Onshore gas drilling to resume as Victoria scraps years-long ban

Drilling for gas reserves underground will once again be allowed across Victoria as the state moves to lift its years-long moratorium on conventional onshore gas exploration.

A moratorium on onshore gas exploration in Victoria will be lifted. 

Surprising many, as a decision was not required to be made for another three months, the Andrews government unveiled legislation allowing an "orderly restart" of conventional gas exploration and development onshore from July 1, 2021.

Oil and gas producers, unions and heavy gas-users such as manufacturers have been calling for the years-long moratorium to be abolished, but environment groups have railed against the possibility arguing it will drive up greenhouse gas emissions and threaten state ecosystems.

Read the story from The Age by Benjamin Preiss, Nick Toscano and Miki Perkins - “Onshore gas drilling to resume as Victoria scraps years-long ban.”

(This is a tragedy for those of us concerned about Australia’s carbon dioxide emissions as “onshore gas” means fracking and while that means many things, it is fundamentally about removing a fossil fuel from where it presently safely resides and letting it loose into our atmosphere, something we simply should not be doing - Robert McLean)

NT Labor Party divisions revealed as majority vote to ban fracking

Delegates at Territory Labor's annual conference have voted in favour of a ban on fracking, highlighting the deep divisions within the party just a month after the Gunner Government lifted its moratorium.

Protestors against fracking rallied ahead of
 the NT Labor Party's annual conference.

As anti-fracking protesters gathered outside the conference in Darwin, Chief Minister Michael Gunner called on party delegates to recognise his decision to support fracking was based on the findings of an independent, scientific inquiry.

"I understand the emotion in this room," Mr Gunner said.

"But I hope you also understand we have to make our decisions based on evidence, on science, on the experts.”

The Chief Minister reiterated the risks of fracking could be mitigated.

Read the ABC News story by Jano Gibson - “NT Labor Party divisions revealed as majority vote to ban fracking.”

Morrison denies Northern Territory's extra $260m is for lifting fracking ban

The federal government has given the Northern Territory an extra $260m to compensate for its low GST share, a decision both governments have denied is linked to the territory’s decision to lift a moratorium on fracking.

 NT’s extra funding is not due to the decision to lift
the ban on fracking, Scott Morrison says. 

At a press conference on Monday the treasurer, Scott Morrison, said the Northern Territory would receive the extra funding from the commonwealth’s consolidated revenue, as well as an extra $550m over five years for remote Indigenous housing.

The Northern Territory’s GST share is set to fall from 4.66% of Australia’s total in 2017-18 to 4.26% in 2018-19 as a result of the recommendation of the Commonwealth Grant Commission – the independent body that carves up the GST pie.

Read Paul Karp’s story from The Guardian - “Morrison denies Northern Territory's extra $260m is for lifting fracking ban.”

NT fracking inquiry: Economic benefit uncertain, Australia Institute think tank warns

A new economic assessment of the impact hydraulic fracking would have on the Northern Territory shows the financial benefit does not warrant a lifting of the current moratorium, a Canberra-based think tank says.

Jemena is currently constructing the Northern
 Gas Pipeline that will link Tennant Creek with
 Mount Isa in north-west Queensland.

A report released by economic consulting firm ACIL Allen late on Friday evening looked at what effect allowing fracking in the NT would have on employment numbers and revenue — for both the Government and private companies.

Research Director at the Australia Institute think tank, Rod Campbell, said the assessment showed even in the best-case scenario the economic development for the NT was not outstanding.

"It points out... that an unconventional gas industry in the Northern Territory is very uncertain and likely to be quite small," he said.

Read the ABC News story by Georgia Hitch - “NT fracking inquiry: Economic benefit uncertain, Australia Institute think tank warns.”

Moratorium on logging Tasmania's old growth forests could be reversed

(Hard questions are already being asked of the Australian Government about how it is going to meet its Paris climate commitments and so logging a forest, old growth or otherwise, is the antithesis of what is needed and so although this may well be seen as a state matter, it seems the Turnbull Government should step in, rather, it must take action – Robert McLean)

Tasmanian government will consider reversing a
 moratorium on logging in old growth forests. 

Old growth forests in the Tarkine could be logged by private companies under plans being considered by the Tasmanian government to reverse a moratorium on harvesting 400,000ha of high conservation value forests. 

The forests were part of 500,000ha protected under the forest peace deal signed by the former Labor government in 2013, which would have seen them eventually gazetted into national parks.

That deal was ripped up by the Hodgman Liberal government when it came to power in 2014, and the 400,000ha of future forest reserves were rebadged as future potential production forests, to remain formally in reserves until 2020.

Simultaneous efforts to prevent the remaining 100,000ha from being included in the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area failed.

Read The Guardian story - “Moratorium on logging Tasmania's old growth forests could be reversed.”

Declan Martin damns wind turbine moratotium

(The Shepparton News today published an opinion piece by reporter Declan Martin which was further evidence of a shift in public opinion that coal belongs in the ground and should not be used of source of energy. Martin also sees the upcoming federal election as an opportunity to rid ourselves of hypocritical members of government members who stand in the way of progress through their endorsement of ideas that held sway last century.)

Let’s hope the upcoming election can clean out some characters that deter progress in this country, such as tin-foil hat-wearing, Senators John Madigan and David Leyonhjelm, who are asking for a moratorium on building wind turbines because of the health concerns to those who live nearby.

These are ridiculous claims that are actually being taken seriously, meanwhile, countries, such as Denmark and Germany, are progressing with renewable technology, while Australia is being blocked from building wind turbines.

Recently it was reported that $3.3 million would be spent on two university studies into the affects of wind turbines, particularly infrasound created by the blades — that’s taxpayers’ money that is better directed elsewhere.

This infrasound is also created by a number of sources, such as the ocean, traffic and refrigerators, but as common sense prevails we aren’t switching our fridges off . . . yet.

One has to wonder what would be the outcome of a similar study on coal mining and coal-power stations and their environmental and health outcomes?

The conservative Senators hearts bleed for a handful of people who claim they are ‘‘affected by infrasound’’, but don’t care about the people who have to live near coal mines where the ground is blown up and heavy machinery works 24 hours, seven days a week.

In the vast majority of these times these people have to live with it because a state government has rubber stamped the expansion of a mine beyond the original limitations.



Shepparton
News reporter,
Declan Martin.

Huge areas of ground, often farming land, is ripped up for coal mining along with animal habitat, nobody bats an eyelid, but heaven forbid an anecdotal claim about headaches created by renewal energy and all hell breaks loose.

Coal dust particles are small enough to cause serious health impacts and correlate with poor respiratory health in the regions where coal is king, but that’s not a concern to Mr Madigan and Mr Leyonhjelm.

I’m not saying wind power is the answer, but surely there shouldn’t be some campaign against it happening because it’s hypocrisy of the highest order.

The Coalition Government will say to the media and in press releases, ‘‘We’re all about progress and are happy for renewable energy’’, but their actions speak louder than their words.

Indonesia leads the world in felling trees, despite moratorium

This graphic shows clearly how
 the Indonesian forests have
 been disappearing.

Deforestation is one of the greatest causes of climate change and a near neighbour is now the world’s worst offender.

Not only does deforestation make substantial contribution to the world’s carbon dioxide emissions, it also results in habitat loss and animal extinction.

A story published today by the ABC and headed: “Indonesia overtakes Brazil in clearing tropical forests resulting in habitat loss and animal extinction, scientists claim” tells of this worrying behaviour.

This is, the ABC reports, “Despite a 2011 moratorium meant to protect wildlife and combat climate change”.

Meanwhile, Time magazine tells a similar damning story in an article headed: “Indonesia Now Has the Highest Rate of Deforestation in theWorld”.