Pressure is mounting on state and Federal governments to place stricter controls on the development of coal seam gas fields over agricultural land and townships.

 

The Queensland Premier Anna Bligh has announced an immediate freeze on new exploration permits within 2 km of the boundary of a town with more than 1000 people,  a move with has prompted the mining industry to warn that it could lead to litigation from affected companies. Three companies – including Australian companies Santos and Origin - have invested a total of $45 billion in Queensland coal seam gas initiatives since December last year.

 

The Greens have announced they will introduce a Bill to increase farmers’ rights to object to mining on their land, but the leader of the Opposition, Tony Abbott, who has publicly backed the idea of giving farmers greater say, says he would not be supporting a Greens Bill.  However, Abbott is under pressure from Nationals frontbenchers who insist that farmers should be given protection from incursions by miners.  Further Liberal Senator Bill Heffernan, who is chairing the current  Senate inquiry, has reportedly stated that there are “serious flaws” in  the mining approval process and a lack  of knowledge about the impact of coal seam gas mining on aquifers.

 

The inquiry by the Senate Standing Committee on Rural Affairs and Transport, into the impacts of mining coal seam gas on the Murray-Darling Basin held its final public hearing on August 9 and is expected to report to Parliament by November 30.

 

Meanwhile, the National Water Commission has handed its report to the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) for consideration at its meeting on Friday. The report, which will be publicly released next month, is understood to warn that the coal-seam gas industry, which requires large amounts of water for its extraction processes, could potentially have significant impacts on  groundwater systems, including the Great Artesian Basin, and on water management in the Murray-Darling Basin.

 

The Federal Minister for Resources and Energy, Martin Ferguson, has defended the granting of mining rights for coal seam gas and backed away from involvement in increased control,  saying it was historically an area of  state responsibility in which the Commonwealth should  not interfere.

 

“It would be inappropriate for the Commonwealth to start undermining the constitutional capacity of the states for short-term political gain,” he said in an interview with the ABC.

 

The Trade Minister, Craig Emerson, has stated that “efforts to prevent the development of gas in this country are inconsistent with the transition of a low-carbon future.”