One Nation to support Greens’ bill for permanent fracking ban in SA’s South EastBy state political reporter Thomas Kelsall
Posted Thu 10 Sep 2026 at 4:33pmThu 10 Sep 2026 at 4:33pmThu 10 Sep 2026 at 4:33pm
In short
SA One Nation MP Jason Virgo says his party will support a bill from the Greens to permanently ban fracking for gas in the state’s South East.
The controversial extraction method is currently subject to a 10-year moratorium on the Limestone Coast, which is due to expire in 2028.
What’s next?
The Malinauskas government wants to lift the moratorium two years early, but faces defeat in the upper house.
One Nation will support a push to permanently ban fracking for gas in South Australia’s South East, forming an unlikely alliance with the Greens.
One Nation MP Jason Virgo said on Wednesday that he had convinced his partyroom of seven SA MPs to support a Greens’ bill to permanently ban fracking on the Limestone Coast.
Mr Virgo, who won the seat of MacKillop in this year’s state election, said he “absolutely” supported fracking in other parts of the state and Australia, but he had “worked hard to convince my party colleagues that the Limestone Coast was not the right place”.
“The reality is that One Nation is a pro-mining and gas party — we absolutely support gas exploration in the right areas,” he told ABC South East SA.
“Definitely, if I wasn’t the member and fighting for my community, I couldn’t tell you where One Nation would have sat.
“But at the end of the day, I worked hard in my party room to ensure that the Limestone Coast views and issues are the number one priority.”
Proposals for fracking in the South East have been subject to community backlash and protests on the steps of parliament, amid fears it could damage the region’s aquifer that is critical for local agriculture.
The controversial extraction method — which injects water, sand and chemicals underground to bring gas and oil to the surface — is subject to a 10-year moratorium in the South East enshrined by the former Marshall Liberal government in 2018.
Labor introduced legislation earlier this year to end the moratorium two years ahead of its expiration, citing projected gas supply shortfalls from 2030.
While that bill is yet to be brought to a vote, it faces defeat in the upper house after the Liberal Party, Greens and One Nation all indicated they would vote against it.
Separately, the Greens introduced a bill in the upper house last month to permanently ban fracking on the Limestone Coast
“We need to be absolutely clear with the community that this [Greens] bill is not going to pass the lower house, Labor’s got a clear majority there,” Mr Virgo said.
“Having said that, it’s the bill before the parliament, maybe another moratorium might have been a better chance in the parliament, but this is the bill that’s before us.”
Mr Virgo also said the government should consider running a plebiscite on fracking at next year’s council elections to “actually gauge what the community think about it”.
A petition to ban fracking in the South East has now been signed by close to 2,000 people, according to the Limestone Coast Protection Alliance.
Labor attacks One Nation’s position
The Malinauskas government has tried to wedge One Nation and the Liberal Party for opposing gas fracking on the Limestone Coast, accusing the two parties of being at odds with their federal counterparts’ pro-gas policies.
Energy and Mining Minister Tom Koutsantonis continued those attacks on Wednesday, accusing One Nation of showing its “true colours” as a “Uni-Party with the Greens and Liberals”.
“One Nation went to the state election pretending they were pro-gas exploration,” he said.
“It is up to One Nation to explain why they are now pro-gas exploration using hydraulic fracture stimulation everywhere else in the state but against it in the South East, where they happen to hold one of their four lower house seats.“
Labor’s legislation would not authorise a specific fracking project in the South East but allow exploration companies to investigate the region.
Fracking is permitted across the rest of the state.
Opposition Leader Ashton Hurn said the Liberal party room would meet on Monday to discuss the Greens’ legislation.
“But we say very clearly, we will always stand with our farmers, we’ve got a track record in doing so,” she said, noting it was the Liberal Party that brought in the 10-year-moratorium.
“I think that will give you a solid indication about where we’re looking.”
Greens MLC Melanie Selwood welcomed One Nation’s support for her fracking bill.
“It’s been a community-led project to say they don’t want fracking in the South East,” she said.
Asked if this was a sign One Nation and the Greens would be working together more, Ms Selwood said: “We would like to see One Nation back the things that we’re doing”.
“The Greens are working hard on cost of living and we’re working hard on making sure we’re making people’s lives better,” she said.
“If One Nation want to get behind our ideas, we welcome it.”