Answers needed on coal seam gas

Australians have every reason to be grateful to the mining industry. At the moment, it is the only thing protecting us from following Europe and the US down the economic drain. But in recent months landholders up and down the East Coast of the nation have been confronted with a huge increase in exploration claims lodged by coal seam gas companies wanting to ride the green friendly anti-coal band waggon and exploit the rich gas fields that lie deep below the earth.

Extraction of coal seam gas has been going on for years but there have been some scare tactics on the part of those wishing to prevent further exploration and there have been some rogue miners who have been ruthless in their pursuit of profits. We hear of frakking, in which a mix of chemicals, some toxic, are pumped into the layers of strata holding the gas underground and used to fragment the gas-bearing rock and free the gas for easier removal. What does seem certain is that not enough is known about the potential dangers these practices may leave for future generations. The biggest threat appears to be the possibility that these chemicals will contaminate underground aquifers - the water that lies or flows through the earth deep beneath the surface. It would appear unwise in the extreme to proceed with a process that has the potential to poison water. There are a number of other arguments against coal seam gas extraction, including the diversion of vast amounts of water into the mining industry and the subsequent problems of disposal of the brine used in the process. The Greens have naturally exploited the issue for their ends and some farmers have been naive enough to join with the Greens in their campaign against coal seam gas extraction. No-one who has ever dealt with the Greens has walked away from the experience untainted. The eco-nuts are not an environmental party, they are an anti-development party. Farmers, who rely on their ingenuity and hard work to wrest a living from the soil, are not a natural partner for the Greens. Now, a farmer and politician, Senator Bill Heffernan, has headed a committee of inquiry into the coal seam gas industry and has found the rush to exploit the gas deposits may threaten the long-term future of agriculture as well as the environment. He is not saying there should not be a a gas industry but he is saying that we must proceed with caution before exposing food production to the risk of long-term damage. This is a sensible approach. Normally, politicians are hesitant to suggest slowing down anything that produces revenue for governments to spend (or waste). The Gillard government is not happy with the report, nor is the Queensland Labor government. Both are deep in debt because of their inability to manage their economies. They are vested interests but the public is the biggest vested interest and it is in the interest of the people and future generations that caution be applied to the coal seam gas industry to ensure that the earth is not poisoned for a quick return.