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Peter Reith Report Will Raise The Energy Problem – But What Is The Solution?The government is yet to respond to the long-awaited report into gas supply in Victoria being produced by former MP Peter Reith. By Cam Walker - 23rd October 2013 - Back to News "Many are assuming that it will endorse the development of an onshore unconventional gas industry" said Friends of the Earth campaigns co-ordinator Cam Walker. Mr Reith cancelled his attendance at the Clean Coal Stakeholders meeting in Traralgon last week, where he had been expected to outline what was in the report.
The Victorian government continues to put out mixed messages about what is happening with coal and gas developments in the state. Recently the Premier said he is in "no hurry" to begin a coal seam gas (CSG) industry, while at the same time saying "we understand that there are opportunities in the future".
Meanwhile Dr Napthine says the state has large brown coal and alternative energy sources to meet energy demand. Any expansion of coal mining will be deeply unpopular in regional communities, and the Coalition government has killed off further development of the wind industry through a system of No Go Zones across much of the state.
"The argument used by the gas industry in NSW about there being a ‘gas crisis’ has been shown to be untrue. While up to 80% of Australian gas reserves have been earmarked for export, we have enough conventional gas reserves to meet domestic demand for at least two decades. Australia must have transitioned away from widespread use of gas by then as a response to the imperatives of climate change".
"In Victoria, the regulatory framework for CSG is underdeveloped. The government refuses to use its power to exempt farmland from mining at the local level, and has no approach to assess whether to exempt strategic agricultural land from mining at the regional or state level. Yet the government has refused to collect that data that would allow it to make an informed decision on whether to allow the development of an unconventional gas industry: it has twice voted against proposals for a state-based inquiry into the likely impacts of the gas industry on the state. It also refuses to rule out the possibility of an export industry for brown coal".
"These are the issues that the Government will have to respond to once it has considered Mr Reith’s report. Attempting to swap coal for gas would be a dangerous political choice and would fly in the face of everything we know about climate change. To take a forward looking approach to meeting our energy needs, the Victorian government should:
- Commit to collecting data on the possible impacts of new coal and gas operations via a state-wide inquiry
- Ban any new unconventional gas or coal projects that risk damage to water, farmland or communities.
- Reduce Victoria’s reliance on natural gas through job-creating retrofit programs.
- Dismantle roadblocks to renewable energy like the current anti-wind farm laws."
Further comment
Cam Walker 0419 338 047
Source: http://gippsland.com/ Published by: news@gippsland.com
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