Labor leader Mark McGowan has announced plans to ban fracking in the South West of WA if his party wins the State election in March next year. 

The announcement comes in response to growing opposition to the unconventional gas industry across the region, including a Gasfield Free Community declaration in North Boyanup, rowdy public ‘Fracked or Fiction’ debates and huge support for Labor MPs Mick Murray and Sally Talbot’s calls for a South West fracking ban.

Frack Free Future campaign coordinator Jules Kirby welcomed the announcement and called on the party to extend the policy to other sensitive areas such as the Midwest and the Kimberley where communities were equally concerned about fracking proposals.

“Mark McGowan’s announcement of WA Labor plans to ban fracking in the South West is excellent news and will win strong support across the region” said Kirby.

“Labor has already committed to a statewide fracking moratorium - declaring permanent regional ‘no-go’ areas is a necessary and sensible extension to that policy. People in the Mid West and Kimberley will now want to know if they'll be offered the same protection.”

“Voters across the State are waking up to the risks this unwanted industry poses to WA’s water, wealth and wellbeing and this is shaping up to be a major issue for the March 2016 State Election”

“Let’s see Labor being clear though – the unconventional gas industry can cause serious harm to the environment and communities whether or not ‘fracking’ or hydraulic fracturing is involved. That’s why people across WA want to see bans and moratoriums on all unconventional gas activity, like Victorian Labor recently enacted.”

Media contact: Jules Kirby – 0421 969 554