GAS MINING IN THE NORTHERN TERRITORY

Governments around Australia are under pressure to allow development of coal seam gas and shale gas reserves.  The pressure is from the gas industry and associated industries which will profit from gas mining - as well as the Federal Government. 

The Federal Government is pushing the expansion of the on-shore gas industry in NSW, Victoria, the Northern Territory and elsewhere because it claims this is necessary to ensure cheaper gas is available for Australian households, manufacturing industries and electricity generation. 

 

Currently there is more than enough on-shore gas being produced for domestic purposes but it is all being exported due to the failure of successive federal and state governments to have sufficient reserved for domestic use.

The Northern Territory situation has been in the news in recently because of an inquiry into the risks of fracking (hydraulic fracturing) if the industry is allowed to go ahead there.  The current moratorium on the industry and the inquiry is the result of an election pledge by the government elected in August 2016.

If the moratorium is lifted, there will be serious climate  implications according to the Australia Institute. 

In its submission to the inquiry the Institute stated, “Even a 5% increase in Australia’s emissions from a single gasfield is a large and unacceptable increase.  It is completely inconsistent with Australia’s carbon budget and our commitments under the Paris agreement.”

The Institute claimed that burning the NT’s total gas resource would emit 12.2 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent.

Then there is the problem of fugitive methane emissions from seepage and leaks.  And methane is a much more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide – particularly over shorter periods.

However, carbon emissions are only one of the major problems noted by those who oppose the development of the industry.  Others include concern about water use and contamination of aquifers, the risks to human health and the poor record of the government in ensuring compliance with mining development conditions.

It will be very interesting to see what the NT Government decides.

            - Leonie Blain

 This article was originally published in the VOICES FOR THE EARTH column in The Daily Examiner on March 5, 2018. 

EARTH MATTERS: Grafton Street Tree Heritage - Uniformity and Diversity

Tree Waratah     Photo: Jeff Thomas

Monday March 19

In the first Earth Matters session of the year Jeff Thomas will discuss Grafton trees.  While Grafton is well known for its Jacarandas, there is a lot more to the treescape in the city. From the odd remnant of the original rainforest, early plantings for shade and beautification, a long relationship with the Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney and changing ideas of diversity and avenue plantings Grafton has a rich street heritage which few other towns can rival. 

Jeff Thomas is a NPWS former ranger and currently pest officer. With scientific and horticultural qualifications, he has been interested in the many fine examples of trees in the urban landscape of Grafton, many of which are rarely seen elsewhere

The session will be held in the Staffroom at Grafton Primary School, Queen Street, Grafton from 5.30 – 7 p.m. on Monday March 19.

There will be ample opportunity for questions and discussion.  Refreshments will follow.

For further information, contact Stan on 66449309.

Earth Matters is a session on the environment which is conducted every two months by the Clarence Valley Conservation Coalition ( clarencevcc@gmail.com ).

Golden Penda, Market Square    Photo: Jeff Thomas

NSW LAND-CLEARING LAWS FOUND TO BE INVALID

The Nature Conservation Council of NSW (NCC) challenged the NSW Government's land-clearing laws in the Land and Environment Court.  Conservationists have been very concerned that these laws, a weakening of the previous state laws, would lead to a dramatic increase in the clearing of native vegetation and catastrophic biodiversity loss.  They also believed that the correct process  in introducing these laws had not been followed.

The NCCs media release on the decision is printed below.

9 March 2018

Court finds NSW Government land-clearing laws invalid

The Land and Environment Court today ruled the NSW Government’s land-clearing laws invalid because they were made unlawfully. 

“The government has bungled the introduction of one of its signature pieces of legislation, and in the process demonstrates its careless disregard for nature in NSW,” Nature Conservation Council CEO Kate Smolski said.

“Today’s ruling is an embarrassing admission of failure by the Berejiklian government and a great victory for the rule of law and the thousands of people who have supported us in taking this action.” 

The Nature Conservation Council, represented by public interest environmental lawyers EDO NSW, launched legal challenge against the government’s land-clearing codes last November. 

NCC had argued through its barristers Jeremy Kirk SC and David Hume the codes were invalid because the Primary Industries Minister failed to obtain concurrence of the Environment Minister before making the codes, as is required by law. The government today has conceded this was indeed the case. 

“It is deeply troubling that the government disregarded the important oversight role of the Environment Minister when making environmental laws, but we are even more concerned about the harmful content of the laws themselves,” Ms Smolski said.

“By the government’s own assessment, they will lead to a spike in clearing of up to 45% and expose threaten wildlife habitat to destruction, including 99% of identified koala habitat on private land.

“These laws were made against the advice of the scientific community and against the wishes of the vast majority of the many thousands of people who made submissions.

“It would be completely cynical for the government to immediately remake these laws without first correcting their many flaws and including environmental protections the community wants and the science says we need.

“Premier Berejiklian must act now to prevent further plundering of our forests, woodlands and water supplies by scrapping these laws and making new ones that actually protect the environment.”

Ms Smolski pledged to continue the campaign to overturn weak land-clearing laws.

“As the state’s peak environment organization, we will do everything we can to expose the damage of land clearing and will not stop until we have laws that protect nature,” she said. 

“These laws are a matter of life or death for wildlife. More than 1000 plant and animal species are at risk of extinction in this state, including the koala and 60 per cent of all our native mammals.

“Land clearing is the main threat to many of these animals, and the laws this government introduced unlawfully are pushing them closer to the brink.

“It is regrettable that we had to take the government to court to make it abide by its own laws, but it demonstrates the critical role organisations like ours play in our democracy.”

Note: While the date at the top of this post is listed as 8 March (obviously the date in the US at the moment), it is actually March 9 in Australia.