[Greens-Media] Greens take stand to defend WA’s farms and water from gas barons

[Redman, Chris (Sen R. Siewert)]

Greens take stand to defend WA’s farms and water from gas barons

Australian Greens Senator for Western Australia Scott Ludlam. 17 June 2013.

Greens Senator for Western Australia Scott Ludlam is pursuing legal protection for Western Australia’s water supplies from contamination by gas mining.
 
Senator Ludlam has written to Federal Environment Minister Tony Burke and Independent MP Tony Windsor urging them to support new laws to protect water supplies from shale gas, tight gas and underground coal gasification. 
 
“We support Mr Windsor’s Bill to protect water from coal seam gas, but as it stands this legislation would leave Western Australia vulnerable to other forms of unconventional gas mining. That must change,” he said.
 
Mr Windsor’s Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Amendment Bill 2013 will allow the Federal Environment Minister to consider the impact on water of coal seam gas and coal mining. Senator Ludlam will move an amendment to the Bill to include including shale gas, tight gas and underground coal gasification to this Bill.
 
“I participated in the inquiry into the impact of mining in the Murray Darling Basin in 2009 and am well aware of the grave consequences of permanently ruining the hydrogeology of the Liverpool Plains, and the consequences of filtering inland Australia's drinking water through a pair of active coalmines,” said Senator Ludlam.
 
“Shale and tight gas fracking creates a serious risk of contamination of groundwater and causes massive surface disturbance through the drilling of wells that pass through groundwater aquifers in order to access gas held in shale or tight sandstone. 
 
“Western Australia has the fifth largest reserve of shale gas in the world, concentrated in the Canning Super Basin that underlies a large part of the Kimberley.  Before assessments of the environmental and public health impacts have been conducted, and with only desultory consultation, the WA government has offered a range of incentives including over $100million in unconventional gas exploration subsidies and a 50 per cent royalty reduction for the industry. 

“With the Barnett Government’s dismal record of pursuing reckless and destructive projects, a Federal line of defence must be drawn to protect our water supplies and farming land from dangerous forms of gas mining.
 
“The North Perth Basin is the WA gas field closest to production. This gas field has twice as much gas in it as all of the coal seam gas fields on the east coast combined; it is to be anticipated that there may be many hundreds, perhaps many thousands of wells in this landscape within the next decade. 
 
“There are known fields in and around Eneabba and Dongara and through the Mid-West. Given the fierce competition for water that already exists in those areas, the impact of the aquifer drawdown on local farmers will be devastating. 
 
“I understand that the exclusion of shale and tight gas within the framework of the Bill before the Parliament is unintentional, and will move an amendment to close this dangerous loophole and defend Western Australia’s water supplies and farm land.”
 
Greens Amendment:  http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;query=Id%3A%22legislation%2Famend%2Fr5001_amend_f569d436-29b1-4249-bee6-fa4be1e49d26%22 
 
Senator Ludlam’s article on Gunnedah and Oakey: http://scott-ludlam.greensmps.org.au/content/news-stories/coal-or-food-48-hours-floodplains 
 
Senator Ludlam’s questions on notice on the issue of mining on arable land: http://scott-ludlam.greensmps.org.au/content/questions-without-notice/question-notice-about-mining-arable-land