"I am very pleased to hear the government’s decision today—good sense has prevailed. I would like to thank the Premier, The Hon Steven Miles, for listening to our concerns and making this decision.

I am grateful to Murweh Shire Council and Mayor Shaun (Zoro) Radnedge for working with Banana Shire Council on this issue, and to the other councils for getting involved. A big thanks to Jo Sheppard, CEO of the Queensland Farmers Federation, AgForce, and the Local Government Association of Queensland (LGAQ) for their support.

Thanks also to the Department of Environment, Science and Innovation for their considered input and would also like to thank the Federal Member for Flynn, Colin Boyce for his advocacy on this issue.

This decision is a crucial step in protecting our farmers, who rely heavily on the Great Artesian Basin for their livelihoods. Contaminating this vital water source would have had severe consequences for agriculture and our rural communities.

There should be checks and balances in place to prevent this from ever happening again. We call on the Federal government to ensure this never happens in Australia again.

We should not be experimenting on important natural assets in Australia."