Victorian Liberals and Nationals have again betrayed farmers and abandoned regional Victoria by voting against a motion calling on Commonwealth support for the Andrews Labor Government’s historic Fracking Ban Bill.

Matthew Guy has today proved he would rather side with the Sydney-centric Liberal Prime Minister than the people of Victoria.

Liberals and Nationals voted against a motion condemning the Prime Minister for not respecting Victoria’s ban on unconventional gas and the moratorium on onshore conventional gas activity.

Last week, Malcolm Turnbull falsely claimed that Victoria had an enormous amount of onshore gas that could be extracted without fracking.

There are currently no proved or probable onshore gas reserves in Victoria.

The motion also called on the Commonwealth to join the Labor Government in a program of geoscientific research to learn more about Victoria’s prospectivity.

The Prime Minister has refused to accept the will of the Victorian Parliament, and the bipartisan support for the fracking bill.

He has refused to accept the importance of Victoria’s proud agricultural and food and fibre communities.

He has also fobbed off a sector which employs more than 190,000 Victorians.

The Victorian Liberals and Nationals have followed their Prime Minister’s lead and abandoned our farmers. They should hang their heads in shame.

Quotes attributable to Minister for Resources Wade Noonan

“First it was a flip-flop, then it was a backflip, and now the Liberals and Nationals have thrown in the towel on fracking.”

“After supporting our historic Bill in the Lower House – Matthew Guy has proven he’d rather side with the Prime Minister of Sydney than regional Victoria.

“Regional communities deserve better than the betrayal and fakery offered by the Liberals and Nationals on this vital issue.”