VICTORIAN farmers are claiming a major victory after State Parliament this week passed legislation to make Victoria the first Australian state to permanently ban fracking.
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The move is a win for the Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) which has long lobbied for the ban on unconventional gas exploration, as well as a moratorium on conventional gas extraction until 2020.
VFF president David Jochinke said the decision gave security to landholders and reinforced a commitment to long term investment in the Victorian agriculture industry.
Mr Jochinke said it would be reckless to put groundwater reserves at risk from onshore mining for unconventional gas without hard scientific evidence that it could be properly managed.
