MEDIA RELEASE – 29th September 2026
Experts, health professionals and gasfields residents will gather at a conference in Chinchilla to discuss the public health impacts of Queensland’s coal seam gas industry.
Northwest Protection Advocacy, Lock the Gate Alliance and Stand Up Tara announced today they will host the second Coal Seam Gas and Public Health Conference on November 4, bringing together leading researchers and health experts to discuss the health, wellbeing and psychosocial impacts of living near gasfield infrastructure.
The conference will follow a gasfield tour on 3 November, giving attendees an opportunity to see firsthand gas infrastructure in the Western Downs.
Lock the Gate Alliance Community Organiser Johanna Evans said: “There is a large body of peer-reviewed evidence that shows living near a gasfield can harm health, but the impacts have been notoriously underinvestigated in Queensland, despite the large scale of the gas industry.
“After 15 years of gas production in Queensland, there has still been no comprehensive, independent assessment of the health impacts of the industry on the local community.
“This conference is an opportunity for Western Downs residents to learn about the existing research and find tools to document health concerns and identify regulatory gaps.”
Tara resident Jo Taghipour, who lives near Origin Energy’s Ironbark gasfield said: “Origin Energy and Australia Pacific LNG (APLNG) wants to massively expand its operations by drilling another 1700 gas wells across Queensland.
“Some of those wells are right near Tara, meaning our communities could be living closer than ever to gasfield infrastructure. This conference will be an opportunity for us to come together, hear from experts and better understand the latest evidence about the health impacts of living near gasfields.”
Speakers at the conference include Professor Melissa Haswell, Dr Steven Burch, Dr Shay Dougall, Assoc Professor Ian Wright, Dr Louise Woodward, Mia Pepper and gas-impacted Western Downs locals.
Entry to the conference is free for Western Downs residents, and the gasfield tour is $10 per person. Registrations are open now.
PDF Conference Program here
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For media requests, please contact Lucy at lucy@lockthegate.org.au or 0426 936 683.