22 Sep 2016
A report released today under the banner of the Western Rivers Alliance, written by a Lock the Gate activist, recycles familiar misleading claims about the gas industry.
“The report relies on discredited claims from the United States to alarm Queenslanders,” said APPEA Chief Executive Dr Malcolm Roberts.
“There are many thorough, independent and expert scientific studies into shale gas. The Western Rivers Alliance report is none of those things. It is a scrapbook of recycled US activist material.
“For example, US claims that 60 per cent of gas wells will ‘fail’ are simply wrong.*
“There is also the familiar trick of selective, misleading quotes lifted from reputable research.
“People wanting to learn more about shale gas should read studies produced by genuine independent experts such as the Australian Council of Learned Academies.
“The oil and gas industry has been safely operating in the Cooper Basin for more than 50 years. Industry practices are proven and safe. Hydraulic fracturing has been used in Australia since the late 1960s.
“Industry practices are always improving. Seismic surveying, for example, is now largely done using GPS technology, eliminating or greatly reducing disturbance.
“The gas industry urges people to look beyond dishonest scare campaigns.
“Gas is critical to a secure transition to lower emissions. Gas is also necessary for manufacturing essential products such as fertilisers, glass, bricks and packaging. Eastern Australia faces a very real risk of a supply shortfall by 2019.
“Preventing safe, responsible gas development can only mean higher gas prices for consumers, lost jobs and lost opportunities for regional development.”
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