Over the recent months we have been bombarded with unfounded and, in many instances, exaggerated information on two subjects, climate change and now coal seam gas.
Both of these subjects have one thing in common; that is, the coal mining industry. The coal mining industry is contributing heavily to the change in the climate around the world and it will have to pay a heavy carbon tax and coal seam gas is threatening to reduce the coal mining industry’s monopoly on fuelling electricity power stations.
One of the fear mongering stories being pushed by the farming industry is perhaps the hardest to believe and that is that the CSG industry will ruin farming around Australia and will leave future Australians without sufficient food.
Australia has large areas of food producing land, particularly in our eastern states. The CSG industry is well aware of the possible danger to this land by their activities and are taking precautions to act responsibly, actually more so than Australia’s farming industry.
It would have to be admitted that, over the past two centuries, there have been in this country millions of acres of farming land lost from tree clearing, over-grazing and over-cropping, and the damage to the underground artesian water resources through sheer waste has been brought to public attention on more than one occasion.
At the present we are producing far more food in some of our best farming areas than Australians need. Most of this is exported overseas where it can be sold, bringing a bigger profit than can be obtained from Australians.
Coal seam gas is in abundance here in Australia; it is easy and safe to mine, very easy to transport and store and emits at least half of the carbon dioxide gas that coal does.
The coal mining Industry has had the power to keep itself in a very nice money making position for many years. We can’t allow greedy people to continue to feather their own nests while health and living conditions for the majority are run down.
Geoffrey H Gilmour, Stanthorpe
