tag:theconversation.com,2011:/africa/topics/csg-8651/articlesCSG – The Conversation2020-08-25T05:55:35Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1450092020-08-25T05:55:35Z2020-08-25T05:55:35Z4 reasons why a gas-led economic recovery is a terrible, naïve idea<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/354526/original/file-20200825-24-1p2iz24.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=20%2C15%2C3430%2C2281&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Australia’s leading scientists today <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/australia-s-chief-scientist-is-wrong-on-gas-say-leading-experts-20200824-p55oty.html">sent an open letter</a> to Chief Scientist Alan Finkel, speaking out against his support for natural gas. </p>
<p>Finkel has <a href="https://www.chiefscientist.gov.au/news-and-media/national-press-club-address-orderly-transition-electric-planet">said</a> natural gas plays a critical role in Australia’s transition to clean energy. But, as the scientists write:</p>
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<p>that approach is not consistent with a safe climate nor, more specifically, with the Paris Agreement. There is no role for an expansion of the gas industry.</p>
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<p>And yet, momentum in the support for gas investment is building. Leaked draft <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/may/21/leaked-covid-19-commission-report-calls-for-australian-taxpayers-to-underwrite-gas-industry-expansion">recommendations</a> from the government’s top business advisers support a gas-led economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. They call for a <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-08-24/gas-led-coronavirus-economic-recovery-national-covid19-comission/12587770">A$6 billion</a> investment in gas development in Australia.</p>
<p>This is a terrible idea. Spending billions on gas infrastructure and development under the guise of a COVID-19 economic recovery strategy — with no attempt to address pricing or anti-competitive behaviour — is ill-considered and injudicious. </p>
<p>It will not herald Australia’s economic recovery. Rather, it’s likely to hinder it. </p>
<h2>The proposals ignore obvious concerns</h2>
<p>The draft recommendations — from the National COVID-19 Coordination Commission — include lifting the moratorium on fracking and coal seam gas in New South Wales and remaining restrictions <a href="https://theconversation.com/victoria-quietly-lifted-its-gas-exploration-pause-but-banned-fracking-for-good-its-bad-news-for-the-climate-133923">in Victoria</a>, and reducing red and “green tape”.</p>
<p>It also recommends providing low-cost capital to existing small and medium market participants, underwriting costs at priority supply hubs, and investing in <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-05-21/nccc-manufacturing-taskforce-draft-report-powerpoints/12270286?nw=0">strategic pipeline development</a>. </p>
<p>But the proposals have failed to address a range of fundamental concerns.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>gas is an <a href="https://www.ipcn.nsw.gov.au/resources/pac/media/files/pac/projects/2020/03/narrabri-gas-project/correspondence/edo/sackett-narrabri-gas-project-ipc-advice-revised_final.pdf">emissions-intensive</a> fuel</p></li>
<li><p>demand for fossil fuels are in terminal decline across the world and investing in new infrastructure today is likely to generate <a href="https://www.afr.com/companies/energy/fossil-fuel-demand-in-terminal-decline-report-20200603-p54z35">stranded assets</a> in the not-too-distant future</p></li>
<li><p>renewable technology and storage capacity have rapidly accelerated, so gas is no longer a <a href="https://ieefa.org/ieefa-australia-gas-is-not-a-transition-fuel-prime-minister/">necessary transition resource</a>, contrary to <a href="https://www.chiefscientist.gov.au/news-and-media/national-press-club-address-orderly-transition-electric-planet">Finkel’s claims</a></p></li>
<li><p>domestic gas pricing in the east coast market is <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/system/files/Gas%20inquiry%20July%202020%20interim%20report.pdf">unregulated</a>.</p></li>
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<p>Let’s explore each point. </p>
<h2>The effect on climate change</h2>
<p>Accelerating gas production will increase greenhouse gas emissions. <a href="https://www.ipcn.nsw.gov.au/resources/pac/media/files/pac/projects/2020/03/narrabri-gas-project/correspondence/edo/sackett-narrabri-gas-project-ipc-advice-revised_final.pdf">Approximately half</a> of Australian gas reserves need to remain in the ground if global warming is to stay under 2°C by 2030. </p>
<p>Natural gas primarily consists of methane, and the role of methane in global warming <a href="http://climatecollege.unimelb.edu.au/review-current-and-future-methane-emissions-australian-unconventional-oil-and-gas-production">cannot be overstated</a>. It’s <a href="https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/understanding-global-warming-potentials">estimated</a> that over 20 years, methane traps 86 times as much heat in the atmosphere as carbon dioxide.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-contentious-nsw-gas-project-is-weeks-away-from-approval-here-are-3-reasons-it-should-be-rejected-144201">A contentious NSW gas project is weeks away from approval. Here are 3 reasons it should be rejected</a>
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<p>And fast-tracking controversial projects, such as the <a href="https://narrabrigasproject.com.au/">Narrabri Gas Project</a> in northern NSW, will add <a href="https://www.ipcn.nsw.gov.au/resources/pac/media/files/pac/projects/2020/03/narrabri-gas-project/correspondence/edo/sackett-narrabri-gas-project-ipc-advice-revised_final.pdf">an estimated</a> 500 million tonnes of additional greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. </p>
<p>Accelerating such unconventional gas projects also <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/environment/integration/research/newsalert/pdf/overview_of_environmental_impacts_of_shale_gas_and_oil_398na1_en.pdf">threatens to</a> exacerbate damage to forests, wildlife habitat, water quality and water levels because of land clearing, chemical contamination and fracking.</p>
<p>These potential threats are enormous concerns for our agricultural sector. Insurance Australia Group, one of the largest insurance companies in Australia, <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-06-10/coal-seam-gas-farmers-queensland-insurance-pull-out-iag/12337156">has indicated</a> it will no longer provide public liability insurance for farmers if coal seam gas equipment is on their land.</p>
<h2>Fossil fuels in decline</h2>
<p>Investing in gas makes absolutely no sense when renewable energy and storage solutions are expanding at such a rapid pace. </p>
<p>It will only result in stranded assets. Stranded assets are investments that don’t generate a viable economic return. The financial risks associated with stranded fossil fuel assets are prompting many large institutions to join the growing <a href="http://carbontracker.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Unburnable-Carbon-2-Web-Version.pdf">divestment movement</a>.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-it-doesnt-make-economic-sense-to-ignore-climate-change-in-our-recovery-from-the-pandemic-137282">Why it doesn't make economic sense to ignore climate change in our recovery from the pandemic</a>
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<p>Solar, wind and hydropower are rolling out at <a href="https://www.iea.org/reports/renewables-2019">unprecedented speed</a>. Globally, renewable power capacity is set to expand by 50% between 2019 and 2024, led by solar PV. </p>
<p>Solar PV alone accounts for almost 60% of the expected growth, with onshore wind representing one-quarter. This is followed by offshore wind capacity, which is forecast to triple by 2024.</p>
<h2>Domestic pricing is far too expensive</h2>
<p>Domestic gas in Australia’s east coast market is ridiculously expensive. The east coast gas market in Australia is <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/system/files/Gas%20inquiry%20July%202020%20interim%20report.pdf">like a cartel</a>, and consumers and industry have experienced enormous price hikes over the last decade. This means there is not even a cost incentive for investing in gas. </p>
<p>Indeed, the price shock from rising gas prices has forced major manufacturing and chemical plants <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/system/files/Gas%20inquiry%20July%202020%20interim%20report.pdf">to close</a>. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/system/files/Gas%20inquiry%20July%202020%20interim%20report.pdf">domestic price</a> of gas has trebled over the last decade, even though the international price of gas has plummeted by up to 40% during the pandemic. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-has-plenty-of-gas-but-the-price-is-extreme-the-market-is-broken-125130">Australia has plenty of gas, but the price is extreme. The market is broken</a>
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<p>As Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chair Rod Simms declared in the interim gas <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/system/files/Gas%20inquiry%20July%202020%20interim%20report.pdf">report</a> released last week, these price issues are “extremely concerning” and raise “serious questions about the level of competition among producers”.</p>
<p>To date, the federal government has done <a href="https://www.afr.com/policy/energy-and-climate/gas-reservation-is-not-a-bogyman-20200520-p54un3">very little</a> in response, despite the implementation of the Australian Domestic Gas Security Mechanism in 2017. </p>
<p>This mechanism gives the minister the power to restrict LNG exports when there’s insufficient domestic supply. The idea is that shoring up supply would stabilise domestic pricing. </p>
<p>But the minister <a href="https://www.industry.gov.au/sites/default/files/2020-01/review-of-the-australian-domestic-gas-security-mechanism-2019.pdf">has never</a> exercised the power. The draft proposals put forward by the National COVID-19 Coordination Commission do not address these concerns.</p>
<h2>A gas-led disaster</h2>
<p>There is no doubt gas producers are suffering. COVID-19 has resulted in <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-chevron-outlook/chevron-expects-10-billion-11-billion-charge-in-fourth-quarter-plans-asset-sales-idUSKBN1YE2MK">US$11 billion</a> of Chevron gas and LNG assets being put up for sale.</p>
<p>And the reduction in energy demand caused by COVID-19 has produced <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/apr/30/covid-19-crisis-demand-fossil-fuels-iea-renewable-electricity">record low oil prices</a>. Low oil prices can stifle investment in new sources of supply, reducing the ability and incentive of producers to explore for and develop gas.</p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/victoria-quietly-lifted-its-gas-exploration-pause-but-banned-fracking-for-good-its-bad-news-for-the-climate-133923">Victoria quietly lifted its gas exploration pause but banned fracking for good. It’s bad news for the climate</a>
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<p>It’s clear the National COVID-19 Coordination Commission’s recommendations are oriented towards helping gas producers. But investing in gas production and development won’t help Australia as a whole recover from the pandemic. </p>
<p>The age of peak fossil fuel is over. Accelerating renewable energy production, which coheres with climate targets and a decarbonising global economy, is the only way forward. </p>
<p>A COVID-19 economic strategy that fails to appreciate this not only naïve, it’s contrary to the interests of broader Australia.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/145009/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Samantha Hepburn does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Investment in gas will not herald Australia’s economic recovery. It’s likely to hinder it.Samantha Hepburn, Director of the Centre for Energy and Natural Resources Law, Deakin Law School, Deakin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1070862018-12-04T03:07:07Z2018-12-04T03:07:07ZGetting to the heart of coal seam gas protests – it’s not just the technical risks<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/248610/original/file-20181204-23240-xaer7w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Narrabri ‘Big Picture’ event in November 2015 brought together people from across the region in opposition to coal seam gas extraction..</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Selen Ercan</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Opposition to coal seam gas (CSG) in Australia is remarkable. CSG proposals – mostly affecting rural areas – have spawned hundreds of opposition groups across the country. Some are now household names, like <a href="https://www.lockthegate.org.au/about_us">Lock the Gate</a> and <a href="https://knitting-nannas.com/what.php">Knitting Nannas Against Gas</a> (KNAG). But there are also many others; small local groups without logos or official websites.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14742837.2018.1515624?af=R&journalCode=csms20">Our research</a> reveals all sorts of concerns motivate the opponents of CSG. But one factor, emotions – in particular how people “do” emotions – helps explain how people mobilise and unite in their opposition.</p>
<p>It’s fair to say the scale of this resistance has been a shock all round: to industry, to government, and even to organisers in the movement itself.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/fracking-policies-are-wildly-inconsistent-across-australia-from-gung-ho-development-to-total-bans-108039">Fracking policies are wildly inconsistent across Australia, from gung-ho development to total bans</a>
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<p>One of the defining characteristics of the Australian anti-CSG movement is that it involves alliances between diverse kinds of people, such as rural residents (many of them farmers) and urban-based environmental organisers. These groups can be at odds with one another on other issues, for example land-clearing policy. But with CSG, they have found common ground. </p>
<p>There may be differences in terms of emphasis and specific concerns, but overall the movement has been very effective at building and maintaining a momentum of opposition to the CSG industry.</p>
<h2>CSG opposition in and around Narrabri</h2>
<p>We were interested in what it is that brings these diverse groups together. <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14742837.2018.1515624?af=R&journalCode=csms20">Our research</a> focused on the movement opposing the <a href="https://narrabrigasproject.com.au/">Narrabri Gas Project</a> proposed for south of the town of Narrabri, 500km northwest of Sydney. </p>
<p>The project has been described as the “<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/2017/08/03/pilliga-protest-the-moment-200-farmers-and-nannas-tell-santos-t_a_23062445/">most-protested-against gas developments</a>” in New South Wales. SBS Television’s Insight series recently devoted <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/news/insight/tvepisode/power-divide">a program</a> to this particular controversy.</p>
<p>Our research into CSG in and around Narrabri finds potential impacts on water and land are core issues that unite a broad range of people. Shared concerns also encompass questions of energy supply, climate change, procedural shortcomings and perceptions of government and industry collusion.</p>
<p>Yet there are also factors beyond these substantive issues that help to explain the strength of opposition to CSG in rural Australia. Our research suggests that emotions play a crucial role in building alliances and mobilising opponents of CSG.</p>
<p>Conversations with people involved in opposing the CSG proposal in and around Narrabri reveal the following key insights about the role of emotions.</p>
<h2>Joy – as well as anger – sustains a movement</h2>
<p>Anger is one of the most commonly expressed emotion by participants in the anti-CSG movement. People are angry about the possibility of having to face the negative impacts of the CSG industry. They are also angry at the government for not listening to community concerns. </p>
<p>Yet, while anger is a central sentiment in mobilising CSG opposition, it is the combination of anger with joy, especially the joy of social connection, that helps to sustain involvement. </p>
<p>Opposition to CSG is often integrated into people’s daily lives – like bringing the kids along to a highway protest. For many involved, anger and frustration at the industry and government are combined with the joy of coming together, “doing community” and employing a wide range of <a href="http://www.broadagenda.com.au/home/sisters-in-yarn/">creative acts of protest, such as those performed by the Knitting Nannas Against Gas</a>. </p>
<p>These activities bring together people with ideological differences and blur the distinctions between political and social identities. They also offer a space for participants to connect with one another in the face of “burnout” and other frustrations.</p>
<h2>Social obligations and ‘holding back’ help</h2>
<p>As Gabrielle Chan notes in her recent book, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/sep/03/rusted-off-the-divide-between-canberra-and-the-neglected-class">Rusted Off</a>, human contact is very important in Australian rural communities. Similarly, we find that a key element of social life in Narrabri is about getting along with others. This feature of rural communities creates a significantly different context compared to environmental controversies elsewhere. </p>
<p>Being respectful in small rural communities often means being non-confrontational. In a small community, people rely on one another, often over multiple generations. You never know when you might need help from a neighbour. </p>
<p>Compared to big cities, it can be difficult to manage disagreements in small rural communities. This leads residents to “hold back” from confrontational communication styles, which contributes to sustaining relationships across different viewpoints. This has been critical in building alliances between people in the community.</p>
<h2>Don’t neglect people’s emotions</h2>
<p>The CSG debate can’t be fought on “the facts” alone. There is too much at stake for the community of Narrabri. Decisions that result in dramatic landscape changes – whether for wind farms, CSG wells or other energy infrastructure – are inherently emotional. Such changes can disrupt people’s sense of place or potentially threaten livelihoods.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/246150/original/file-20181119-44268-ise6a6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/246150/original/file-20181119-44268-ise6a6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=356&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246150/original/file-20181119-44268-ise6a6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=356&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246150/original/file-20181119-44268-ise6a6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=356&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246150/original/file-20181119-44268-ise6a6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=447&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246150/original/file-20181119-44268-ise6a6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=447&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246150/original/file-20181119-44268-ise6a6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=447&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">A banner at the Narrabri ‘Big Picture’ event in November 2015 is a reminder of the emotions involved in this controversy.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Selen Ercan</span></span>
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<p>It’s not just emotional for those who oppose big energy infrastructure projects. Supporters of new projects are also worried about the future of their regions – as we’ve seen in Narrabri. Concerns include an over-reliance on existing industries and whether there will be enough jobs to keep young people in the area. </p>
<p>While people in the community are generally respectful of those who sit on the other side of the debate, there are still isolated incidents in which people’s concerns have been painted as “emotive” in a derogatory sense. Dismissing emotions in this way is not helpful in advancing the debate or bringing the community together. </p>
<p>It’s still uncertain whether the Narrabri Gas Project will proceed or not, and the strong opposition continues. Whichever side “wins”, there could be long-term effects on the social fabric of the region. </p>
<p>Some may feel a stronger connection to their community as a result of being actively engaged in the debate. Others may feel burnt out and concerned that their community has been so divided. </p>
<p>Such possible consequences are never given the attention they deserve in environmental impact statements or in other technical reports on CSG. Providing safe spaces for people to express the emotions that arise in response to large industrial projects is crucial for finding our way forward in an era of rapid energy change.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/107086/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hedda Ransan-Cooper received funding for this research from the Australian Research Council Grant DP150103615: ‘Realising Democracy Amid Communicative Plenty: A Deliberative Systems Approach’.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Selen A. Ercan received funding for this research from the Australian Research Council Grant no DP150103615, ‘Realising Democracy Amid Communicative Plenty: A Deliberative Systems Approach’. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sonya Duus received funding for this research from the Australian Research Council Grant no DP150103615, ‘Realising Democracy Amid Communicative Plenty: A Deliberative Systems Approach’. </span></em></p>While anger mobilises opposition to coal seam gas projects, it is also joy, especially the joy of social connection, that helps to sustain involvement.Hedda Ransan-Cooper, Research Fellow, College of Engineering and Computer Science, Australian National UniversitySelen A. Ercan, Associate Professor of Politics, Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance, Institute for Governance and Policy Analysis (IGPA), University of CanberraSonya Duus, Research Fellow, Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance, Institute for Governance and Policy Analysis, University of CanberraLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/937182018-03-23T04:32:37Z2018-03-23T04:32:37ZNot getting a social licence to operate can be a costly mistake, as coal seam gas firms have found<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/211688/original/file-20180323-54869-52700t.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">And if you wait too long to survey a community, it can end up being too be too late to turn the tide of opinion.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Richard Swinton</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In a wide-ranging recent <a href="https://www.ceda.com.au/Digital-hub/CEDA-live-stream">speech</a>, Rio Tinto chief executive Jean-Sebastien Jacques said there was:</p>
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<p>…an opportunity for all of us to turn our social licence into a stronger social bond or contract. I believe this is a “make or break” for companies and it’s especially important for those of us in the extractive sectors.</p>
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<p>He’s right. His comments serve as a useful reminder of the importance of obtaining a social licence to operate – meaning ongoing local community acceptance of a company’s business.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australian-gas-between-a-fracked-rock-and-a-socially-hard-place-74932">Australian gas: between a fracked rock and a socially hard place</a>
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<p><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264837717305185">My research</a> on coal seam gas firms and social licence reveals what’s at stake if they get it wrong, and how they might get it right in the future.</p>
<h2>What is a ‘social licence’?</h2>
<p>“Social licence to operate” is a term that describes how much community support a project, company or industry has in a region. </p>
<p>Some companies view it as intangible, and put it in the too-hard basket. However, my research has found that there are some relatively simple ways to measure it. </p>
<p>Earning community support isn’t always straightforward. It involves interactions between a complex network of individuals and groups in society, and their views can change over time. It’s more than just getting one or two local representatives on side. If you don’t get that support, community pushback can cause expensive and time-consuming issues for a company. Regulations can change. People take to the streets.</p>
<p>Social licence can be a struggle to maintain, but it can also be a tool for promoting collaboration. Case studies in which this has been achieved effectively are still relatively few and far between, but we’re aiming to change this.</p>
<h2>More than just a legal contract</h2>
<p>Present legislation requires land access agreements to be drawn up between companies and the landholders on whose land they wish to operate. However, my research has found that this isn’t enough. </p>
<p>It can often create winners and losers. Natural resources such as freshwater systems extend beyond property boundaries. Just outside the land on which a project operates can be exactly where challenges to a social licence begin. We found that the exclusion of important stakeholders (and not treating them as a stakeholder group), can lead to substantial social licence issues.</p>
<p>For example, in the New South Wales <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Rivers">Northern Rivers region</a> (which includes places like Lismore, Byron Bay and Mullumbimby) the social movement against the coal seam gas industry began when a group of local ladies were having afternoon tea on their farm. They noticed a drill rig had appeared across the valley to drill on a neighbour’s property.</p>
<p>Those few women, who had never heard of the coal seam gas industry until that moment, nor had they previously participated in activism of any kind, were instrumental in the emergence of the anti-CSG movement.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/211668/original/file-20180323-54863-1q6av90.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/211668/original/file-20180323-54863-1q6av90.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/211668/original/file-20180323-54863-1q6av90.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211668/original/file-20180323-54863-1q6av90.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211668/original/file-20180323-54863-1q6av90.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211668/original/file-20180323-54863-1q6av90.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211668/original/file-20180323-54863-1q6av90.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211668/original/file-20180323-54863-1q6av90.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Protesters at the Bentley Blockade in 2014.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">csgfreenorthernrivers.org</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What drives social licence?</h2>
<p>Local context is key. The legitimacy of a project hinges on whether people think a project will create more benefits than problems. And people’s perceptions emerge from a combination of local economics, demographics and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264837717305185">social values</a>.</p>
<p>This is where a company needs credibility - a reputation for living up to its commitments and responding to concerns. Having a strong social licence is about not only being <em>seen</em> to be doing the right thing; it’s about actually doing the right thing. It’s also about transparency.</p>
<p>It’s important that government and industry approvals and processes are seen as fair.</p>
<h2>Losing your social licence is expensive</h2>
<p>Chief executive of gas company Metgsaco, Peter Henderson, explained to me in early 2012 that he viewed social licence as “an opportunity for NIMBYs to complain” (NIMBY meaning: “not in my backyard”). His view was that we had a democratically elected government that people should trust to make decisions on their behalf.</p>
<p>When we spoke again a year later, Metgasco was experiencing major operating restrictions, resulting from regulatory decisions made with what he saw as “absolutely no scientific, risk-management or factual basis”. His firm’s social licence was lost, and social resistance was in full swing. </p>
<p>A survey of Lismore voters that we conducted on behalf of Lismore City Council showed that in September 2012, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1745-5871.12071">87% of voters did not support CSG</a> development.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/211686/original/file-20180323-54898-z0m1zj.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/211686/original/file-20180323-54898-z0m1zj.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/211686/original/file-20180323-54898-z0m1zj.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211686/original/file-20180323-54898-z0m1zj.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211686/original/file-20180323-54898-z0m1zj.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211686/original/file-20180323-54898-z0m1zj.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211686/original/file-20180323-54898-z0m1zj.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211686/original/file-20180323-54898-z0m1zj.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Hanabeth Luke</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>By 2013, about half of Lismore voters had participated in protest rallies and marches. In 2014, thousands of people camped on the bordering property of a farmer who had signed a contract with Metgasco, at the historic <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-05-20/bentley-history/5463800">Bentley blockade</a>. Eventually, <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/nsw-government-set-to-pay-25-million-for-metgasco-north-coast-gas-licences-20151102-gkodbr.html">Metgasco was paid A$25 million</a> as compensation for its cancelled gas licence. The episode came at great cost to both Metgasco and the NSW government.</p>
<p>It doesn’t need to be this way.</p>
<h2>Applying social licence across the landscape</h2>
<p>Agricultural industries are now starting to recognise social licence as a key issue. </p>
<p>My team’s latest research responds to calls for a strategic approach to social licence in horticulture. Jolyon Burnett, chief executive of the <a href="http://australian-macadamias.org/industry/">Australian Macadamia Society</a>, has said he views social licence as a “top five” priority – not just because its loss would pose a threat to industry growth and profitability, but because it’s important in its own right. He said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>By understanding what really makes up social licence in each community (because it will differ) and by fostering an understanding of those issues, and a common approach to addressing them, we can build a strong and sustainable relationship between industries (of all kinds) and communities will see us working in partnership, not conflict.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Getting social licence right</h2>
<p>The engagement approach you take is everything. This means working in partnership with communities and actively engaging them in the process from the very start. Understanding local perceptions and concerns involves talking to people, but polls and election surveys can help us to understand social licence across an electoral area; how people feel about a company or issue, and why. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/queensland-communities-remain-lukewarm-about-coal-seam-gas-csiro-survey-70709">Queensland communities remain lukewarm about coal seam gas: CSIRO survey</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Such simple methods can be used to measure a social licence, provide an understanding of local value systems, and establish knowledge levels on relevant issues. Such research can be used to inform industry code of conduct and best practice guidelines.</p>
<p>But before polling can take place, there needs to have been enough information available for people to make an informed decision. And if you wait too long to run a survey it can end up being too be too late to turn the tide of opinion. This is what happened in the Northern Rivers, with expensive results for the firms involved.</p>
<p>You can read more of our research on this <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264837717305185">here</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/93718/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hanabeth Luke received a grant of $1500 from PESA in 2012.</span></em></p>‘Social licence to operate’ is a term describing how much community support a project or company has. As the Northern Rivers CSG experience shows, failing to get it can have costly impacts for firms.Hanabeth Luke, Lecturer, Southern Cross GeoScience, Southern Cross UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/587182016-05-03T02:13:38Z2016-05-03T02:13:38ZRiver on fire: even if it’s not coal seam gas we should still be concerned<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/120920/original/image-20160503-19529-ifpqqb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Ignited methane gas from the seep on the Condamine River. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvJAKVnK4qM">Screenshot from Jeremy Buckingham/YouTube</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Astonishing footage of a river in Queensland on fire has once again stoked the coal seam gas (CSG) debate. The video shows NSW Greens MP Jeremy Buckingham setting fire to methane seeping from the Condamine River. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/NvJAKVnK4qM?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>CSIRO researchers, who have been researching the Condamine since 2012, have stated <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/apr/24/river-on-fire-in-greens-mps-video-is-natural-not-fracking-says-csiro">that the gas seep is unlikely to be due to CSG production</a>. </p>
<p>Methane contributes to global warming but is harmless to people except at extremely high concentrations. The bigger problem raised by the Condamine River gas seep is the impact of CSG on groundwater, a resource on which many people in the region depend. </p>
<p>Even if the gas seep is natural, it suggests that we do not know enough about how gas exploration could affect this precious resource. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/120917/original/image-20160502-19529-1pn7roe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/120917/original/image-20160502-19529-1pn7roe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/120917/original/image-20160502-19529-1pn7roe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/120917/original/image-20160502-19529-1pn7roe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/120917/original/image-20160502-19529-1pn7roe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/120917/original/image-20160502-19529-1pn7roe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/120917/original/image-20160502-19529-1pn7roe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/120917/original/image-20160502-19529-1pn7roe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Condamine River at Chinchilla Weir, close to the gas seep.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Charlotte Iverach.</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Is it CSG?</h2>
<p>For millions of years, methane gas has seeped from oil and gas deposits and coal measures, particularly in areas of major geological faulting. In fact, many of the early <a href="http://walrus.wr.usgs.gov/seeps/index.html">oil and gas fields began at or next to natural gas seeps</a>.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://laptop.deh.gov.au/water/policy-programs/entitlement-purchasing/condaminebalonne.html">Condamine River</a> begins in Queensland and ultimately joins the Murray-Darling. It flows through what is known as the <a href="http://www.ga.gov.au/scientific-topics/energy/province-sedimentary-basin-geology/petroleum/onshore-australia/surat-basin">Surat Basin</a>, a geological region that holds major deposits of coal, oil and gas. </p>
<p>The river flows over groundwater that is used to supply irrigation, stock and domestic water. This groundwater, called the Condamine River Alluvial Aquifer, overlies a coal deposit known as the <a href="https://www.dnrm.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0014/106133/walloons-condamine-conceptualisation.pdf">Walloon Coal Measures</a>. This has been exploited for coal and, more recently, for the CSG that resides within it. </p>
<p>In 2012, the Queensland government found that the <a href="https://www.dnrm.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/119669/condamine-river-gas-seep.pdf">chemistry of the gas from the Condamine River gas seep</a> is consistent with a source in the Surat Basin. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.dnrm.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/119669/condamine-river-gas-seep.pdf">No CSG production or exploration</a> has occurred within 1.4 km of the Condamine River gas seep. This suggests that CSG is not responsible. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783319146003">Methane gas is buoyant</a>, and when released at depth it will generally rise vertically through the earth. Where a coal or CSG exploration or production well is vertical, methane gas leakage measured at the ground surface is usually contained to within tens to a few hundred metres of the well.</p>
<p>Methane can move horizontally, but only when there are geological structures that force it to move laterally. Gas can <a href="http://notatanycost.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/KCB-Gassy-Bore-Final-Report.pdf">migrate many kilometres through dipping geological layers and networks of geological faults</a>. This is common with conventional gas reservoirs kilometres below the Earth’s surface. </p>
<p>But coal seams under the Condamine River are relatively shallow, so gas is unlikely to move horizontally more than a few hundred metres from a CSG well. </p>
<h2>Natural causes?</h2>
<p>The broader geological setting also supports the argument that the Condamine River gas seep is natural. From its headwaters, the Condamine River initially flows northwest before turning southwest near Chinchilla. </p>
<p>Such a sharp change in flow direction is consistent with the presence of a major geological fault. The Condamine River gas seep occurs in the river reach just after this major change in flow direction.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/120919/original/image-20160503-19538-40b2j2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/120919/original/image-20160503-19538-40b2j2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/120919/original/image-20160503-19538-40b2j2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/120919/original/image-20160503-19538-40b2j2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/120919/original/image-20160503-19538-40b2j2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/120919/original/image-20160503-19538-40b2j2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/120919/original/image-20160503-19538-40b2j2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/120919/original/image-20160503-19538-40b2j2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Gas bubbles on the bed of the Condamine River a short distance from the main gas seep.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Bryce Kelly</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Methane in the coal seam can also be mobilised by changes in the weight of the earth above it, particularly movement of water. Groundwater extraction lifts weight off the Walloon Coal Measures, while floods increase the weight. The interplay of groundwater use and flooding effectively pumps the system and mobilises trapped gas. This gas slowly migrates to the ground surface.</p>
<p>The Condamine River is also not the only place in the region where methane is likely naturally seeping upwards from the Walloon Coal Measures. </p>
<p>Another 100 km south of the notorious Condamine River gas seep, at Cecil Plains, we <a href="http://www.nature.com/articles/srep15996">analysed the chemistry of groundwater that overlies the Walloon Coal Measures.</a>. By analysing the chemistry of the methane molecules, we found that at some locations the methane in the groundwater was due to natural upward migration of gas from the underlying Walloon Coal Measures. </p>
<h2>A leaky well?</h2>
<p>But the case is not closed over whether the Condamine River gas seep is natural.</p>
<p>Throughout Queensland there are <a href="https://www.dnrm.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/345616/uwir-surat-basin-2016.pdf">hundreds of poorly documented coal and groundwater exploration wells</a>. These were drilled last century before the creation of rigorous regulations.</p>
<p>Near Chinchilla, on the Condamine River, abandoned leaky exploration wells have been located by <a href="http://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/resources/57e4a9fd-56ea-428b-b995-f27c25822643/files/csg-fugitive-emissions-2014.pdf">measuring the methane in air</a> at ground level. What if there is just such an abandoned well associated with the Condamine River gas seep? </p>
<p>In April 2016, we mapped gas leaking from the site of a presumably abandoned leaking coal exploration well just 2.5 km north of the Condamine River gas seep.</p>
<p>We measured maximum methane concentrations of 595 parts per million (ppm) (the lower explosive limit of methane in air is 50,000 ppm). By contrast, the average natural background concentration of methane for the region is 1.79 ppm. The continuously high concentration indicates that there is a direct path between the coal measures and the ground surface. </p>
<p>If there is a similar poorly documented abandoned well closer to the Condamine River it could account for the gas seeps being reported. </p>
<p>Given that there are hundreds of these abandoned exploration wells in Queensland and an unknown number in the Chinchilla region, only further field mapping and searching of historical documents could definitively exclude the presence of an abandoned coal exploration well.</p>
<h2>The big picture</h2>
<p>Whether natural or an abandoned exploration well, the Condamine River gas seep is a concern because it suggests that we do not know enough about the groundwater system in the region. </p>
<p>CSG production requires the extraction of large volumes of water to depressurise the coal seam and shift methane so it can be recovered. <a href="https://www.dnrm.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0016/31327/underground-water-impact-report.pdf">Over decades the zone of depressurisation will extend away from the gas production well</a> and slowly depressurise nearby areas.</p>
<p>To understand fully the impact of CSG production, we need to know if there are connections between the coal measures targeted for gas extraction and the groundwater used by people and groundwater-dependent ecosystems. </p>
<p>To date, <a href="https://www.dnrm.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/345616/uwir-surat-basin-2016.pdf">only 17 out of hundreds of geological faults</a> and no abandoned leaky wells have been incorporated into the regional groundwater model used to assess the impact of CSG production. Depending on CSG production and groundwater use, these could conceivably one day play a role in lowering the groundwater levels of the Great Artesian Basin and the Condamine River. </p>
<p>The only way to understand how CSG is affecting groundwater is to account for abandoned wells and other geological structures in groundwater flow models. </p>
<p>The gas seeps at the Condamine River may indeed be natural. The fact that there is so much confusion and debate about it highlights the need to provide the public with high-quality, scientifically defensible information. </p>
<p>Some good data have been collected, but we must expand groundwater monitoring throughout the region, and improve our mapping of gas seeps to determine the source of the gas. Without a comprehensive picture of the region, we cannot properly assess the long-term impact of CSG production.</p>
<p><em>The research described in this article is part of a collaboration between <a href="http://www.bees.unsw.edu.au/bryce-kelly">UNSW Australia</a>, <a href="http://www.ansto.gov.au/ResearchHub/StaffProfiles/CENDON-DIONI">ANSTO</a>, and <a href="https://www.royalholloway.ac.uk/earthsciences/labs/greengaslab.aspx">Royal Holloway University of London</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/58718/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The equipment used to measure the concentration of methane in the ground-level atmosphere discussed in this article was funded by UNSW internal grants. Bryce Kelly receives funding for groundwater research from the Cotton Research and Development Corporation.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Charlotte Iverach receives funding for groundwater research from ANSTO, the Cotton Research and Development Corporation, and the Australian Government, Department of Education and Training.</span></em></p>Coal seam gas may not be responsible for a flaming river in Queensland, but it still raises uncomfortable questions.Bryce Kelly, Associate Professor, Connected Waters Initiative, UNSW SydneyCharlotte Iverach, PhD candidate, Connected Waters Initiative, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/529632016-01-17T19:18:03Z2016-01-17T19:18:03ZHeading north: how the export boom is shaking up Australia’s gas market<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/108244/original/image-20160115-2349-1su0v1z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">An LNG carrier leaves Darwin.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/40132991@N07/7501108978/">Ken Hodge/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>You might have missed it, but last month something unusual happened in Australia’s eastern gas market. Gas in a major pipeline that normally flows from north to south started flowing in the opposite direction for the first time. </p>
<p>This seemingly small change reflects big upheavals in Australia’s gas market as exports expand significantly. </p>
<p>At Gladstone, Queensland, coal seam gas companies have invested around A$80 billion in equipment to chill gas to -160°C and convert it to liquefied natural gas (LNG). This liquefied gas is then loaded onto ships and sold to overseas customers. Exports are well underway with over 80 70,000-tonne LNG cargoes loaded in 2015. </p>
<p>As shown in the following chart, eventually three times as much gas will be exported from Queensland in the form of LNG each year as has historically been used in all of eastern Australia.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/107999/original/image-20160113-10414-jrgqe1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/107999/original/image-20160113-10414-jrgqe1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/107999/original/image-20160113-10414-jrgqe1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=296&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107999/original/image-20160113-10414-jrgqe1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=296&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107999/original/image-20160113-10414-jrgqe1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=296&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107999/original/image-20160113-10414-jrgqe1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=371&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107999/original/image-20160113-10414-jrgqe1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=371&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107999/original/image-20160113-10414-jrgqe1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=371&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Gas demand forecast for eastern Australia.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The gas vacuum</h2>
<p>In 2012, the head of a major Australian gas retailer famously referred to the planned Queensland coal seam gas export projects as <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/australia-gas-idUSL4E8G79L620120516">“a giant vacuum cleaner for the East Coast gas market”</a>. This vacuum has now been switched on – and it’s sweeping up gas not just from coal seam gas producers, but conventional gas producers too. </p>
<p>Domestic gas consumers – renters, homeowners, commercial building managers and industry – were warned they would see <a href="http://www.energy.unimelb.edu.au/switching-gas-%E2%80%93-examination-declining-gas-demand-eastern-australia">gas prices rise</a> as the attractive Asian market opened up for previously landlocked eastern Australian gas. </p>
<p>Producers such as British Gas, Conoco Phillips, Origin and Santos pioneered coal seam gas technology to liquefy gas liquefaction-and-export as a way to monetise their vast resources in Queensland and New South Wales. </p>
<p>A second goal was gas producers’ long-held dream of <a href="https://www.santos.com/media/1880/030311_march_2011_santos_investor_presentation_1.pdf">linking eastern Australian domestic gas to higher overseas prices</a>. Until recently, the people and businesses of eastern Australia enjoyed some of the cheapest gas in the developed world. <a href="https://theconversation.com/its-cold-in-my-house-and-the-price-of-gas-is-going-up-what-can-i-do-44824">Those days are gone</a>. </p>
<p>Producers have successfully converted coal seam gas to LNG, gas prices are climbing, and long-term industrial gas customers are struggling to <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/regulated-infrastructure/energy/east-coast-gas-inquiry-2015">agree acceptable commercial terms</a> with a limited number of gas suppliers.</p>
<h2>Unexpected winners</h2>
<p>An intriguing side-effect of this new coal seam gas export industry are the benefits flowing to companies such as Esso Australia and BHP Billiton that produce gas from conventional sources and, at this time, have no direct role in Australian coal seam gas. </p>
<p>Of course these conventional gas producers benefit as wholesale gas prices rise. But there are other, possibly even more profitable, effects.</p>
<p>From last month, the gas filling the new LNG plants wasn’t just coal seam gas. Coal seam gas companies are finding it difficult to cost-effectively produce their own gas and meet export contracts. The reasons include <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/metgasco-accepts-25m-compensation-to-end-csg-at-bentley-in-nsw-northern-rivers-20151215-glolpi.html">local landholders and communities</a>, the <a href="http://ppo.com.au/news/queensland_flooding_delays_csg_operations/54040">weather</a>, and/or challenging geology and complex drilling techniques. </p>
<p>To meet these contracts, gas from conventional oil and gas operations such as at Moomba (northeastern South Australia) and the Bass Strait (offshore southern Victoria) is now travelling north. </p>
<p>On December 14, for the first time in its 40-year history, the Moomba-to-Sydney gas pipeline began to <a href="http://www.gasbb.com.au">run in reverse</a>. Last September, pipeline operators <a href="http://apa.com.au/our-business/energy-infrastructure/new-south-wales.aspx">APA Group</a> completed minor modifications to allow reverse flow. A name change to Sydney-to-Moomba pipeline may now be in order!</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/108113/original/image-20160114-2365-1aooxxe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/108113/original/image-20160114-2365-1aooxxe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/108113/original/image-20160114-2365-1aooxxe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/108113/original/image-20160114-2365-1aooxxe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/108113/original/image-20160114-2365-1aooxxe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/108113/original/image-20160114-2365-1aooxxe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/108113/original/image-20160114-2365-1aooxxe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/108113/original/image-20160114-2365-1aooxxe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Eastern Australia gas infrastructure.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Australian Energy Market Operator</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This remarkable gas market transformation means companies such as Esso and BHP Billiton are enjoying benefits from the export boom beyond just increased gas prices. </p>
<p>Traditionally, conventional gas production facilities were under-used in summer when domestic gas demand was low. Now summer sales are up as gas flows north to Queensland. </p>
<p>Beyond that, an even more significant cash benefit results from increased production of the valuable liquids found alongside gas: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquefied_petroleum_gas">LPG</a> (liquefied petroleum gas) and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural-gas_condensate">condensate</a>. These co-products, often more valuable than the gas itself, have had to lie dormant in the ground until this new gas market appeared.</p>
<h2>Rising costs for domestic gas users</h2>
<p>Clearly, eastern Australian domestic gas users see something wrong with this success story. They must now compete on price with gas exporters who have an overriding need to fill long-term export contracts. </p>
<p>Even traditional domestic gas retailers such as <a href="http://www.news.com.au/finance/business/breaking-news/agl-to-supply-gas-to-gladstone-lng/news-story/6d895c74f7707357f9b2d535c5d507b9">AGL have decided to sell gas to the exporters</a>. Thanks to the interlinkages of our gas market, no eastern Australian gas consumer will be left unaffected. </p>
<p>Some will find it pays to fuel-switch to <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-cheapest-way-to-heat-your-home-with-renewable-energy-just-flick-a-switch-47087">other energy sources</a>, potentially driving <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-crash-in-gas-use-is-more-likely-than-the-forecast-shortage-36764">a crash in domestic gas use</a>.</p>
<h2>How not to make LNG</h2>
<p>Gas flowing north is new evidence that the economic challenges for the direct players in this new industry are mounting. Around the world over the last 40 years, LNG export projects were built where four criteria could be met: the gas destined for conversion to LNG must be easy to produce, come with valuable liquid co-products (such as LPG), have no viable domestic market, and require little in the way of pipeline transport prior to conversion. </p>
<p>Western Australia’s Northwest Shelf project is one example where these criteria were met and investors profited. On the other hand in Queensland, exporting coal seam gas started with one strike against it: coal seams produce no valuable liquid co-products. Never mind that, the project developers hoped to score highly with some of the other success criteria. </p>
<p>Strike two is the learning that coal seam gas isn’t <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-12-23/knitting-nannas-against-gas-and-greed-not-hanging-up-needles/7050678">easy</a> nor cheap to produce. As a result, expensive gas must be drawn from 3,000 kilometres away. This is new evidence that the Gladstone LNG projects face ongoing economic challenges to add to past <a href="http://www.afr.com/business/energy/gas/queenslands-boomtime-lng-scheme-faces-todays-harsh-reality-20151223-gltvb0">billion-dollar write-downs</a>.</p>
<p>The biggest winners from eastern Australian coal seam gas may turn out to be those gas producers that opted to play a role – but kept a safe distance.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/52963/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tim Forcey does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Coal seam gas companies have invested billions of dollars to export their products overseas. But is their investment paying off?Tim Forcey, Energy Advisor, Melbourne Energy Institute, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/419782015-05-20T02:04:28Z2015-05-20T02:04:28ZGroundwater: the natural wonder that needs protecting from coal seam gas<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/82318/original/image-20150520-30561-1mwz8n4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Great Artesian Basin is a source of water in many areas of inland Australia. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ThargomindahHydro.jpg">user:kdliss/Wikimedia</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Recent <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/business/mining-and-resources/santos-receives-warning-over-csg-waste-water-leaks-20150515-gh2mfs.html">reports</a> of leaking wastewater ponds and pipelines at Santos’ Narribri gas project in New South Wales have heightened concerns about the impacts of coal seam gas extraction on groundwater. </p>
<p>The project could see drilling of <a href="http://www.santos.com/library/FACT%20SHEET%20Narrabri%20Gas.pdf">up to 850 wells</a> in the Pilliga Forest of northwest NSW and has drawn strong resistance from local land owners and environment groups. </p>
<p>Following one leak Santos reported higher levels of salts, heavy metals and uranium in groundwater. However on investigation the NSW Environment Protection Authority <a href="http://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/epamedia/EPAMedia15051501.htm">concluded</a> there was not enough evidence to link the higher levels with the wastewater leaks. Santos has been <a href="http://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/epamedia/EPAMedia15051501.htm">cautioned</a> and required to develop pollution reduction programs. </p>
<p>In a separate 2013 incident Santos was <a href="http://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/epamedia/EPAMedia14021802.htm">fined A$1,500</a> for pollution at another well site in the Pilliga. </p>
<p>The problems have mainly occurred due to mistakes during the storage and transport of coal seam gas wastewater, produced in high volumes as a by-product of gas well development. The fact that multiple incidents have occurred while the project is still in very early stages with only a handful of exploration wells drilled, gives weight to the argument that the risks to groundwater might outweigh the potential benefits.</p>
<p>There is arguably even greater cause for concern about the effects of this particular project on Australia’s precious groundwater, due to a coincidence of geology. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/82310/original/image-20150519-30538-1dsf87g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/82310/original/image-20150519-30538-1dsf87g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/82310/original/image-20150519-30538-1dsf87g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=620&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/82310/original/image-20150519-30538-1dsf87g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=620&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/82310/original/image-20150519-30538-1dsf87g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=620&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/82310/original/image-20150519-30538-1dsf87g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=779&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/82310/original/image-20150519-30538-1dsf87g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=779&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/82310/original/image-20150519-30538-1dsf87g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=779&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Great Artesian Basin is ‘recharged’ through areas such as the Pilliga in New South Wales.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.csiro.au/en/Research/LWF/Areas/Water-resources/Assessing-water-resources/GABWRA">CSIRO</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Groundwater’s headwaters</h2>
<p>The Pilliga Forest is located above one of the few areas known to provide groundwater recharge to the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Artesian_Basin">Great Artesian Basin</a> - Australia’s largest and most important groundwater system.</p>
<p>This was shown in the recent <a href="http://www.csiro.au/en/Research/LWF/Areas/Water-resources/Assessing-water-resources/GABWRA">water resource assessment</a> by CSIRO, and in a subsequent <a href="https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/sunriseproject/pages/316/attachments/original/1415316407/GAB-Report.pdf?1415316407">report</a> produced last year by SoilFutures Consulting. </p>
<p>The Pilliga is one of only a handful of recharge areas providing significant new water to replenish the stores within this vital groundwater system. The basin has been described as one of the <a href="https://www.iah.org.au/resources/seven-wonders/">seven hydrogeological wonders of the world</a>, and it supports a rich and diverse set of groundwater-dependent ecosystems, as well as thousands of rural Australians living off the land.</p>
<p>A recharge area is the location where groundwater first infiltrates into the geological layers that form the aquifers in a groundwater system. Usually these areas are restricted to small geographical zones at the edges of a geological basin, where the land is elevated and the aquifers exposed at the surface.</p>
<p>Rainwater infiltrating at these areas continually replenishes the aquifers with new water. Recharge areas can therefore be compared to the “headwaters” of a river-catchment, as they provide all the water that flows onwards through the rest of the system. Just like in a river catchment, the protection of water quality in these areas is of critical importance not just to the local environment, but to the whole system. </p>
<p>A recharge area also plays an important role in maintaining aquifer pressures, and therefore water levels throughout a groundwater system.</p>
<h2>Protecting groundwater</h2>
<p>Due to its current status as a nature reserve, the Pilliga Forest is probably the most pristine of all the recharge areas feeding water to the Great Artesian Basin.</p>
<p>If groundwater is contaminated or pressure is lost in this area, then there is the risk of having widespread effects on groundwater quality and quantity that are not just local in their impact (as would be the case in most other locations). </p>
<p>This is why I believe the Pilliga should be set aside as a strategic “groundwater recharge protection zone”, to ensure the long-term health of the basin. </p>
<p>In Europe and North America, it is common for governments to set aside recharge areas, like the Pilliga, as “groundwater well-head protection zones”. This is based on the recognition that pollution of these areas can have a widespread impact on the whole groundwater system. Land-use activities like forestry or use of fertilizers and petsicides are typically banned in well-head protection zones. </p>
<p>There is no reason Australia could not institute similar arrangements, banning potentially risky activities like coal seam gas development in important recharge areas. </p>
<h2>Proceed with caution</h2>
<p>Some landowners in the Pilliga depend on groundwater as their sole source of potable water, while thousands more in areas to the north and west depend on groundwater recharge being maintained for their livelihoods. </p>
<p>This is why the NSW government and Santos need to carefully consider whether the potential risks of coal seam gas development in the area outweigh the potential benefits. </p>
<p>If already groundwater is being contaminated with salts and metals after only a handful of wells have been drilled, it is likely that up-scaling the project will lead to more contamination, which could impact the Great Artesian Basin’s water for generations to come.</p>
<p>As we enter another <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-el-nino-and-la-nina-27719">El Niño</a> period, which last time brought extreme drought that crippled farming communities, policy makers would do well to consider the strategic importance of protecting our country’s precious groundwater, particularly in recharge areas like the Pilliga. Long after the gas rush ends, farms and ecosystems will still be depending on Australia’s scarce and precious water supplies.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/41978/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Matthew Currell provided a voluntary independent expert report which was used as evidence in Land and Environment Court proceedings brought against Santos by community group Mullaley Gas and Pipeline Accord Inc. represented by the Environment Defenders Office NSW. As a result of those proceedings he was provided confidential information by Santos, which was in no way used in the preparation of this article. He also receives funding from the Victorian Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning for research into baseline groundwater chemistry and isotopes in areas of potential gas development.</span></em></p>Recent water leaks related to coal seam gas development in New South Wales raise more concerns about the industry’s impact on groundwater.Matthew Currell, Lecturer in Hydrogeology, School of Environmental Engineering, RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/387022015-03-24T19:22:17Z2015-03-24T19:22:17ZFactCheck: is 53% of Australia under exploration licence for unconventional mining?<blockquote>
<p>Our country stands on the brink of being irrevocably damaged by the impact of CSG (coal seam gas), with 53% of the landmass of Australia under current exploration licence for unconventional mining. – <strong>The Reverend Fred Nile MP, in a <a href="http://www.christiandemocraticparty.com.au/media-releases/cdp-calls-for-a-moratorium-on-coal-seam-gas-mining-in-nsw/">media release</a> calling for an immediate moratorium on CSG, March 11, 2015.</strong></p>
</blockquote>
<p>Coal seam gas and other forms of unconventional mining have become increasingly politically sensitive issues in the lead up to the March 28 New South Wales election. Those issues may even help swing <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/antiprivatisation-push-sees-greens-and-labor-strike-preference-deal-in-key-nsw-seats-20150316-1m0981.html">seats</a> in regional areas.</p>
<p>As this article on <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-future-of-coal-seam-gas-after-the-nsw-election-38904">the future of coal seam gas in NSW</a> noted, the NSW Nationals’ leader Troy Grant recently <a href="https://au.news.yahoo.com/nsw/a/26667658/nsw-nationals-launch-campaign-for-state-election-promise-country-trains-and-better-mobile-coverage/">said</a> of the CSG debate that: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>People are yelling at each other. It’s probably one of the most difficult things we’ve had to grapple with in government.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>With passions running so high, it is important to have accurate figures on the scope and extent of unconventional gas mining in Australia. </p>
<p>So, is Christian Democratic Party leader Fred Nile correct when he says that 53% of Australia’s landmass is under current exploration licence for unconventional mining?</p>
<h2>Where did that number come from?</h2>
<p>When asked for a source for the figure of 53%, Reverend Nile’s office directed The Conversation to the <a href="http://www.lockthegate.org.au">website</a> of anti-CSG group, Lock the Gate. Their website states that:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>54% of Australia is covered by coal and gas licences or applications. Nowhere is sacred and nothing is safe. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>If you click through to Lock the Gate’s <a href="http://www.lockthegate.org.au/calltocountry">Call to Country</a> page, you can download maps, including this one below.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/75345/original/image-20150319-1577-y1uzww.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/75345/original/image-20150319-1577-y1uzww.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/75345/original/image-20150319-1577-y1uzww.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=411&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/75345/original/image-20150319-1577-y1uzww.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=411&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/75345/original/image-20150319-1577-y1uzww.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=411&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/75345/original/image-20150319-1577-y1uzww.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=517&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/75345/original/image-20150319-1577-y1uzww.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=517&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/75345/original/image-20150319-1577-y1uzww.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=517&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A map entitled Australia: our country or their quarry?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/lockthegate/pages/289/attachments/original/1364715877/ourcountrytheirquarry(medium).png?1364715877">Lock the Gate</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Lock the Gate relied on data from official state government records, a 2013 <a href="https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/lockthegate/pages/289/attachments/original/1364882093/NationalGISAnalysis_March2013.pdf?13648820">report</a> on the group’s website said.</p>
<p>A Lock the Gate spokesperson told The Conversation via email that:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The map and the figures we derived were for all coal and petroleum titles and applications. I’m not sure that we have ever made the claim that these titles will all be subject to unconventional mining methods. It is not really possible beforehand to be certain what method will be used when an exploration title is given or applied for. The titles and licences do not differentiate … </p>
<p>Lock the Gate’s Call to Country research in 2013 found that 437 million hectares of land in Australia is covered by coal and gas licences or applications, which is more than half of the land mass of the country. There may be some change since that time, but it’s largely the same now. Last year, the NSW Government suspended applications for new petroleum titles and, in the last six weeks, have bought back several million hectares of petroleum titles – our figure does not reflect those recent developments. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>The spokesperson also said that unconventional extraction techniques are “driving the boom in acreage releases by state governments, licence applications by companies and existing exploration activities”.</p>
<p>To summarise: Reverend Nile’s office said the NSW MP got his figure for the extent of unconventional mining from Lock the Gate – but Lock the Gate has said they have only ever produced figures on <em>all</em> coal and petroleum titles and applications. </p>
<h2>Conventional and unconventional mining: what’s the difference?</h2>
<p>The term “unconventional” gas covers shale gas, <a href="http://www.dmp.wa.gov.au/documents/Petroleum_What_is_Shale_Gas_Fact_Sheet.pdf">tight gas</a> and coal seam gas mining. Shale and tight gas extraction rely upon a controversial practice called hydraulic fracturing or “<a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-coal-seam-gas-shale-gas-and-fracking-in-australia-2585">fracking</a>”. This technique may also be used in coal seam gas extraction, although less frequently. Fracking involves fracturing a coal or rock seam and injecting water, sand and chemicals into the fracture to release the gas contained within.</p>
<p>Conventional coal and gas mining do not involve extraction from unconventional reservoirs, and usually do not involve fracking. </p>
<p>The Lock the Gate statistics from their 2013 <a href="https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/lockthegate/pages/289/attachments/original/1364882093/NationalGISAnalysis_March2013.pdf?1364882093">report</a> do not identify the distinction between conventional and unconventional. Their statistics cover a mix of conventional and unconventional mining, including: <em>exploration</em> titles for coal, mining and petroleum and <em>applications</em> for coal, mining and petroleum titles.</p>
<p>Lock the Gate <a href="https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/lockthegate/pages/289/attachments/original/1364882093/NationalGISAnalysis_March2013.pdf?1364882093">estimates</a> that the total overlapping area of Australia affected by coal and gas titles and applications in Australia is 437 million hectares, or 56.9% of the land mass. </p>
<p>Lock the Gate’s report doesn’t specify how much of that 56.9% is <em>unconventional</em> mining alone. They don’t say it is 53%, as claimed by Reverend Nile.</p>
<h2>What do other stakeholders say?</h2>
<p>It’s hard to pin a precise figure on the extent of unconventional mining in Australia. A spokesperson for Geoscience Australia, the agency that advises government, industry and other stakeholders on geoscience matters, told The Conversation that:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The type of information that would need to be analysed is held by the individual State/NT Regulators and is not collated or collected through Geoscience Australia. While there is some data present online, the legislative frameworks vary between the jurisdictions (for example: in some jurisdictions CSG is treated as a mineral and in others as petroleum) and it is not necessarily clear what is unconventional and what is conventional. This obviously makes it difficult to accurately piece together the information you are seeking to verify.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>A spokesperson for the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association (<a href="http://www.appea.com.au/">APPEA</a>), which represents industry, disputed Reverend Nile’s figure of 53%, saying:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>There is no evidence to support such a claim. By its own admission Lock the Gate, an organisation opposed to the development of natural gas from coal seams, base their figures on both petroleum and exploration titles and title applications. These are not confined to unconventional gas resources such as natural gas from coal seams or shale. In addition, a number of applications can exist over the same area until one is approved. As such, this figure is artificially inflated.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Unfortunately, there is no single national database against which Reverend Nile’s or Lock the Gate’s figures can be checked. </p>
<p>Even if one were to go through applications on a state-by-state basis, it’s hard to know based on applications alone whether conventional or unconventional mining methods will be used. So it’s not really possible to use state government sources to show that 53% of the landmass of Australia is under current exploration licence for unconventional mining.</p>
<h2>CSG is on the rise</h2>
<p>All that aside, the prospect of unconventional gas mining in Australia is expanding. According to the 2014 International Energy Agency <a href="http://www.iea.org/media/freepublications/security/EnergySupplySecurity2014_PART1.pdf">Energy Supply Security Report</a>, global gas demand is expected to reach nearly 4,000 billion cubic metres by 2018. This additional demand is being driven by increased unconventional gas production in the United States, Australia and the former Soviet Union region.</p>
<p>Despite some <a href="http://nsw.liberal.org.au/three-csg-licences-cancelled/">NSW government buy-backs</a> of exploration titles, NSW Premier Mike Baird has <a href="http://www.afr.com/news/politics/election/mike-baird-promises-tough-new-coal-seam-gas-rules-this-year-20150318-1m26iq">said</a> that the CSG industry would continue to expand if his government is re-elected, although under tighter environmental controls in line with those <a href="http://www.chiefscientist.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/56912/140930-CSG-Final-Report.pdf">recommended</a> by the NSW Chief Scientist, Mary O'Kane. (You can read more about the government’s gas plan and other parties’ CSG policies <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-future-of-coal-seam-gas-after-the-nsw-election-38904">here</a>.)</p>
<p>In overall terms, production of unconventional gas in Australia is expected to continue to grow.</p>
<h2>Verdict</h2>
<p>Reverend Nile’s office said he got his figure on the extent of unconventional mining from Lock the Gate. But Lock the Gate has said they have only produced figures on <em>all</em> coal and petroleum titles and applications – which covers more than just unconventional mining.</p>
<p>Reverend Nile’s statement that “53% of the landmass of Australia under current exploration licence for unconventional mining” is not supported by any evidence, including the source his office provided.</p>
<hr>
<h2>Review</h2>
<p>This is a sound analysis. As commented by Geoscience Australia and APPEA, it is difficult to obtain accurate figures on licence areas, due to differing jurisdictions and the way that information is categorised and compiled. There is no evidence to support Reverend Nile’s claim. <strong>– Peter Cook</strong></p>
<p><em>Correction: an earlier version of this article stated that conventional coal and gas mining do not involve fracking. In fact, conventional gas wells in the Cooper Basin are hydraulically fractured.</em></p>
<hr>
<p><div class="callout"> Have you ever seen a “fact” that doesn’t look quite right? The Conversation’s FactCheck asks academic experts to test claims and see how true they are. We then ask a second academic to review an anonymous copy of the article. You can request a check at checkit@theconversation.edu.au. Please include the statement you would like us to check, the date it was made, and a link if possible.</div></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/38702/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter Cook has received funding from ARC in the past.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Samantha Hepburn does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Is Christian Democratic Party leader Fred Nile correct when he says that 53% of Australia’s landmass is under current exploration licence for unconventional mining?Samantha Hepburn, Professor, Faculty of Business and Law, Deakin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/389042015-03-19T19:28:37Z2015-03-19T19:28:37ZThe future of coal seam gas after the NSW election<p>Coal seam gas (CSG) is one of the <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-03-17/nsw-coal-seam-gas-policies/6324636">most controversial</a> issues bubbling through the New South Wales election campaign. </p>
<p>It’s a particularly hot topic in <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-03-19/nsw-election-vote-compass-environment-csg-hunting/6329160">regional NSW</a>, where communities and farmers have often felt their concerns have not taken seriously enough by the CSG industry and successive Labor and Coalition governments. As NSW Deputy Premier and Nationals’ leader <a href="https://au.news.yahoo.com/nsw/a/26667658/nsw-nationals-launch-campaign-for-state-election-promise-country-trains-and-better-mobile-coverage/">Troy Grant recently said</a> about the CSG debate: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>People are yelling at each other. It’s probably one of the most difficult things we’ve had to grapple with in government.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Since losing government in 2011, Labor has <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-11-10/labor-reversal-burns-nsw-coal-seam-gas-industry/3656616?section=nsw">backed away</a> from its strong past support for the CSG industry. In the lead up to the March 28 poll, Labor leader <a href="http://www.lukefoley.com.au/labor_sets_priorities_for_the_future_of_our_state_s_environment">Luke Foley has promised</a> to suspend all existing CSG exploration licences and not issue any new exploration or extraction licences, and only lift that moratorium if the industry <a href="https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/lukefoley/pages/626/attachments/original/1426561455/Labors_Plan_for_our_environment.pdf?1426561455">“is proven to be safe”</a>. Labor would also introduce a permanent ban on CSG in the Northern Rivers region, the <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-03-19/labor-vows-to-permanently-ban-csg-production-in-pilliga-forest-/6333310">Pilliga Forest</a> in the state’s north-west, and core drinking water catchments, as well as 2 kilometre buffer zones around National Parks, RAMSAR listed wetlands, and residential areas.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/75203/original/image-20150318-2467-7unkwe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/75203/original/image-20150318-2467-7unkwe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/75203/original/image-20150318-2467-7unkwe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=598&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/75203/original/image-20150318-2467-7unkwe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=598&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/75203/original/image-20150318-2467-7unkwe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=598&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/75203/original/image-20150318-2467-7unkwe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=751&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/75203/original/image-20150318-2467-7unkwe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=751&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/75203/original/image-20150318-2467-7unkwe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=751&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The NSW Liberal Party has been reminding voters that its Labor predecessors backed the state’s CSG boom.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">NSW Liberal Party</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Fred Nile’s <a href="https://www.christiandemocraticparty.com.au/media-releases/cdp-calls-for-a-moratorium-on-coal-seam-gas-mining-in-nsw/">Christian Democrats</a> – who could prove pivotal in the state’s <a href="http://blogs.abc.net.au/antonygreen/2015/03/the-battle-for-the-nsw-legislative-council.html#more">upper house</a> after the election – have also backed an immediate moratorium on new CSG exploration and production licences. <a href="http://nsw.greens.org.au/policies/nsw/coal-and-coal-seam-gas">The Greens</a> plan to go further and introduce a bill after the election to <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-03-17/nsw-coal-seam-gas-policies/6324636">permanently ban</a> CSG projects.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, the Liberal National coalition government has cancelled around a dozen exploration licences granted under the former Labor government, including those relinquished by the exploration company <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/nsw-state-election-2015/nsw-election-2015-government-cancels-two-large-csg-exploration-licences-20150304-13uiin.html">Pangea</a> as unlikely to yield commercial reserves. However, <a href="http://www.afr.com/news/politics/election/mike-baird-promises-tough-new-coal-seam-gas-rules-this-year-20150318-1m26iq">Premier Mike Baird said</a> this week that coal seam gas “will remain a big part of the economy, yes, and it is part of our overall solution.”</p>
<p>If Labor wins at the March 28 election, the state’s CSG industry looks set to go on hold. But if <a href="https://theconversation.com/nsw-polls-trend-to-coalition-netanyahu-likely-to-win-israeli-election-38914">the opinion polls</a> are right, and the Baird government is returned, what is likely to happen next? And what are some of the key issues to watch, no matter whether you’re a supporter or an opponent of the CSG industry?</p>
<h2>The Baird government’s gas plan</h2>
<p>CSG resources in NSW are <a href="http://www.appea.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Q3-2014-Total-CSG-Industry-Data_Final.pdf">very small relative to Queensland resources</a> but, if a sensible and transparent mining regime could be put in place, they could provide a useful additional source of gas.</p>
<p>However, before this can happen, better information is required about the risks from CSG extraction. </p>
<p>In November last year, the Baird government released its new <a href="http://www.resourcesandenergy.nsw.gov.au/energy-supply-industry/legislation-and-policy/nsw-gas-plan">Gas Plan</a>. Its plan adopted all of the recommendations of an <a href="http://www.chiefscientist.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/56912/140930-CSG-Final-Report.pdf">inquiry</a> into the state’s CSG industry by the NSW Chief Scientist and Engineer, Professor Mary O'Kane. The new gas plan also followed the May 2014 <a href="http://www.resourcesandenergy.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/516749/140515-Metgasco-Drilling-Approval-Suspended.pdf">suspension</a> of gas explorer Metgasco’s right to drill a controversial exploration well. </p>
<p>Among other things, the gas plan commits the Baird government to:</p>
<ul>
<li>Undertake more science and collect and publish more information on CSG, including providing communities with much better information covering how exploration and production will impact their region</li>
<li>Define much more closely which areas of the state are available for exploration</li>
<li>Introduce world best practice regulations covering exploration and production, with the EPA becoming the new regulator for gas exploration and production</li>
<li>Legislate that the financial benefits from gas exploration and production are shared with landowners and communities</li>
<li>Secure NSW gas supplies, by diversifying sources of supply and driving national reforms.</li>
</ul>
<p>But will the new plan be sufficient to sufficiently rekindle community confidence in the local industry for gas exploration to recommence, and see new projects brought into production? Or are incidents like AGL’s recent suspension of production at <a href="http://www.agl.com.au/about-agl/media-centre/article-list/2015/january/agl-voluntarily-suspends-waukivory-pilot-project">Waukivory</a> pilot project evidence of further problems ahead?</p>
<h2>Water, community and regulation</h2>
<p>The new policy framework gives much greater weight than before to getting the community on board. Even so, there remain three critical areas to watch: </p>
<ul>
<li>the risks to <a href="http://www.iesc.environment.gov.au/research">groundwater</a></li>
<li>the need for a tighter, more transparent, regulatory framework, incorporating stronger environmental protections</li>
<li>the need for better processes to arbitrate established landowner interests and the interests of prospective miners.</li>
</ul>
<p>On water resources, the NSW government should carefully examine the <a href="http://www.nicnas.gov.au/communications/issues/fracking-hydraulic-fracturing-coal-seam-gas-extraction">National Assessment Of Chemicals Associated With Coal Seam Gas Extraction In Australia</a> and the US Environmental Planning Agency’s report on <a href="http://www2.epa.gov/hfstudy">hydraulic fracturing and drinking water</a>, which are both due to be completed within months. It should also take advantage of the national <a href="http://www.bioregionalassessments.gov.au/bioregions.shtml">Bioregional Assessments</a> that are currently being undertaken in northern NSW. </p>
<p>The O’Kane inquiry’s report suggests risks to water resources are manageable. But do the above reports back up this judgment? For example, is the mobilisation of <a href="https://www.ehp.qld.gov.au/management/non-mining/btex-chemicals.html">BTEX chemicals</a> (which stands for benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene) likely to be a major issue with hydraulic fracturing in CSG?</p>
<p>These national and international studies will provide communities with much needed peer-reviewed science on risks associated with CSG production. They will enable stress testing of the O’Kane conclusions. The Bioregional Assessments will also provide important baseline information, should any projects be approved for production in NSW.</p>
<p>Experience over recent years shows how much damage can be done to industry if it fails to secure strong community support, and particularly if it shows little respect for local views.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/75202/original/image-20150318-2471-1qaktxo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/75202/original/image-20150318-2471-1qaktxo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/75202/original/image-20150318-2471-1qaktxo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=679&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/75202/original/image-20150318-2471-1qaktxo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=679&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/75202/original/image-20150318-2471-1qaktxo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=679&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/75202/original/image-20150318-2471-1qaktxo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=853&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/75202/original/image-20150318-2471-1qaktxo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=853&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/75202/original/image-20150318-2471-1qaktxo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=853&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A map showing anti-CSG Lock the Gate member and supporter groups that have sprung up across NSW and elsewhere in Australia.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Lock the Gate</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>That for the most part requires a commonsense approach to explaining risk, rather than belittling community concerns. In recent years, the CSG industry has performed well below what is expected when it comes to community engagement – and it’s now reaping the consequences.</p>
<p>Restoring confidence after it has been lost will require concerted sensible and transparent behaviour. For example, AGL’s managing director, Michael Fraser, said in a January 2015 <a href="http://www.agl.com.au/about-agl/media-centre/article-list/2015/january/agl-voluntarily-suspends-waukivory-pilot-project">media release </a> that the Waukivory Pilot Project was being suspended “because of community concern about the detection of BTEX” chemicals. Surely AGL should be concerned in its own right?</p>
<p>Finally, NSW will need to be mindful of the total regulatory costs and royalty charges it imposes. </p>
<p>Its overall plan needs to determine whether there is a sweet point between competing demands of world-class regulation and protection of the environment, compensation to landowners and communities affected by new unconventional gas projects, weighed up against minimising prices to consumers and supply availability. This is particularly the case with the recent massive fall in world <a href="http://business.financialpost.com/2015/03/17/after-oil-a-glut-of-natural-gas-may-be-next-to-flood-energy-markets/">oil and gas prices</a>.</p>
<p>As unlikely as it may sound, one approach would be for NSW to show leadership in national regulatory forums, by seeking COAG support to put in place sensible national environmental regulations, assuring communities that their interests will be looked after. </p>
<p>Looking after groundwater resources must be at the top of that list for protecting community and environmental interests. National rules and consistent behaviour, including strong independent monitoring and oversight of groundwater resources, would contribute to community confidence. </p>
<p>Equally, we also need a well-functioning eastern seaboard gas market that operates efficiently and effectively, which will help to minimise prices for everyone.</p>
<p>Whichever party forms government after the NSW election, there is plenty of room for both companies and communities to carefully examine the evidence on CSG and its implications, and for governments to take decisions based on them in the best interests of the wider community.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/38904/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Between 2007 and early 2011, Dr James Horne was Deputy Secretary in the Australian Department of Sustainability, Environment Water, Population and Communities, with responsibility for Water, where he led the development of water policy in the Australian Government. He was Chair of the Murray Darling Basin Basin Officials Committee and the Council of Australian Governments’ Water Reform Committee. He held senior executive positions in the Australian government over the past 20 years, until his retirement from the Australian public service in January 2011 to find new challenges in water and elsewhere. He is a member of the International Steering Committee, XVth World Water Congress 2015, and the editorial board of the Journal of Water Resources Development. He is currently a Visiting Fellow at the ANU. Dr Horne does not work for, consult to, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article.</span></em></p>Whether you’re a supporter or opponent of coal seam gas, the looming New South Wales election will decide the industry’s future in the state. So what are the three key issues to watch?James Horne, Visiting Fellow in public policy/water, Australian National UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/365062015-01-22T19:01:44Z2015-01-22T19:01:44ZCould the Constitution protect farm water from coal seam gas?<blockquote>
<p>The Australian Constitution says residents have the right to water from the rivers for irrigation and conservation purposes but governments have brought in laws that are restricting this – One Nation’s <a href="http://m.qt.com.au/news/hanson-out-of-blocks-in-race-for-lockyer/2508779/">Pauline Hanson</a>, campaigning for the January 31 Queensland election.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Concern about <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/coal-seam-gas">coal seam gas</a> exploration and its impact on groundwater has become a crucial issue in many electorates across regional Australia, including in the current Queensland election. It’s one of the few issues in the campaign that unites minor parties and independents from across the right and left of politics, including <a href="http://www.kattersaustralianparty.com.au/policies/climate-and-environment.html">Katter’s Australian Party</a>, <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-01-18/palmer-uniter-party-launches-campaign/6023618">the Palmer United Party</a> and <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-01-17/greens-launch-solar-panel-strategy/6022918">the Greens</a>. </p>
<p>Queensland-born radio host <a href="http://www.news.com.au/national/queensland/alan-jones-one-of-the-lefts-biggest-villains-has-suddenly-become-a-bit-of-a-hero-how-about-that-eh/story-fnj4alav-1227192242463">Alan Jones has also weighed into the campaign against coal seam gas projects</a>, encouraging Queensland voters to support “salt of the earth people with integrity” including <a href="http://www.2gb.com/article/dr-peter-wellington">independent MP Peter Wellington</a>.</p>
<p>Former federal MP Pauline Hanson is standing as the candidate for <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/qld-election-2015/guide/lock/">Lockyer</a>, currently a safe rural Liberal National seat west of Brisbane, where she has been <a href="http://m.qt.com.au/news/hanson-raises-csg-as-lockyer-election-issue/2505453/">campaigning on coal seam gas and water</a>.</p>
<p>But has Hanson got it right on the Constitution and landholders’ rights to water?</p>
<h2>Water rights in the Constitution</h2>
<p>Water rights are of particular concern to farmers who have farms close to coal seam gas mining operations, as they rely on the groundwater to irrigate their crops or for livestock. A commonly expressed fear is that coal seam gas extraction could <a href="https://theconversation.com/federal-governments-control-of-coal-seam-gas-a-welcome-relief-12782">deplete groundwater supplies and contaminate the aquifer</a>.</p>
<p>Hanson’s claim that the Constitution provided some protection for farmers seems to rely on <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/coaca430/s100.html">section 100</a>, which contains the only reference to the rights of residents to water in the Constitution. It states: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>The Commonwealth shall not, by any law or regulation of trade or commerce, abridge the right of a State or of the residents therein to the reasonable use of the waters of rivers for conservation or irrigation.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Limits on constitutional protection for water</h2>
<p>Despite the fact that water is such a scarce resource in Australia, there have been very few legal cases involving section 100. Prior to the <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/cth/HCA/1983/21.html">Tasmanian Dam Case</a> in 1983, the wording of the section had not been considered directly by the High Court. Since that decision, the Court has only had examined section 100 on <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/cth/HCA/2010/3.html">one other occasion</a>.</p>
<p>There are a number of difficulties with relying on section 100 to protect farmers’ water rights and prevent any state government in Australia from allowing further coal seam gas exploration. </p>
<p>Among the reasons why the Constitution may not provide as much protection as Hanson hopes is that section 100 only applies to Commonwealth laws or regulations – and not to state laws or regulations. </p>
<p>Section 100 entitles a State or its residents to the reasonable use of “the waters of rivers”. In the case of coal seam gas mining, the primary concern is with the impact it could have on groundwater.</p>
<p>But in 2010, the <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/cth/HCA/2010/3.html">High Court drew a distinction</a> between groundwater and rivers, and held that section 100 applied only to the water flowing in rivers, which further limits section 100. </p>
<h2>What other protections are there?</h2>
<p>In 2013, the Commonwealth Government amended the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (<a href="http://www.comlaw.gov.au/Details/C2014C00506">EPBC Act</a>) so that where a coal seam gas development will have or is likely to have a significant impact on a water resource, the development <a href="http://www.environment.gov.au/epbc/what-is-protected/water-resources">will be subject to</a> federal assessment under the Commonwealth EPBC Act. </p>
<p>But for those hoping that Hanson is right, and that the Constitution might give them some extra protection against coal seam gas impacting on their water supplies, I have to say I think she’s being too optimistic. </p>
<p>The “right” that section 100 refers to is a “right” against the Commonwealth. And as I’ve just explained, the Commonwealth (meaning the federal government) has a more limited role when it comes to coal seam gas and water.</p>
<p>Instead, the power to legislate on these matters falls largely to the state Parliament and the government of the day.</p>
<p>If Queenslanders do have any concerns about water and coal seam gas, they should certainly have their say. But it’s an issue mainly to take up with your state MP or candidates, rather than counting on the Australian Constitution to provide the solution.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>Read more of our <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/queensland-election-2015">Queensland election 2015</a> coverage.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/36506/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Adam Webster is a member of Executive Committee of the Conservation Council of South Australia.</span></em></p>The Australian Constitution says residents have the right to water from the rivers for irrigation and conservation purposes but governments have brought in laws that are restricting this – One Nation’s…Adam Webster, Lecturer, Adelaide Law School, University of AdelaideLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/351642014-12-09T19:33:23Z2014-12-09T19:33:23ZCoal seam gas is just the latest round in an underground war<p>In a recent article on The Conversation, Queensland coal seam gas (CSG) researchers <a href="https://theconversation.com/science-and-coal-seam-gas-a-case-of-the-tortoise-and-the-hare-35100">argued</a> that the industry is progressing faster than the science, leading to concerns over fugitive emissions and impacts on water. </p>
<p>The Southern Cross University team found unexpectedly high levels of methane in the air near CSG wells. They concluded that we do not yet know enough about the impact of CSG mining. Their findings were attacked by industry interests as well as some politicians. </p>
<p>But the search for CSG is just the latest round in an ongoing contest for the ground beneath our feet. The underground pore space where CSG is found — known to geologists as “sedimentary basins” — is one of our most important resources. </p>
<p>While you may not have given them much thought, these basins underlie half of Australia, provide 90% of our primary energy through fossil fuels, and sustain most of our agriculture and rural populations with water. </p>
<p>Governments around Australia are making decisions about underground resources. Victoria, for example, recently released its <a href="http://www.energyandresources.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0019/214543/Earth-Resources-Statement.pdf">Earth Resources Statement</a>, calling for extensive reforms to the state’s resources regulation. It remains to be seen how the change in government will affect this. </p>
<p>In New South Wales, the recently established <a href="http://www.resourcesandenergy.nsw.gov.au/landholders-and-community/coal-seam-gas/office-of-coal-seam-gas">Office of Coal Seam Gas</a> has been tasked with similar work. </p>
<p>These regulatory decisions will have impacts for generations. And the worrying thing is, we don’t yet know what all those impacts will be. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/66687/original/image-20141209-6723-16nf423.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/66687/original/image-20141209-6723-16nf423.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/66687/original/image-20141209-6723-16nf423.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=515&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/66687/original/image-20141209-6723-16nf423.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=515&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/66687/original/image-20141209-6723-16nf423.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=515&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/66687/original/image-20141209-6723-16nf423.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=647&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/66687/original/image-20141209-6723-16nf423.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=647&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/66687/original/image-20141209-6723-16nf423.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=647&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Sedimentary basins underlie half of Australia (blue). Important aquifers are shown in green, coal seam gas basins in purple. Dots show coal mines (brown and black), geothermal wells (red) and other mining activities (yellow).</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Figure by AProf Tim Rawling, University of Melbourne.</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Rocky sponges</h2>
<p>Gas and water reside in the sedimentary basins held in the “pore spaces” of rock, like water in a sponge. </p>
<p>Increasingly, sedimentary basins are being explored for new resources and services, such as CSG and shale gas, CO<sub>2</sub> storage and geothermal energy. </p>
<p>For example, the federal industry minister, Ian Macfarlane, <a href="http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/renewable-energy-safe-with-us-macfarlane-20140910-3f7j5.html">has said</a> New South Wales gas supplies must be developed, mainly through extraction of coal-seam gas, or the state will face shortages.</p>
<p>Protesters, concerned about impacts on water resources and agricultural productivity, seek to <a href="https://theconversation.com/new-tactics-see-coal-seam-gas-protests-gain-the-upper-hand-26645">block any such development</a>. </p>
<p>At the same time our dependence on groundwater is increasing. These reserves also support a large fraction of Australia’s endangered riverine and rangeland ecosystems. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/66682/original/image-20141209-6732-1wvudiy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/66682/original/image-20141209-6732-1wvudiy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/66682/original/image-20141209-6732-1wvudiy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=306&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/66682/original/image-20141209-6732-1wvudiy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=306&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/66682/original/image-20141209-6732-1wvudiy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=306&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/66682/original/image-20141209-6732-1wvudiy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=385&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/66682/original/image-20141209-6732-1wvudiy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=385&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/66682/original/image-20141209-6732-1wvudiy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=385&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Australia’s resource-rich sedimentary basins contain a variety of resources.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>More and better science</h2>
<p>Sedimentary basins are a public good. </p>
<p>The search for new resources like unconventional gas marks a new stage in the contest for the subsurface. The increasingly heated rhetoric about environmental risks associated with coal-seam gas developments and geological CO<sub>2</sub> storage illustrates the need for new approaches to the management of sedimentary basins worldwide.</p>
<p>Australian Chief Scientist Ian Chubb <a href="http://www.chiefscientist.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/shalegas-recommendationsFINAL.pdf">has responded</a> to a <a href="http://www.acola.org.au/PDF/SAF06FINAL/Final%20Report%20Engineering%20Energy%20June%202013.pdf">report on unconventional gas</a> delivered to the Prime Minister’s Science Engineering and Innovation Council, saying we need to support research into “the geological and geophysical aspects of prospective sedimentary basins” and “the surface and groundwater dynamics of prospective sedimentary basins”. </p>
<p>In other words, we need to build a better understanding of how Australia’s sedimentary basins work and how new technologies and extractive processes such as CSG may affect precious water resources. And we need to do this now.</p>
<p>This urgent need for a beefed-up science and monitoring capacity should drive a new research agenda, providing trusted, credible information and analysis of sedimentary basins, as well as the opportunities and risks posed by new uses of their resources.</p>
<p>This agenda needs to be shared and supported by industries, governments, communities and the research sector. The <a href="http://www.energy.unimelb.edu.au/node/605">Melbourne Energy Institute</a> is advancing a <a href="http://www.energy.unimelb.edu.au/node/605">Sedimentary Basins Management Initiative</a> to meet this need. </p>
<h2>Building trust</h2>
<p>Communities need access to robust research findings they can trust. Governments need to make evidence-based decisions in a timely manner. Companies require leading-edge data.</p>
<p>Politicians and public servants must work across parties and jurisdictions to enact policy decisions on basins that cross state and territory lines. </p>
<p>We will need geoscience for comprehensive and independent monitoring under (groundwater systems) and above ground (fugitive emissions of methane). This will provide baseline data against which future impacts can be detected and managed, a crucial need highlighted by the Southern Cross University researchers, who note in their paper the need to quantify greenhouse gas emissions “before and after production commences”.</p>
<p>We need the legal and regulatory expertise to develop management regimes that cross different resources and jurisdictions. </p>
<p>We need economic expertise to assess the costs and benefits of multiple uses of the pore space. </p>
<p>Perhaps most importantly we need to apply social sciences to ensure that community aspirations are met and that a “<a href="https://theconversation.com/from-divestments-to-protests-social-licence-is-the-key-33576">social licence</a>” is fully integrated into basin management decisions.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/35164/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sara Bice receives funding from the Australian Research Council.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mike Sandiford receives funding from the Australian Research Council.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Will Howard does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>In a recent article on The Conversation, Queensland coal seam gas (CSG) researchers argued that the industry is progressing faster than the science, leading to concerns over fugitive emissions and impacts…Sara Bice, Research Fellow, Centre for Public Policy, The University of MelbourneMike Sandiford, Professor of Geology and Director of Melbourne Energy Institute, The University of MelbourneWill Howard, Research scientist, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/351002014-12-07T19:18:54Z2014-12-07T19:18:54ZScience and coal seam gas – a case of the tortoise and the hare?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/66442/original/image-20141205-8661-dbxd2v.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Aerial image of gas fields in the Darling Downs. Can science keep up with coal seam gas expansion?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Google Earth</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>One of the key questions about the <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/coal-seam-gas">coal seam gas (CSG) industry</a>, which is now being developed at breakneck speed across Australia, is how much methane is released as “fugitive” emissions.</p>
<p>Three weeks ago we published a <a href="http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11270-014-2216-2">paper</a> containing the first detailed maps of atmospheric greenhouse gases in Queensland’s CSG heartland. Our study clearly exposes the lack of knowledge in this area, leaving open the question of whether CSG really is greener than coal. </p>
<p>This research has seen us caught in the middle of a scientific, economic and political tug of war. While the industry keeps expanding at a rapid rate, is CSG science moving too slowly? </p>
<h2>Incidental research</h2>
<p>Our story started in 2012, when we won an Australian Research Council <a href="http://www.arc.gov.au/media/mga12/examples_nsw_lief.htm">grant</a> to purchase <a href="http://www.picarro.com/products_solutions/isotope_analyzers/13c_for_ch4_co2">cutting-edge greenhouse gas monitoring equipment</a>, which we initially planned to use to investigate coastal waters, rather than CSG fields. </p>
<p>At about the same time, our local community in northern New South Wales was fired up over concerns about future CSG development. Campaigns such as <a href="http://www.lockthegate.org.au/">Lock the Gate</a> began to gain traction, and the issue prompted <a href="http://www.northernstar.com.au/news/community-unites-against-csg/1378789/">large rallies</a>. </p>
<p>One of the community’s main concerns was about the lack of scientific information. While no experimental Australian data other than our recent papers has been published in the peer-reviewed literature on fugitive emissions, the NSW government has released <a href="http://www.chiefscientist.nsw.gov.au/coal-seam-gas-review">a broad review of CSG</a>, and CSIRO has recently released <a href="https://theconversation.com/coal-seam-gas-emissions-lower-than-us-first-australian-study-29699">initial experimental results on fugitive emissions from some CSG wells</a>.</p>
<p>Fugitive emissions were often viewed as a minor issue, with much of the concern focused on CSG impacts on <a href="http://www2.epa.gov/hfstudy">groundwater</a>. In 2012, we had at our disposal cutting-edge instruments not only to measure the concentrations of greenhouse gases with extremely high precision, but we could also detect their “<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isotopic_signature">chemical fingerprint</a>” to pinpoint sources.</p>
<p>We drove to the gas fields of Queensland’s Darling Downs region, where CSG production has been proceeding at full steam for a decade or more. That night we stayed in a hotel filled with mining workers in hi-vis clothing and a carpark full of utes with flashing yellow lights. Our plan was to survey the local area, both inside and outside the gas fields. We detected increased methane levels across wide areas of the Darling Downs (compared with our local area of Casino, NSW). </p>
<p>A day’s drive had produced more data than was available from the CSG industry or the Queensland government after more than a decade of mining.</p>
<h2>To share or not to share?</h2>
<p>Our results pointed to something unusual in the gas fields. We felt compelled enough to share our findings in a <a href="http://www.climatechange.gov.au/sites/climatechange/files/files/climate-change/nger/submission/CSG-20121109-CentreForCoastalBiogeochemistrySCU.pdf">submission</a> to the Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency. We also held a <a href="http://scu.edu.au/coastal-biogeochemistry/index.php/70/">seminar</a> in Lismore, NSW, in November 2012 that triggered a rollercoaster ride of media, political and community interest in our research.</p>
<p>Then came the backlash, with criticism that our data had not yet been peer-reviewed and was therefore worthless (despite it being common practice for scientists to present research at conferences and seminars before peer-review). We were attacked by the <a href="http://www.appea.com.au/media_release/southern-cross-university-research-claims-premature-and-questionable/">industry</a> and even by the then federal resources minister, <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/environment/minister-slams-unscientific-report-on-gas-leak-20121120-29nj5.html">Martin Ferguson</a>. </p>
<p>In response, <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-11-22/page-mp-csg/4385806">other politicians</a> and our university’s <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/local/audio/2012/11/19/3635810.htm">Vice Chancellor Peter Lee</a>, joined the fray in our defence. </p>
<p>This was no longer just a matter of science. With billions of dollars invested, thousands of jobs promised, and growing community interest in the topic, we were in the middle of a political and social firestorm. If fugitive emissions turned out to be significant, the industry may not be economically viable in the face of a <a href="http://bze.org.au/media/newswire/coal-seam-gas-could-face-heavy-carbon-tax-121204">price on carbon</a>, and the major assumption that natural gas was a clean source of energy could be dismissed.</p>
<p>We spent weeks fielding calls and emails from the media, the community, colleagues and even investment companies seeking advice on divestment (we had none). </p>
<p>The initial media frenzy died down, and last year our first study was peer-reviewed and <a href="http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/es304538g">published</a>. A few weeks ago, we followed this up with our <a href="http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11270-014-2216-2">second paper</a>. Each paper produced its own extra flurry of <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/business/carbon-economy/csg-study-finds-elevated-methane-levels-near-gas-fields-20141119-11pj90.html">media attention</a>, <a href="http://www.appea.com.au/media_release/by-its-own-admission-southern-cross-university-research-is-inconclusive/">criticism</a> and <a href="http://www.crikey.com.au/2014/11/21/how-the-oil-and-gas-lobby-throws-mud-on-peer-reviewed-research/">counter-criticism</a>. </p>
<p>It has been said that procrastination is the grave in which opportunity is buried. CSG wells have a typical lifetime of <a href="http://www.agl.com.au/%7E/media/AGL/About%20AGL/Documents/How%20We%20Source%20Energy/CSG%20Community%20News/Galilee/Factsheets/2011/August/Galilee-What-is-CSG-Factsheet.pdf">10-20 years</a>. Government reviews have taken <a href="http://www.chiefscientist.nsw.gov.au/coal-seam-gas-review">19 months</a> to complete. Our initial experimental results have taken from 6 to 24 months to be peer-reviewed. Will the wells run dry before peer-reviewed science can explain what is coming out from them? </p>
<p>Only time will tell.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/35100/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Damien Maher receives funding from the Australian Research Council, the Australian Institute of Nuclear Science and Engineering and the Australian Academy of Sciences</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Douglas Tait receives funding from Australian Research Council.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Isaac Santos receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the Australian Academy of Sciences.</span></em></p>One of the key questions about the coal seam gas (CSG) industry, which is now being developed at breakneck speed across Australia, is how much methane is released as “fugitive” emissions. Three weeks ago…Damien Maher, ARC DECRA Fellow, Southern Cross UniversityDouglas Tait, PhD Student in Biogeochemistry, Southern Cross UniversityIsaac Santos, Professor, School of Environment, Science and Engineering, Southern Cross UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/315222014-09-17T20:28:27Z2014-09-17T20:28:27ZQueensland survey reveals lukewarm view of coal seam gas<p>Residents in Queensland’s Western Downs region have mixed feelings towards coal seam gas (CSG) development taking place in their midst, according to <a href="http://www.gisera.org.au/publications/tech_reports_papers/socioeco-proj-3-community-wellbeing-report.pdf">our CSIRO survey</a>.</p>
<p>More than two-thirds of locals described themselves as “tolerating” or “accepting” CSG, while only 22% had openly positive attitudes. However, just 9% of survey respondents rejected the industry outright.</p>
<p>Around half of the surveyed residents felt that their community was struggling to adapt to changes. Residents were also less optimistic about the future, with many predicting a decline in community wellbeing over the coming years. </p>
<h2>Attitudes to coal seam gas</h2>
<p>We conducted a representative survey of 400 people living in and around the towns of Chinchilla, Dalby, Miles and Tara, all of which are experiencing varying stages of CSG development. We asked people about their attitudes to CSG, as well as their opinions on the wellbeing and resilience of their communities in the face of both <a href="http://epubs.scu.edu.au/jesp/vol15/iss3/2/">opportunities and challenges</a> associated with rapid CSG development. </p>
<p>Opportunities include increased employment and business, new services and new facilities, and a more vibrant community, whereas the challenges include water and land management, traffic conditions and safety, and affordable housing.</p>
<p>There were mixed feelings towards CSG development in the region, with almost 70% saying they either “tolerate” or “accept” it. A minority (22%) “approve” or “embrace” it, while a smaller minority (9%) of respondents “reject” it. </p>
<p>Although these results indicate that attitudes to CSG are not strongly polarised in these communities, it is clear that some community members are strongly opposed to it.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/58661/original/bxq5sp5d-1410326983.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/58661/original/bxq5sp5d-1410326983.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/58661/original/bxq5sp5d-1410326983.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=327&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/58661/original/bxq5sp5d-1410326983.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=327&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/58661/original/bxq5sp5d-1410326983.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=327&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/58661/original/bxq5sp5d-1410326983.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=411&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/58661/original/bxq5sp5d-1410326983.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=411&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/58661/original/bxq5sp5d-1410326983.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=411&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Attitudes towards coal seam gas in Western Downs communities.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">CSIRO</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In response to questions around how residents felt their community was dealing with CSG development in their region, about 50% felt that their community was struggling to adapt to the changes - either “resisting”, “not coping”, or “only just coping” with CSG development.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/58663/original/2wqzrm38-1410327044.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/58663/original/2wqzrm38-1410327044.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/58663/original/2wqzrm38-1410327044.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=300&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/58663/original/2wqzrm38-1410327044.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=300&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/58663/original/2wqzrm38-1410327044.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=300&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/58663/original/2wqzrm38-1410327044.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/58663/original/2wqzrm38-1410327044.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/58663/original/2wqzrm38-1410327044.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Perceptions of community responses to coal seam gas development in the area.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">CSIRO</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Other results show that more positive attitudes to CSG are associated with community perceptions of being resilient, the environment being managed well for the future, good employment and business opportunities, and resource companies, government, and business working effectively with residents to deal with changes.</p>
<h2>Differences across the region</h2>
<p>Residents in Chinchilla see their community as adapting to changes more effectively than people in the other areas we surveyed. This reflects a perception that Chinchilla has <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-coal-seam-gas-is-changing-the-face-of-rural-queensland-21064">better employment and business opportunities</a> than places like Dalby and Tara, where respondents were more likely to find these opportunities unsatisfactory. </p>
<p>People who lived out of town reported lower levels of social interaction, services and facilities, employment and business opportunities, and overall community wellbeing than town residents. Although this may reflect general differences between rural and town life, those living out of town also had less favourable attitudes toward CSG (see the second chart above) and lower expectations of future community wellbeing .</p>
<p>Nevertheless, the overall average of community wellbeing across our whole survey was rated at 3.8 out of 5, which is robust and higher than many other Queensland regions when compared to similar items surveyed in a <a href="http://www.acelg.org.au/news/measures-community-wellbeing">previous study</a>. </p>
<h2>Improving the situation</h2>
<p>Our survey offers a snapshot of how people in Queensland’s Western Downs are feeling about the changes happening to their communities, and could form a basis for future strategies to support them.</p>
<p>The results suggest that investments made in wellbeing and resilience could lead to a more optimistic outlook for the future. In particular, three key areas that cause community dissatisfaction are road infrastructure, community participation in decision-making, and long-term environmental management. </p>
<p>However, we also found that while improving these things would benefit communities, these are not the most important factors for overall wellbeing. The things rated as most important are: services and facilities, community spirit and cohesion, a socially interactive community, personal safety, and environmental quality. </p>
<p>More optimistic outlooks for community wellbeing are associated with community resilience; especially good working relationships between groups, planning and leadership, supporting volunteers, and having access to information. Targeted investments are important but need to be combined with good collaboration between state and local governments, CSG companies, and local communities to enhance future community wellbeing.</p>
<p>Given that Queensland is more advanced than any other state in terms of CSG production, our study might also offer lessons for other regions of Australia that are facing the issue of CSG development, either now or in the future.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/31522/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrea Walton is affiliated with CSIRO. She receives funding from GISERA. The Community Functioning and Wellbeing Project was funded by the Gas Industry Social and Environmental Research Alliance (GISERA). GISERA is a collaborative vehicle established to undertake publicly-reported independent research addressing the socio-economic and environmental impacts of Australia’s natural gas industries. The governance structure for GISERA is designed to provide for and protect research independence and transparency of funded research. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rod McCrea receives funding from the Gas Industry Social and Environmental Research Alliance (GISERA). GISERA is a collaborative vehicle established to undertake publicly-reported independent research addressing the socio-economic and environmental impacts of Australia’s natural gas industries. The governance structure for GISERA is designed to provide for and protect research independence and transparency of funded research. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rosemary Leonard receives funding from GISERA.The Community Functioning and Wellbeing Project was funded by the Gas Industry Social and Environmental Research Alliance (GISERA). GISERA is a collaborative vehicle established to undertake publicly-reported independent research addressing the socio-economic and environmental impacts of Australia’s natural gas industries. The governance structure for GISERA is designed to provide for and protect research independence and transparency of funded research. See <a href="http://www.gisera.org.au">www.gisera.org.au</a> for more information about GISERA’s governance structure, funded projects, and research findings. She is a member of The Greens political party in Western Australia.</span></em></p>Residents in Queensland’s Western Downs region have mixed feelings towards coal seam gas (CSG) development taking place in their midst, according to our CSIRO survey. More than two-thirds of locals described…Andrea Walton, Social scientist, CSIRORod McCrea, Social Scientist, CSIRORosemary Leonard, Senior Research Scientist, CSIROLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/244222014-03-17T19:37:21Z2014-03-17T19:37:21ZThree myths the coal seam gas industry wants you to believe<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/44090/original/tphwvk9k-1395036545.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">New South Wales's Appin power plant runs on coal seam gas.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Bluedawe/Wikimedia Commons</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Coal seam gas has an image problem, as a <a href="http://www.miningaustralia.com.au/news/santos-csg-comes-under-fire">former Santos chairman</a> and <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/environment/toxic-leak-bursts-bubble-for-santos-20140314-34s01.html">others in the industry</a> have acknowledged. The way the industry extracts natural gas from deep underground coal seams, both here and overseas, has meant that a lot of people have a lot of questions about CSG’s safety and sustainability, particularly in relation to its effects on people’s <a href="http://www.tai.org.au/content/fracking-good-your-health">health and that of the natural environment</a>. </p>
<p>Faced with wide-ranging criticism of mining practices and lack of transparency, the CSG industry has <a href="http://www.naturalcsg.com.au/">launched a campaign</a> to convince the general public, and policy makers, that it’s in Australia’s national interest to allow an expansion of CSG. They have concentrated their efforts on three ideas: that an expansion of CSG will create a large number of jobs; that without a big increase in CSG extraction, gas prices will rise dramatically; and that an expansion of CSG will reduce Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions.</p>
<p>But according to our new report – <a href="http://www.tai.org.au/frackingthefuture">Fracking the Future</a>, published today – those claims are often exaggerated, and are sometimes based on outright falsehoods.</p>
<h2>Myth 1: The gas industry is a big employer</h2>
<blockquote>
<p>“We all realise natural gas projects would benefit the entire nation, increase our GDP by an estimated 1.5% and directly and indirectly create 150,000 new jobs – this is in addition to the 100,000 jobs created by our gas industry last year alone.” – Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration Association (APPEA) deputy chief executive <a href="http://www.appea.com.au/2013/07/naturally-we-need-the-benefits-of-more-gas">Noel Mullen</a>.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The reality is that the CSG industry is currently so small that the Australian Bureau of Statistics does not publish separate employment figures for just CSG or for the gas industry as a whole. Rather, the ABS only publishes data on the combined size of employment in the oil and gas industries.</p>
<p>According to the ABS, in November last year the combined oil and gas industry employed <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/DetailsPage/6291.0.55.003Nov%202013?OpenDocument">23,200 people</a>. To put this in context, hardware chain Bunnings <a href="http://www.bunnings.com.au/about-us">employs around 36,000 people</a>.</p>
<p>The industry’s peak body, <a href="http://www.appea.com.au">APPEA</a>, recently ran a multimillion-dollar national advertising campaign to coincide with last year’s federal election that claimed the industry created <a href="http://www.ournaturaladvantage.com.au">an additional 100,000 jobs in 2012</a>.</p>
<p>Yet in that same year the ABS found that the whole oil and gas industry had increased its employment by only 9,372 people. One of them is way out. </p>
<p>In fact, <a href="http://www.tai.org.au/frackingthefuture/">our new research shows</a> that if the gas industry had been responsible for creating 100,000 jobs, then it would have been responsible for 58% of all job creation in Australia that year. The reality was that the industry was responsible for just 5.4% – only about one-tenth of the impact they had forecast. </p>
<p>In total, the gas industry employed 0.2% of the Australian workforce in 2012.</p>
<h2>Myth 2: More CSG will stop the gas price rises</h2>
<blockquote>
<p>“The best policy response to rising prices lies in bringing more gas to market” – <a href="http://www.appea.com.au/media_release/domestic-gas-reservation-significant-cost-nations-economy/">APPEA chief executive David Byers</a>. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>One of the biggest <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/pain-as-price-of-gas-set-to-jump/story-e6frg6n6-1226626378836">claims</a> that some CSG companies and peak body APPEA have been making is that an expansion in CSG extraction can stop gas prices from rising in the eastern parts of Australia. </p>
<p>This claim completely misrepresents why gas prices are rising. Put simply, because the world price of gas is much higher than the Australian domestic price, the gas industry would prefer to sell gas to foreigners than keep selling it to Australians.</p>
<p>Previously, they had no way of exporting Australian gas extracted on the east coast, but three big export facilities will soon be ready for business in Gladstone, Queensland. When these export facilities are completed, gas producers on the eastern side of Australia will have a choice. They can sell gas to domestic customers or to foreign customers. And they will pick which customers they sell to based on price. </p>
<p>These export facilities are being built by the gas companies and are part of their plan to expand production and increase prices, something they have been telling their shareholders for years.</p>
<p>When the export facilities are complete, if domestic gas consumers want natural gas they will have to be willing and able to pay the equivalent of the price the gas companies will receive from Asian customers. At the moment that is two to three times more than the recent wholesale price.</p>
<p>Once connected to the world gas market, the only things that can change the domestic price will be things that change the world price. If more CSG is extracted in Australia this is not going to have a material effect on the world price and in turn will do nothing to reduce the price paid by consumers. Some gas companies have <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/looming-gas-shortage-a-myth-says-bg-group/story-e6frg8zx-1226732175131">admitted this</a> but others try to pretend that it’s <a href="http://www.miningweekly.com/article/santos-warns-of-nsw-gas-shortage-2012-05-03">not the case</a>.</p>
<h2>Myth 3: CSG can act as a low-emission “bridge” from coal to renewables</h2>
<blockquote>
<p>“Natural gas can help reduce greenhouse emissions, both here in Australia and across Asia, because it is so much cleaner than traditional sources of energy.” – APPEA’s <a href="http://www.ournaturaladvantage.com.au">Our Natural Advantage</a> website.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Electricity generated from burning natural gas produces fewer greenhouse gas emissions than electricity produced from burning coal. For this reason the industry has <a href="http://www.ournaturaladvantage.com.au">claimed</a> that natural gas can help reduce the world’s greenhouse gas emissions.</p>
<p>While it is true that when it is burnt for generating electricity natural gas does produce fewer emissions than burning coal, not all sources of natural gas can be treated similarly. Unfortunately for those interested in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the way CSG is extracted can substantially reduce its potential emission reduction benefits. </p>
<p>When CSG is extracted it leaks out of the ground, particularly when using hydraulic fracturing or “fracking”. These are known as fugitive emissions and are an extremely potent greenhouse gas, <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar5/wg1">up to 86 times</a> more potent than carbon dioxide.</p>
<p>The amount of fugitive emissions that are produced during the CSG extraction process is currently unknown: no systematic study has been done in Australia. But in the United States, studies on shale gas – which like CSG is known as an unconventional source of natural gas – have found that fugitive emissions rates are <a href="http://www.tai.org.au/node/1883">substantially higher</a> than conventional natural gas.</p>
<p>The CSG industry in Australia has been extremely reluctant to make any systematic attempts to measure the rate of fugitive emissions and so it has fallen to <a href="http://scu.edu.au/coastal-biogeochemistry/index.php/70">universities</a> and the <a href="http://www.csiro.au/Outcomes/Energy/Fugitive-emissions-from-coal-seam-gas.aspx">CSIRO</a> to attempt to measure fugitive emissions. Once the rate of fugitive emissions is known, it could substantially reduce the greenhouse gas benefit of using natural gas extracted from CSG wells.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/43940/original/j7k9z6tj-1394774313.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/43940/original/j7k9z6tj-1394774313.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/43940/original/j7k9z6tj-1394774313.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/43940/original/j7k9z6tj-1394774313.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/43940/original/j7k9z6tj-1394774313.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/43940/original/j7k9z6tj-1394774313.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/43940/original/j7k9z6tj-1394774313.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/43940/original/j7k9z6tj-1394774313.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Coal seam gas explained.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.smc.org.au/2012/05/resource-page-coal-seam-gas/">Australian Science Media Centre</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>If the CSG industry wants to be taken seriously, it would do better not to exaggerate its economic benefits and downplay risks to human and environmental health, and begin addressing genuine community concerns.</p>
<p><strong><em>This article was co-authored by <a href="http://www.tai.org.au/node/3">Matt Grudnoff</a>, senior economist at The Australia Institute, who was the lead author of the new CSG report.</em></strong></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/24422/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>* This article was co-authored by Matt Grudnoff, senior economist at The Australia Institute, who was the lead author of the new CSG report.</span></em></p>Coal seam gas has an image problem, as a former Santos chairman and others in the industry have acknowledged. The way the industry extracts natural gas from deep underground coal seams, both here and overseas…Richard Denniss, Adjunct professor, Crawford School, Australian National UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/210642014-01-15T03:35:00Z2014-01-15T03:35:00ZHow coal seam gas is changing the face of rural Queensland<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/37510/original/zm9hgh26-1386804763.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Ruby Jo coal seam gas central processing plant, near Chinchilla in Queensland's Surat Basin, October 2013.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Dave Hunt</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Why would young Australians buck international trends and move to the country? According to <a href="http://www.gisera.org.au/publications/tech_reports_papers/socioeco-proj-1-rural-decline-workingpaper.pdf">our research</a>, a growing youth population has been observed in coal seam gas (CSG) development areas within the Surat and Bowen Basin regions of Queensland in recent years.</p>
<p>In contrast to other rural areas of Queensland, where the youth population is not growing, those two regions taking in areas such as Chinchilla and Moranbah have seen their youth population grow.</p>
<p>For example, in Chinchilla there were 1,112 young people aged 15 to 29 years old in 2006; just five years later, the number of young people had increased by about 46% to 1618. Out of that total, the male youth population in Chinchilla jumped 53% (to 978 young men), while the female youth population rose by 36% (to 640 young women). </p>
<p>This noteworthy increase in rural youth - for both men and women - is also seen in the broader regions of the Surat and Bowen basins, where CSG development is happening.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/37449/original/tjprsys8-1386739722.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/37449/original/tjprsys8-1386739722.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=515&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/37449/original/tjprsys8-1386739722.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=515&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/37449/original/tjprsys8-1386739722.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=515&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/37449/original/tjprsys8-1386739722.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=647&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/37449/original/tjprsys8-1386739722.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=647&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/37449/original/tjprsys8-1386739722.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=647&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Figure 1. Regions in Bowen and Surat basins, Queensland.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">CSIRO</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Over the same period, family incomes have grown and overall employment has increased.</p>
<p>However, in studying the <a href="http://www.gisera.org.au/publications/tech_reports_papers/socioeco-proj-1-workingpaper.pdf">impacts of unconventional gas development</a>, the one negative trend we found was that agricultural employment had decreased more than the rest of rural Queensland during the expansion of the coal seam gas industry.</p>
<h2>A re-injection of youth</h2>
<p>Declining populations in rural regions is a worldwide phenomenon. That’s because young people are usually the first to leave, seeking employment, training and education opportunities in cities.</p>
<p>After gaining new skills and experience, 20-somethings tend to stay in urban areas rather than return to their rural homelands. And women are more likely to leave rural areas than men.</p>
<p>The combined impact of these trends is a reduction in the skills base of rural areas and a skewed population, with more older people and far more men.</p>
<p>In figures 2 and 3, we track the age group which was 15-19 in 2001 though time up until 2011. In the control group, which is made up of other comparable rural Queensland regions (dark grey line), the youth population is at its lowest when this group hits their early 20s. By contrast, for communities in coal seam gas areas (blue line) the youth population is increasing throughout their 20s as more people stay in the region and others come to the region as CSG development takes off.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/39028/original/qx3r8294-1389678036.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/39028/original/qx3r8294-1389678036.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=304&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/39028/original/qx3r8294-1389678036.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=304&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/39028/original/qx3r8294-1389678036.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=304&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/39028/original/qx3r8294-1389678036.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=382&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/39028/original/qx3r8294-1389678036.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=382&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/39028/original/qx3r8294-1389678036.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=382&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Figure 2: Changes in female youth over time (ABS 2013). The blue line is the average for towns and communities where CSG development occurs. The dark grey line is the average for regions without CSG development (control). The green line represents Chinchilla.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">CSIRO</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/39029/original/9r5rkxxd-1389679186.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/39029/original/9r5rkxxd-1389679186.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/39029/original/9r5rkxxd-1389679186.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/39029/original/9r5rkxxd-1389679186.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/39029/original/9r5rkxxd-1389679186.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=507&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/39029/original/9r5rkxxd-1389679186.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=507&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/39029/original/9r5rkxxd-1389679186.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=507&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Figure 3: Changes in male youth over time (ABS 2013). The blue line is the average for towns and communities where CSG development occurs. The dark grey line is the average for regions without CSG development (control). The green line represents Chinchilla.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">CSIRO</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We’ve singled out the case of Chinchilla (green line) as an example of a turn-around in about 2006 from losing young people to gaining young people as the pace of CSG development speeds up.</p>
<p>Because these increases occurred in male and female populations, the research suggests that the wider rural population are experiencing social and economic benefits from the CSG sector, rather than just a male workforce commuting from distant cities, as can happen with fly-in fly-out workforces in other contexts.</p>
<p>The fact that rural youth populations have grown in regions with CSG development is a significant finding and an important contributor to the health of rural communities.</p>
<p>In terms of the long-term future of rural communities,re-injection of youth may indeed be more important than the focus on jobs, which has traditionally been the main way that the industry has sought to demonstrate its benefit to rural communities.</p>
<h2>More jobs in resources sector, but fewer in agriculture</h2>
<p>Our research also found that <a href="http://www.gisera.org.au/publications/tech_reports_papers/socioeco-proj-1-workingpaper.pdf">jobs have increased</a> in regions where CSG development has occurred.</p>
<p>During the ten years between 2001 and 2011, jobs in the resources sector across rural Queensland increased; notably this increase was about 31% more in CSG regions than in other rural Queensland regions. This figure is even higher when looking only at the Surat region, where it has grown by 45%. </p>
<p>For every new job in the resources sector there has been around two new jobs created in the related sectors of construction and professional services. By contrast, for each new job in the resources sector there has been a reduction of 1.7 jobs in agriculture. </p>
<p>These new jobs in CSG areas are not just restricted to males. Focusing on Chinchilla, total female employment increased 26% from 1204 in 2006 to 1516 in 2011. Over those five years, women left some agriculture and manufacturing jobs, but increased their employment in mining, construction and hospitality.</p>
<h2>Family income and community welfare</h2>
<p>Another important finding is that family income has increased more in regions where CSG development has occurred.</p>
<p>Family income increased by around 15% in the average region with CSG development when compared to other rural regions in Queensland. Family income is a useful measure of benefit because it provides an indicator of income that stays in the region, compared with other measures that may be affected by long-distance commuting workforces, who spend their income elsewhere.</p>
<p>However, while family income is up, this also has to be balanced against higher housing costs in some CSG regions such as Chinchilla.</p>
<p>We found that CSG regions had slightly more educated populations, but mostly among men. Poverty reduction was also observed in CSG regions, concentrated particularly in Chinchilla.</p>
<p>Finally, it is also important to consider the impacts of CSG development on other aspects of community well-being, such as noise and stress. These issues are currently being explored in <a href="http://www.gisera.org.au/research/impacts.html">related projects</a> conducted by CSIRO.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/21064/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tom Measham receives funding from the Gas Industry Social and Environmental Research Alliance (GISERA), which is a collaborative which is a collaborative vehicle co-founded by CSIRO and Australia Pacific LNG Pty Ltd to undertake research that addresses the social and environmental impacts of Australia's natural gas industry. The partners in GISERA have invested more than $14 million over five years to research the environmental, social and economic impacts of the natural gas industry. GISERA projects are overseen by an independent Research Advisory Committee and made publicly available after undergoing CSIRO’s peer-review process.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Fleming receives funding from the Gas Industry Social and Environmental Research Alliance (GISERA), which is a collaborative which is a collaborative vehicle co-founded by CSIRO and Australia Pacific LNG Pty Ltd to undertake research that addresses the social and environmental impacts of Australia's natural gas industry. All reports are publicly available.</span></em></p>Why would young Australians buck international trends and move to the country? According to our research, a growing youth population has been observed in coal seam gas (CSG) development areas within the…Tom Measham, Senior Research Scientist, CSIRODavid A. Fleming-Muñoz, Research Economist, CSIROLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.