Sunday, July 31

Government Fails to Control CSG Industry: Newman

Liberal National Party (LNP) leader Campbell Newman says the Queensland Government has failed to properly control growth in the coal seam gas (CSG) sector.

A Senate committee has been hearing evidence about the impact of CSG extraction in southern Queensland....Read More

ABC News

Coal Exploration a 'Future Risk'

IT’S been nicknamed a “grassroots revolution” and Warwick is being encouraged to at least be aware of the movement which buried a mining application in Toowoomba. With one fifth of Queensland covered by exploration leases, it’s no surprise there’s an application for a permit for coal exploration in the Southern Downs....Read More

Warwick Daily News

Fiona Simpson - Interview

The campaign to defend the country's richest farmland against mining is one of the hottest debates in Australian agri-politics, and it's already claiming some high-profile scalps.

Incumbent New South Wales Farmers' Association president Charles Armstrong was toppled recently by Fiona Simpson, who's been instrumental in giving the battle for the Liverpool Plains a national profile...
Read More and Watch Interview

ABC Online - 31 July, 2011.

Question Time

Queensland's booming coal seam gas (CSG) industry is spreading into coal-rich rural New South Wales and the alarm bells are ringing for farmers. One of the commonest concerns is that independent science has not been able to keep pace with the rapid development of CSG, particularly its long-term environmental impacts.   Read More and Watch Video

ABC Online - 31 July, 2011

Coal Seam Gas and Mining Threats to the Darling Downs Part 1. Dr John Standley with Ben Beeton

Coal Seam Gas and Mining Threats to the Darling Downs Part 2. Dr John Standley with Ben Beeton

The Cold Hard Fracks: Oliva Newton-John

AS A long-time advocate for the environment, I am greatly concerned about the continued health of Australia and its people. That is why I am horrified to learn of the extensive plans for coal seam gas and shale gas exploration here. Until recently, I was unaware of the hidden dangers lurking in this so-called clean natural gas exploration.
There are serious risks to human health and the environment associated with coal seam gas (CSG) mining and hydraulic fracturing. ”Fracking” is the practice of using high-pressure pumps to inject a mixture of sand, water and a mystery cocktail of toxic chemicals into gas wells to release unconventional gas....Read More

31 July 2011 Oliva Newton-John

Saturday, July 30

NSW Bids for Unity on Coal Seam Gas Rules

THE ban by the NSW government on ''fractured stimulation'', better known as ''fracking'', in the NSW coal seam gas sector is unlikely to be extended beyond year-end, with the regulatory regime set to be finalised by then.   Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/business/nsw-bids-for-unity-on-coal-seam-gas-rules-20110721-1hqup.html#ixzz1TY0YNEGL

Coal Barons Sowing the Seeds of Unrest

Changing land use is fuelling rural tensions, write David Humphries and Leonie Lamont.                       
For top farming land only a few road hours from Sydney, the Bylong Valley came late to settlement. Its remoteness imposed by the surrounding sandstone curtain and the national parkland that separates it from the Hunter Valley, this canyon riverbed is as productive and as versatile as it gets when seasons are good. But rain has been poor this year...Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/environment/conservation/coal-barons-sowing-the-seeds-of-unrest-20110729-1i4b5.html#ixzz1TXyeeQEu

Hidden Costs of the CSG Rush

Coal seam gas mining (CSG) is developing rapidly in New South Wales and Queensland and is commencing in other states. The legal and administrative protections are inadequate to ensure that public health is not harmed and that environmental damage does not leave a legacy for generations...Read More

Marion Carey & David Shearman -  Climate Spectator

Gas Project Promises $14b Investment

Australia Pacific LNG (APLNG) says its gas project at Gladstone, in central Queensland, will inject $14 billion into the state's economy. The company has made its financial investment decision on a $20 billion coal seam gas to liquefied natural (LNG) gas project. ... Read More

ABC News Online

Friday, July 29

Shift in Power Looms for CSG

IN what could challenge the State Government's stranglehold on the coal seam gas debate, the soon-to- be released Murray-Darling Basin draft plan will provide the Federal Government with the power rule on the use of sub-artesian aquifers, such as the Condamine Alluvium... Read More.

Queensland Country Life

Joyce's Brush with CSG Gets Personal

Queensland Country Life

THE coal seam gas debate has become a personal matter for Senator Barnaby Joyce, with the Nationals' Senate leader revealing his own Northern NSW property has been scheduled for exploration... Read More

Thursday, July 28

Gillard and Friends Move Fom GetUp to Shut Up

LATELY the Gillard government has been clothing itself in GetUp! attire, but last week it flirted with adding some ShutUp accessories... Read more