You would think that this would be game over for the CSG industry but despite the recent and past contamination of the water and soil by Santos Tony Abbott and his government are still trying to fast track legislation to proceed with Fracking. They are doing this at the same time as attempting to push legislation through parliament the prevents the government from being sued for environmental accidents caused by mining or dredging. This is one extremely telling insofar as it shows they are more than aware of the very real danger and are seeking to insulate themselves from prosecution while at the same time pushing for CGS mining to go ahead. Do they think we are stupid and that we won’t make the connection to their culpability prior to any disaster? I really think that arrogance has blinded them so completely that they cannot conceive of being held accountable. Let’s recap shall we:
- Today we’ve heard reports of asbestos contamination at CSG drill sites in Queensland, after last week’s revelations about uranium contamination in New South Wales from CSG.
- Coal seam and unconventional gas fracking is one big gamble with our water, health, food security, climate and communities – and the only benefits are to the profits of foreign-owned companies
- Origin Energy, in charge of coal seam gas drilling for the Australia Pacific liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, said on Thursday it had stopped work at 12 sites in Queensland as asbestos had been found in drilling fluids it was using.
- Origin said the supplier of some of its drilling fluids, Australian Mud Company (AMC), owned by Imdex Ltd, had found that its imported walnut-shell based product NUTPLUG contained asbestos.
Farmers and environmentalists already fear that “Fracking”, a drilling technique that uses high-pressure water, sand and chemicals to extract gas trapped in rock, could contaminate water supplies. Earlier this week geologist Debbie Thornton had this to say on the topic:
Did you know that if Fracking is allowed to go ahead over all the areas that have current exploration tenements in Australia we will have ruined the bulk of our underground water supplies within ten years? We will pay for water at filling stations like fuel. That is my perspective as a geologist.
All in all I think this lovely lady on our right with her sign has summed the situation up quite succinctly.
If you would like to read more about the issue and the debate in the parliament click on this link for the Australian Greens Statement
Please feel free to sign the petition to prevent such accidents occurring again.
Unload and Unwind 
If safety standards are upheld and enforced, fracking can be safe. The majority of the operation takes place thousands of feet below the water table. Much of the anti-fracking measures are financed from the OPEC countries. I wonder why? There is no way the gas companies should be immune from damages though. If you screw it up, you better fix it.
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My concern is this – our government is taking steps to prevent legal accountability for themselves and the investors in these projects in case of environmental damage.
At the same time they are pushing through legislation in the middle of the night to reduce The Barrier Reefs World Heritage status, to revoke the Endangered status of the remaining woodland in Tasmania and pushing forward with SANTOS (not known for the stellar safety history).
They then try to say that there is no risk blah blah, all for the best blah blah, more jobs (short-term only and contractual work with no benefits as well as allowing SANTOS to fly workers in from OS).
They’ve seen the reports in the areas where there is the most concern – The Murray Darling Basin which is some of the most fertile farming land in Qld as well as having a number of protected sites, The Pilbra – similar thing.
SANTOS has a history of cutting corners, creating disasters and then paying the fine – they even budget such fines into the operating expenses. Our government knows this and seeks to protect itself and not our farm land and water table from slipshod, piss poor safety measures.
*taking a breath and stepping of the soapbox now* Umm you could say I’m a little ticked at the moment.
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My only point is fracking can be safe if there is no corruption and there is a desire to hold these companies to standards. It is unfortunate but greed has pervaded every level of our country and shaken our faith in technology that could benefit us all and I see yours isn’t far behind.
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It’s SANTOS that worries me more than the tech. I understand CSG and it’s uses but our government is not prepared to go the extra mile to ensure it is done properly and it is that I worry about.
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A valid concern. I wouldn’t let them even try until there is a confidence in their approach to safety.
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