The Australian Coal Seam Gas Debate
- Alan Jones’ National Press Club speech (video)
- Alan Jones’ comments on Radio 2GB (audio)
- Coal Seam Gas reports from the ABC (audio)
- The Coal Seam Gas Debate (ABC Rural)
- Check if there is a CSG well or lease near you (ABC)
- Anti-CSG Organisations, Political Groups, etc.
Goodness knows I don’t agree with Alan Jones on a lot, but on coal seam gas (CSG) mining he’s right. It’s theft by legislation, and a dangerous risk to our food security, water security and health security. Immediately below, you’ll find a video of the Alan Jones address to the National Press Club in Canberra on October 19, 2011. Viewing this video is highly recommended.
Below this video you’ll find audio comments and interviews on coal seam gas developments from Alan Jones on Radio 2GB, audio reports and interviews from the ABC, links to special ABC CSG websites and reports, and links to anti-CSG organisations and political groups, which include videos from anti-CSG activists.
Alan Jones’ Coal Seam Gas address at the National Press Club
Comments and interviews by Alan Jones on Radio 2GB
Alan Jones on 2GB — 20-10-2011
The stolen land generation
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Alan Jones on 2GB — 21-10-2011
Tony Abbott weasels out of a commitment on coal seam gas
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Alan Jones on 2GB — 24-10-2011
The battle over land and Queensland debt
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Alan Jones on 2GB — 26-10-2011
Political corruption and the revolving political/industry door
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Alan Jones on 2GB — 28-10-2011
The threat to Sydney’s food supply
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Alan Jones on 2GB — 02-11-2011
Alan Jones interviews Tony Windsor on CSG
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Alan Jones on 2GB — 04-11-2011
Alan Jones talks to hydrogeologist Gundi Royle on CSG
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Alan Jones on 2GB — 04-11-2011
Alan Jones comments on academics involved in the CSG debate
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Alan Jones on 2GB — 08-11-2011
Wine industry petition against coal seam gas
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Alan Jones on 2GB — 11-11-2011
Senator Bill Heffernan on coal seam gas mining
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Alan Jones on 2GB — 18-11-2011
Bowral bands together to shoo Cockatoo
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Alan Jones on 2GB — 18-11-2011
Anna Bligh will now go down in history as an environmental vandal
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Alan Jones on 2GB — 24-11-2011
Greens Upper House Bill calls for moratorium on CSG mining in NSW
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Alan Jones on 2GB — 25-11-2011
Anna Bligh’s blind pursuit of the mining dollar
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Alan Jones on 2GB — 30-11-2011
Court order grants mining company access to blind farmer’s land
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Alan Jones on 2GB — 30-11-2011
Alan Jones comments on APPEA’s reluctance to supply CSG data
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Alan Jones on 2GB — 1-12-2011
Alan Jones on a gutless government, and the Senate Committee report into coal seam gas mining
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Alan Jones on 2GB — 1-12-2011
Alan Jones pressures Premier Barry O’Farrell about the court ruling that gave a mining company access to a blind farmer’s privately-owned land
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Alan Jones on 2GB — 2-12-2011
Alan Jones on the consequences of coal seam gas mining
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Alan Jones on 2GB — 7-12-2011
Alan Jones follows up on the CSG debate with Premier Barry O’Farrell,
after O’Farrell intervened over blind farmer Ian Moore’s property
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Alan Jones on 2GB — 8-02-2012
Holidays over, Alan Jones takes up the CSG fight with an interview with Australian newspaper writer and author, Paul Cleary
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Alan Jones on 2GB — 9-02-2012
Alan Jones speaks with conservationist Drew Hutton about the threat posed by CSG mining
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Alan Jones on 2GB — 10-02-2012
Alan Jones speaks with Dr Peter Chen and Greens’ MP Jeremy Buckingham about political donations from the Coal Seam Gas industry
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Alan Jones on 2GB — 14-02-2012
Alan Jones speaks with activist Drew Hutton about the latest in the fight against CSG
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Alan Jones on 2GB — 24-02-2012
Alan Jones speaks to John Brent on the state of farming and coal seam gas mining
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Alan Jones on 2GB — 01-03-2012
Alan Jones speaks with winemaker Bruce Tyrell about the impacts of CSG on the Hunter Valley
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Alan Jones on 2GB — 02-03-2012
Alan Jones speaks with Senator Bill Heffernan about foreign land ownership and coal seam gas mining
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Alan Jones on 2GB — 07-03-2012
The devastating impact of coal seam gas mining. Alan Jones speaks with Kaylene Clariss, Peter Martin, Heidi Ross and Aidan McLindon.
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Alan Jones on 2GB — 07-03-2012
New land use regulations a compromise on CSG. Alan Jones speaks with MP for Wakehurst Brad Hazzard about new draft regional land use policy.
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Other commentators (audio from the ABC)
Is the gate open or shut? Government in NSW is reluctant to ban important land areas from coal seam gas development “up front”.
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Calls for Northern Rivers to become bioregion
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Coal seam gas concerns grow in the US
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Greens bill to protect water from mineral exploration rejected
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Santos releases report on Eastern Star Gas Pilliga leaks and spills
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There are questions today about the future of the government’s promise to consider excluding prime agricultural land from mining and coal seam gas activities. The ABC’s Kelly Fuller interviews APPEA’s Chris Wilkinson.
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NSW Farmers Association, President Fiona Simson, responds to Kelly Fuller’s interview with APPEA’s Chris Wilkinson.
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The Federal Opposition Leader, Tony Abbott, has cautiously backed the controversial coal seam gas industry. In an interview with the ABC Mr Abbott said open cut mining was far more devastating, and that all it needed was a few roads and fences. He conceded that there were legitimate concerns about affecting the water table. Opponents of CSG, including QLD MP Bob Katter, say Mr Abbott doesn’t know what he’s talking about.
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A group of reclusive nuns in New South Wales has unexpectedly joined activists protesting against the coal seam gas industry. The Carmelite nuns, whose monastery is in south-western Sydney, have told a NSW Upper House inquiry into coal seam gas that proposed wells on land adjacent to their property will dramatically reduce their quality of life.
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An analysis of treated coal seam gas water discharged from the Santos owned Narrabri Coal Seam Gas project in north-west western New South Wales, commissioned by a coalition of environmental groups, shows that the level of ammonia in treated water returned to the river system is three times higher than it should be.
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The ABC’s Amy Bainbridge brings us an update on the coal seam gas debate, as the NSW Government’s Inquiry prepares for its final public hearing in Sydney on 09-12-2011. In other parts of the state blockades and demonstrations continue.
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Queensland has become the first state in Australia with specific laws to keep open cut mines out of the best crop-growing areas. Unfortunately, the law does not specifically target coal seam gas, which ideally would be covered by the same legislation.
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The ABC’s Kelly Fuller speaks to Liberal Senator Bill Heffernan, Judi Sheedy from the NSW Farmers Association and Victoria Hamilton from Wee Waa, who gave evidence to the recent Senate Inquiry on the impact of mining coal seam gas on the management of the Murray Darling Basin.
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Santos, one of the country’s major coal seam gas players, is defending the industry’s exploration and drilling activities in the Murray-Darling Basin. Santos CEO David Knox says they need to drill to obtain the data. Academics say the data needs peer review.
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A new senate report is recommending a moratorium on coal seam gas projects in key parts of Queensland and New South Wales until the completion of studies into the impact on groundwater. Unusually, all sides of politics have endorsed the recommendation.
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The Senate Rural Affairs and Transport References Committee recommends a halt to CSG project approval in the Murray-Darling Basin. It makes dozens of recommendations and says there should be no more projects approved across a large part of the basin until several environmental impact studies have been completed.
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The ABC’s JJJ Hack program takes a look at whether coal seam gas is “as clean as you think”. A good report that interviews some key players, farmers, politicians and activists and discusses emissions and water. Interestingly, APPEA wouldn’t speak to them.
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ABC reporter Miranda Saunders speaks with Metgasco CEO Peter Henderson about the ABC’s new coal seam gas data website. He says that some of the information regarding Metgasco’s wells is incorrect. He also question whether the ABC should be undertaking this project, rather than the government.
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ABC reporter David Claughton speaks with Rick Wilkinson of APPEA (Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association) on carbon emissions from coal seam gas exploration, extraction, shipping and combustion in power plants.
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ABC reporter David Claughton speaks with Rick Wilkinson of APPEA on dealing with the interaction between coal seam gas and water.
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ABC reporter Joanna Woodburn speaks to Fiona Simson from the NSW Farmers Association on the problems involved in policing the coal seam gas expansion.
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APPEA doesn’t like the new ABC CSG website — The ABC’s Babs McHugh speaks with Rick Wilkinson of APPEA about the formal complaint being lodged with the ABC regarding bias and inaccurate reporting on its CSG website.
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The ABC speaks to Dr Peter Gleick, president of the Pacific Institute and co-author and editor of the biennial series ‘The World’s Water’. The biennial report, now in its seventh release, has a chapter on fossil fuel extraction and its impact on water quality and for the first time the extraction of natural gas is causing concern.
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The mining industry has reacted uneasily to changes to the mineral resource rent tax by the Federal Government, which has promised to set up a scientific panel to advise the states on coal and coal seam gas projects. Miners say it will add another layer of bureaucracy and hold back the prosperity of the sector and the nation (as they would).
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At the request of the Federal Independent member for New England, Tony Windsor, the Federal Government will take control of mining and CSG approvals if state governments fail to adopt new regulations and the advice of an independent expert science panel.
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Mining companies are secretly buying properties on the NSW Southern Highlands, through shelf companies and real estate agents who sign non-disclosure agreements, to test drill without the community knowing. No-one told them about small towns, I guess.
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After 20 days farmers say they can end their blockade of a Spring Ridge property as Santos agrees to wait for results of the Namoi water study.
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John Robertson, NSW Labor leader, says that his party has had a change of heart about coal seam gas, after giving the industry a 5 year royalties holiday when they were in government. Now, purportedly, water integrity is their primary concern.
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The independent Murray-Darling Basin Authority has been pressed by the New South Wales Liberal government to release more water to the mining industry.
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A Queensland LNP MP has defected to the Katter Party over the LNP’s policy towards CSG. Member for Dalrymple Shane Knuth explains his decision to the ABC’s Kim Honan.
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The University of Queensland has launched a multimillion dollar Coal Seam Gas Research Centre. The centre will be partly funded and guided by mining companies; a model that’s certain to raise eyebrows. Minimum company investment is $500,000.
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The Government is introducing its mining tax legislation into Parliament today (02-11-2011), though it’s yet to secure a majority of votes. Tony Windsor’s support hangs on a cessation of coal seam gas mining and exploration.
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Tony Windsor will only support the government’s Mining Tax with restrictions on Coal Seam Gas. He wants the Government to pay for independent environmental assessments of new coal seam gas and mining projects.
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Clive Palmer says “coal seam gas exploration poses a contamination and carcinogenic risk to groundwater”. The industry remains under intense scrutiny after traces of carcinogenic chemicals were found at bore sites on Queensland’s Darling Downs.
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The National Water Commission is warning State and Federal governments that the coal seam gas industry could pose a risk to water quality. It wants coal seam gas companies to pay the full cost of dealing with the impact on water sources.
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Dart Energy has an exploration licence that covers a large portion of the Sydney basin. The company’s CEO sought to play down concerns over mining in St Peters, but said the company may start exploration drilling elsewhere in the Sydney basin next year.
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The New South Wales Farmers Association has called for a moratorium on all new mining and coal seam gas projects. But the Minerals Council of New South Wales and the State Government have rejected the call for a pause in development.
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David Clarke is the Chairman of Macquarie Group and also runs a winery in the Hunter Valley region in New South Wales. He says coal seam gas exploration and its extraction would spell the death of the wine and tourism industry in the Hunter.
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There are calls to scrap testing for the extraction of coal seam gas in southern Queensland after dangerous chemicals were found in exploration wells. Testing by Australia Pacific LNG found four toxic chemicals, including benzene and toluene, in their wells.
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The Coal Seam Gas Debate (ABC Rural)
Coal Seam Gas (CSG) has been extracted and used in Australia for nearly 30 years. It is only in recent times that the practice has come under public scrutiny. This ABC Rural feature collates the ABC’s coverage of the Coal Seam Gas debate.
- The Coal Seam Gas Debate
- Coal Seam Gas Audio
- About Coal Seam Gas
- Coal Seam Gas Debate Archive (by month)
See if there is a CSG well or lease near you (ABC)
The ABC has put together the most thorough mapping of coal seam gas wells and leases in Australia. Find out if there is a project near you. Just key in your suburb or township and do a search. (There are 2 proposed wells within 20km of the the Sydney Harbour Bridge. There are 7 proposed wells within 20km of Warragamba Dam [Sydney's water supply]. There are 73 production wells and 84 exploration wells within 20km of Camden South.)
Coal seam gas by the numbers (link will open in a new window)
Anti-CSG organisations, political groups, etc.
