Part Two “…it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness…”Charles Dickens In Part One we detailed the history behind the formation of Macquarie Energy and Apollo Gas and the emergence of pipeline promoters Duncan Hardie and Garbis Simonian. In 2004, the NSW Government abandoned a plan to build a Gas Transmission Pipeline from Wallumbilla, QLD to Newcastle, to bring gas from QLD to NSW. This was following research undertaken under the portfolios of Craig Knowles (Minister for Infrastructure and Planning and Minister for Natural Resources, 2003-2005). However in July…continue reading →

Part One We present to you a three part story on the long history behind the Queensland Hunter Gas Pipeline (QHGP), an 833km, 600mm wide gas transmission pipeline, initially capable of transporting 85 petajoules increasing to 120+ petajoules, proposed to go from Newcastle, NSW to Wallumbilla, Queensland and affecting approximately 500 landowners over 1,250 plus land parcels. “It was the best of ideas. It was the worst of ideas.” Apologies to Charles Dickens. In September 2005 two like-minded businessmen joined with two others to create Macquarie Energy Pty Ltd. Each held a 20%…continue reading →

Santos lodged a last minute submission to the Independent Planning Commission taking community members by surprise and forcing them back to their desks to scramble to respond in the one week allotted. This late maneuver has been called out as everything from desperation to characteristic disregard. Santos stated in their new submission, Executive Summary: Santos has relied upon the best available science, expert research and opinion in our application to develop the Narrabri Gas Project so that the community can be confident it will not harm people, water resources or the environment. Screenshot…continue reading →

On 03.04.20 Santos applied to vary their Environmental Protection Licence (EPL20350) to all but decommission several water monitoring bores in their network, removing their ‘requirement to monitor’ and provide those results to the EPA and the public. This variation application went unnoticed for several weeks and is still pending. It concerns monitoring bore(s) that have demonstrated levels of methane, in at least one of the bores the raised methane levels are claimed to have been caused by termites (see excerpt from Santos Ground Water Monitoring Report, Annual Return 2017/2018 dated June 2018 below).…continue reading →

Roy Butler, Member of Parliament for the seat of Barwon in NSW, was interviewed by Anna Christie on Friday 24 July, Day 5 of the Narrabri Gas Project's Independent Planning Commission Hearing.  They discussed community opposition, gas prices, local jobs and the NSW Government's rush to defeat the CSG Moratorium Bill. Anna Christie: Roy, I don’t know if you were listening but on Day 1 Councillor Stephen Lawrence, the Deputy Mayor of Dubbo City Council, was speaking at the hearing and he made the comment that even though it may not be within…continue reading →

I would like to acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the country we are gathered on here today. I pay my respects to Elders, past, present and emerging. Thankyou to the Commission for this opportunity to present my evidence on behalf of NWPA. We are a member of the North West Alliance umbrella group. My name is Johanna Evans, I am from Kyogle and I have been searching for the truth about gasfields since 2012 when I observed a gas drilling operation 10km from my home. NWPA is a grass roots volunteer based group.…continue reading →

NARRABRI MEDIA HUB – for news, pics, Pilliga gas field inspections and resources  Eyes will be on David Kitto, the State’s top mining assessment bureaucrat, as he attempts to overcome trenchant public opposition to the Narrabri Gas Project when he addresses the NSW Independent Planning Commission today. Mr Kitto, whose Resource Assessments branch has delivered a much criticised Assessment Report and Draft Conditions for the coal seam gas project, is expected to attempt to respond to a list of 13 key outstanding questions that were sent in writing to the DPIE on 22nd June.…continue reading →

Coal seam gas (CSG) poses a serious threat to clean air, clean water, a safe sustainable food supply and a stable climate, the determinants of good health. Methane, carbon dioxide, and waste water containing salts and naturally occurring heavy metals and other constituents of potential concern (COPCs) from the coal seam, are brought to the surface along with drilling fluids. Leaks, spills and disposal methods of this toxic waste are all problematic. These impacts are well-documented, as is the escalating research on the impacts on human health in Australia and abroad. Doctors for…continue reading →

Broken promises of the NSW Nationals Party bubbled to the surface during Parliamentary debates over the CSG Moratorium Bill. The bill passed in the NSW Legislative Council in early June, but was defeated in the Legislative Assembly after the ruling Liberal and National Party coalition withheld support of it. The Nationals have also gone to great lengths to stymie the Chief Scientist’s Recommendations on CSG, arguing that they were never intended to apply to the Narrabri Gas project, and were only intended if NSW had a full-blown CSG industry (from 7 mins). At…continue reading →