, is regarded as relatively clean coal. In places such as China, where the demand is growing they are also building new coal fired power stations, which are far more efficient from an emissions point of view. Then I go to the question of LNG; for every tonne of LNG produced in Australia, we actually reduce emissions in China by four tonnes in terms of CO2 emissions."[3]
A report in The Age in early 2012 revealed that federal police and private intelligence contractors such as the National Open Source Intelligence Centre (NOSIC) are continually monitoring anti-coal mining groups, and other environmental bodies at the behest of Martin Ferguson after lobbying by energy and power companies.[4]
Articles and resources
References
- ↑ Yarra Climate Action Now, Ferguson “the fossil fool” faces protest, Yarra Climate Action Now website, December 13, 2011
- ↑ Katharine Murphy, "Labor votes in favour of selling uranium to India", Sydney Morning Herald, December 4, 2011.
- ↑ Martin Ferguson, "Interview with Marius Benson", ABC Newsradio, May 25, 2011.
- ↑ Philip Dorling, "Spies eye green protesters", The Age, January 7, 2012.
Related SourceWatch Articles
- Offshore Petroleum Amendment (Greenhouse Gas Storage) Bill
- Australia and coal
- Citizen action and protests against coal in Australia
External links
Articles, Speeches and Interviews by or with Ferguson
- Martin Ferguson, "Sustainable Forestry At Home Is The Answer To Unsustainable Logging On Our Doorstep", Speech to the Victorian Association of Forest Industries, Melbourne, October 9, 2006.
- Martin Ferguson, "Press Conference Draft Energy White Paper Launch", Transcript, December 13, 2011.
General Articles
- Matthew Warren, "Ferguson stands up for forestry spy tactics", The Australian, October 3, 2006.
Contact Details
PO Box 6022
House of Representatives
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600
Tel: (02) 6277 4899
Fax: (02) 6277 8403
Email: Martin.Ferguson.MP AT aph.gov.au
Electorate Office Contact
Preston Office:
Location/Postal Address:
159 High Street
Preston Vic 3072
Tel: (03) 9416 8690
Fax: (03) 9416 7810
Website: www.martinferguson.com.au/
