The Greens plan to use the resumption of Parliament to force Opposition Leader Tony Abbott to put his money where his mouth is regarding landowners' rights to deny miners access to their properties.
Parliament returns tomorrow after a five-week winter break and Mr Abbott will take every opportunity at the despatch box to criticise the Government's budget strategy and the proposed carbon tax.
But he will have some explaining to do himself over his foray into the conflicting rights of farmers and miners.
During a radio interview last week, the Opposition Leader said farmers should have the right to refuse coal seam gas miners accessing their land, after landholders had expressed frustration about a lack of consultation by mining companies.
Long held Commonwealth law allows mining exploration without landholders' permission.
Mr Abbott would not back up his comments when asked to further explain his position, but it is a view shared by the Greens.
Yesterday, Greens leader Bob Brown said his party would present a Bill to the Senate some time over the next fortnight to require the written permission of landholders before companies could explore for or extract coal seam gas.
"We would like to extend the Bill to include open cut coal mines but feel that, at this juncture, we'd be better to confine legislation to the terms set by the Opposition Leader Tony Abbott," Senator Brown said.
"I have written to the Opposition Leader seeking talks to move our common position forward as quickly as possible.
"I am also writing in like terms to the Nationals' leader in the Senate Barnaby Joyce."
It is a clever move by the Greens, knowing Mr Abbott would not want to be publicly aligned with the left-wing minor party on the issue.
The Government too has jumped on the wedge the Opposition Leader created for himself, condemning Mr Abbott's comments.
Assistant Treasurer Bill Shorten said Mr Abbott had put a sovereign risk into mining investment with his remarks.
"If you're going to upend the whole way of doing business in Australia here in the mining sector, I wouldn't do it with some reckless, risky thought bubble," Mr Shorten said.
"It doesn't matter what is a popular headline on a radio show. We need foreign investment in this country.
"And is he saying to foreign investors that Australia is a sovereign risk? That you may think that the laws have been a certain way for 100-plus years, but if the Opposition were to be elected that all of a sudden the whole foreign investment framework for Australia's mining industry could be thrown into upheaval?"
Mr Abbott left it to his front bench to defend the remarks yesterday.
Senator Joyce said the Opposition Leader was putting the national interest first with his comments.
"What Tony Abbott is saying quite rightly is a reflection of the views of the Australian people," he said. "We want to make sure our national interests are respected in the investments that happen in our nation, and I don't think that's got anything to do with sovereign risk. It's got a lot to do with common sense."
But shadow education minister Christopher Pyne stressed that Mr Abbott had not said farmers should be given the right to veto exploration on their properties.
"I don't think Tony Abbott was suggesting for one minute that we need to overturn hundreds of years of common law," he said.
"I think what he's saying is that they should have more opportunities to negotiate and consult with the miners than they're currently being given, that there has been a cavalier attitude apparently from some of the miners and some of the explorers."
The Opposition will use this week to force the Government to explain why it appeared to be watering down the promise to return the budget to surplus in 2012-13.
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