Scot MacDonald, a Liberal member of the NSW upper house, the
Legislative Council, is being referred to the Independent Commission Against
Corruption (ICAC) by the NSW Greens for accepting gifts from gas company Santos
after making statements in favour of coal seam gas mining in NSW. Mr MacDonald, from the Guyra area of the NSW
Northern Tablelands, was elected to parliament in 2011. (Santos is the company
seeking to develop a gasfield in the Pilliga woodland, an area of major
ecological importance, in the central west of the state.)
As a member of the Legislative Council Committee which
inquired into coal seam gas mining in NSW, Mr MacDonald made a dissenting
report following the inquiry. In this
report he stated, "It is difficult to reach any other conclusion than the
coal seam gas industry should be developed as quickly as possible."
Shortly after the findings of the Inquiry were made public
in May, Mr MacDonald accepted from major CSG company Santos flights to and
accommodation in Tasmania where he spoke at a forum alongside Santos officials
on the topic of coal seam gas and agriculture.
Mr MacDonald declared both the flights and the accommodation
on the pecuniary interests register and claims that he has complied with all
the parliamentary guidelines. He stated,
"I have consistently said we need to ensure gas supplies for this state if
it can be shown that CSG can be extracted safely and landholders are treated
respectfully."
Mr MacDonald seems to be missing the point that the general
community does not believe that CSG can be extracted safely. Moreover, the
community does not believe that the "safeguards" the NSW Government
has put in place will effectively protect both the environment and the
community from damaging long-term impacts from the CSG industry. He also seems to be unaware that export is the
main focus of the companies seeking to exploit coal seam gas – not a desire to
"ensure gas supplies for this state."
Greens MP, Jeremy Buckingham said, "We think it's
outrageous that, while Parliament is still considering the Coal Seam Gas
Inquiry Report, he accepted a gift from one of the largest coal seam gas
companies, Santos."
