About
About twenty years ago my family and I settled in the Ipswich region and immediately fell in love with the people, the natural environment and our city’s heritage.
I worked as a Registered Nurse in Rehabilitation and taught people to regain normal function after injury or illness. I am currently a Nurse Teacher in the TAFE sector. I have also been a High School Science Teacher. I enjoy teaching because I believe that knowledge enhances people’s quality of life.
As a Green, I am concerned about the lack of consultation in current government decisions, such as:
- The sale of public assets
- The axing of public transport
- Inappropriate developments and
- Exploratory Mining Licenses in our local area
I value the land and community and do not support the ‘development-at-all-cost’ mentality. I have actively campaigned against the proposed ‘toxic’, heavy industry development at Ebenezer. I am currently raising awareness of harmful developments such as the proposed ‘Coal to Liquids’ plant proposed for the Jeebropilly mine at Ebenezer.
Ursula Monsiegneur’s decision to stand as a local candidate for Ipswich West was galvanised by her concerns about the lack of community consultation for the proposed industrial developments in the area. These concerns were further compounded with all the activity in the region surrounding coal and gas exploration building of high voltage power lines, many land owners and farmers are being approached by companies wishing to access properties.
“The state government has already approved exploratory mining leases affecting large tracts of private land west of Ipswich and the Opposition supports this.
“The state government has also approved a coal-to-liquids plant that turns coal into petroleum. This process will pollute the atmosphere with substances such as nitrogen dioxide and sulphur dioxide, which will affect local tourism and farming industries.”
Ursula believes land owners and farmers need to know what rights they really have over who enters their property and what action is available to enforce those rights.
Many land owners and farmers are surprised to learn that they have very few rights. Most are angry to learn that they ultimately have no rights when it comes to mining companies because the law supports the mining companies. Ursula wants these laws updated to better protect the rights of land owners and farmers.
In 2010, Ursula was actively involved in the campaign against the ‘toxic blister’ industrial development at Mutdapilly, south of Ebenezer. Local action resulted in the State Government dropping this so-called ‘high impact, hard-to-locate, large footprint’ proposal, which would have added to the already approved Industrial area at Ebenezer.
“Although this proposal was scrapped at the time, I have ongoing concerns about the kinds of industries that continue to be proposed for this region, which is home to koalas, greater gliders, and rare native plants such as the Melaleuca irbyana.”
“The proposals for the active coal mines at Jeebropilly and degraded land at Ebenezer and Mt Forbes are not the only issues here; but the land required for associated infrastructure includes the southern freight rail corridor, massive new power line easements, the construction of pipelines and gasification of the Swanbank power plant. Residents and the wider community need to be aware that they have little say and few rights to prevent the resumption of their land for these developments.”
“I value the land and community and do not support the ‘development-at-all-cost’ mentality. I want to see development that works with the people and enhances our landscape and natural heritage. I don’t want to see Ipswich and our region, become just another ‘corridor’ in a sprawling city.”
