Our Initial Goals
Our Initial Goals (2009)
Firstly, to stop the NSW auction of licences for GAB water (on 21/7/09) and any further sales, until the government can produce irrefutable evidence that the GAB is being replenished as they claim, and that sales of further water licences will not impact detrimentally on the future of the GAB. And as our main priority, to get an agreement signed between NSW, Queensland, S.A. and N.T. that no GAB water licences will be sold until recharge can be proven, as above – and for an agreement between these states as to the sustainable use of GAB water.
For GABPG to include all states that use the GAB, as this issue should not be political, or confined to separate states, but is of national importance. The GAB extends under three states and the N.T., who should all be united in their fight to preserve it. The GAB is Australia’s only national reserve of fresh water – and we cannot let the various state governments jeopardize it as they already have with the river systems, the wetlands, and the recharge areas. This issue (management of the GAB) should be beyond states, borders & politics, as it is the most precious national resource Australia has. We will work together to ensure its continued sustainability for the future.
And to aim to have one single non-political body in control of the GAB, who will assess licence applications based on suitability, feasibility, sustainability, and whether it will impact too much on the GAB. They will then hand their recommendations to the ministerial departments, who must follow their directives. And only to issue such licences when it can be proven beyond doubt (as in our main aim above), that the GAB is genuinely recharging.
And as a priority, to encourage and assist all trust and private bore owners, to cap and pipe their free-flowing bores. All efforts to be made to get more government funding for greater financial assistance in this program. It is essential that cap and pipe be continued in all states, and that all bores be reconditioned (where necessary) and capped, as quickly as possible.
See our Aims & Objectives
Read about hydraulic fracturing – and the pollution it causes:
http://www.scientificamerican.com:80/article.cfm?id=drill-for-natural-gas-pollute-water
‘Drill for Natural Gas, Pollute Water’ – Article about how the natural gas industry refuses to reveal what is in the mixture of chemicals used to drill for the fossil fuel.
“In July a hydrologist dropped a plastic sampling pipe 300 feet down a water well in rural Sublette County, Wy. and pulled up a load of brown oily water with a foul smell. Tests showed it contained benzene, a chemical believed to cause aplastic anemia and leukemia, in a concentration 1,500 times the level safe for people.”
Although this article is about gas mining in the U.S., it is exactly the same here. One comment I received from an expert:
“Any driller will tell you that all drilling companies use these drilling (Halliburton) products and Australia happily lets these companies import it while the companies claim they use biodegradable products etc. I have pictures of overflows of sump ponds in the Pilliga where these so called organic drilling fluids have killed the trees – and this is going directly into our aquifers. The Americans refer to CBM and CSG as ‘natural gas.’”
The hydraulic fracturing referred to in Scientific American (link above) is used extensively in all Coal Bed Methane (CBM) production all over Australia:
http://www.australianminesatlas.gov.au/education/fact_sheets/coal_bed_methane.jsp
Companies actively exploring for CBM (CSG) include:
- Sydney Gas Ltd – Sydney Basin
- Metgasco Ltd – Clarence-Moreton Basin
- Sunshine Gas Ltd – Surat and Bowen Basins
- Queensland Gas Company – Surat Basin
- Eneabba Gas Ltd – Perth Basin
- Pure Energy Resources Ltd – Bowen, Duaringa, Surat and Tasmania Basins
- Molopo Australia Ltd – Gloucester, Bowen and Clarence-Moreton Basins
- Comet Ridge Ltd – Bowen, Galilee and Gunnedah Basins
- Planet Gas Ltd – Gippsland, Eromanga, Wilochra, Gunnedah and Otway Basins
- Eastern Star Gas – Otway, Clarence-Moreton and Gunnedah Basins
- Santos Ltd – Surat and Bowen Basins
- Origin Energy – Surat and Bowen Basins
- Arrow Energy NL – Surat and Bowen Basins
- Westralian Gas and Power Ltd – Perth, Collie and Wilga Basins
- Central Petroleum Ltd – Pedirka Basin
- Rey Resources Ltd – Canning Basin
- Magellan Petroleum Australia – Maryborough Basin
- Blue Energy Pty Ltd – Bowen, Surat and Maryborough Basins
An article on pollution caused by gas extraction:
http://www.thefifthestate.com.au:80/archives/9346
Excerpt: “The waste and pollution from 26,000 gas and coal drills holes is polluting the rivers in the Murray Darling system. Miners are drilling 26,000 exploratory holes to assess how much coal and gas there is to mine in over 25,000 hectares of farming land in these catchments. Photos taken of drill holes prove the pollution.
In Australian cities, sales in the billions of dollars are rapturously announced of these mines. About 200 litres of water is used to dig a tonne of coal. To dig the 30 million tonnes of coal expected to be mined each year will take about 60 million litres of water a year for the next 20 years.
(article by Michael Mobbs).
(i) Links:
89 Submissions to the Senate enquiry on impact of mining in the MDB: http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/committee/eca_ctte/mining_mdb/submissions.htm
Submission from the Australian Society of Soil Sciences
Senate enquiry:
http://www.aph.gov.au:80/senate/committee/eca_ctte/mining_mdb/index.htm
Qld. Murray Darling Committee Impact Statement:
http://www.qmdc.org.au/publications/download/580/website-pdfs/mining_impacts-qmdb_29sept2009_web.pdf
Here is an Australian study (for QGC) that talks of drawdowns, water table lowering etc from CSG extraction:
http://qclng.com.au/uploads/docs/eis/appendix/Appendix-3.4-Gas-Field-Groundwater-Report-01.pdf
Article re pollution of Surat by csg mining:
http://www.smh.com.au/business/farmers-wonder-if-lng-is-worth-its-salt-20100207-nkvr.html
Another link to gas mining pollution: