The Australian Greens will today introduce a bill to give South Australian landholders the right to say no to coal and gas mining on their land.

The bill also seeks to ban all fracking for unconventional gas, said Australian Greens Senator for South Australia Penny Wright.

"It's a disgrace that landholders still do not have any legal rights to protect their land, water and climate from coal and gas mining," Senator Wright said.

"It sets landholders up for a David and Goliath battle, because the mining companies know farmers don't have any options.

Greens leader Christine Milne says dire projections for Australia in the new CSIRO climate change report must be a wake-up call for the Abbott government and big business, which are harming people and missing huge economic opportunities by refusing to minimise global warming.

"If the natural world is in trouble, then so are we, and the Abbott government's climate denial and policy destruction has got us in serious trouble indeed," said Senator Milne.

The argument between economics and conservation is a false dichotomy, writes Christine Milne

TASMANIAN Minerals and Energy Council chairman Wayne Bould's Talking Point article (Mercury, December 18) about the Tarkine could not have been more timely.

It came the day after the Supreme Court found the Environment Protection Authority had not followed the law in allowing a mine to store more hazardous waste than its permit specified.

This was the mine that owners claimed would employ 120 people over three years.

The Australians Greens have announced a bill to help crack down on corruption in Australian companies that operate overseas.

"Australia has a responsibility to ensure that our companies operate honestly and responsibly all over the world, but especially in our own region," Greens Leader Christine Milne said.

Amid reports that Shree Minerals' Nelson Bay River mine is under investigation for breaching its federal environmental permit, Australian Greens Leader Christine Milne says the Abbott government must not proceed with plans to hand protection powers over to the state.

It's believed the Tasmanian Government amended its permit to allow the Nelson Bay River Mine to produce 20 times more acid-producing waste rock than originally planned, but the Federal Environment Department was not notified or given a chance to model the impacts on threatened species.

Confirmation that the Australian Government has suspended potential uranium sales to the Russian Federation has been welcomed by the Greens, after questions placed by Adam Bandt MP in the House and Senator Scott Ludlam in the Senate.

"The Australian Greens have argued that uranium sales to the Russian Federation should never have been contemplated in the first place," Senator Ludlam said.

The Australian Greens say the Abbott Government is shirking responsibility by waiving a new environmental impact statement for the proposed expansion of Olympic Dam.

"The Federal Government needs to do its job and stop putting the private profits of the big mining companies ahead of the environment," said South Australian Greens Senator Penny Wright.

"This is a short-sighted measure, which shows how little the Government cares about environmental protection."

The Labor and Liberal Parties have voted down an Australian Greens motion congratulating the South East Local Government Association's unanimous vote in favour of a moratorium on unconventional gas.

New South Australian Family First Senator Bob Day also voted against the motion moved in the Senate today by Australian Greens Senator for South Australia Penny Wright.

Senator Wright said she was surprised South Australian senators hadn't shown more support.

I move that the Senate:

1.      notes the importance of protecting valuable agricultural, residential and conservation land from unconventional gas activities;

2.      supports the right of landholders and local residents to say "no" to unconventional gas exploration and mining in their communities;

3.      recognises the concerns expressed by communities in the South East of South Australia over potential groundwater contamination from unconventional gas activities; and