Category Archives: Coal seam gas

Labor’s proposed changes to water trigger laws could have ‘centuries-long consequences’, environment groups say

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Decisions about coal mining and unconventional gas where water resources are affected could be made by states and territories under proposal

Environment groups have criticised a proposed change by the Albanese government to national environmental laws, saying it puts “precious water resources at risk” and could have “centuries-long consequences”.

The proposal would allow states and territories to make decisions about coal mining and unconventional gas where water resources are affected. Currently the federal government has the final say on such projects under the so-called “water trigger”.

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Toowoomba council votes for moratorium on coal seam gas projects

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Council becomes sixth in Queensland to oppose development of new wells after farmer concerns about sinking soil and water contamination

The largest council in Queensland’s Darling Downs region has called on the state government to put a moratorium on new coal seam gas projects, after local farmers raised concerns about subsidence.

The Toowoomba regional council on Tuesday unanimously passed the motion that requested a temporary prohibition, after discussing a submission to the state government’s proposed amendments to the Regional Planning Interests Act.

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Coal seam gas waste plan risks washing ‘5m tonnes of salt into the Murray-Darling Basin’

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Critics say a proposal to dispose of salt from waste brine by burying it in lined landfill is ‘not a long-term solution’

Local landholders and advocacy groups in southern Queensland have criticised the state government’s plans to store millions of tonnes of coal seam gas waste in lined landfills, saying it risks contaminating the Murray-Darlin Basin.

They have also questioned the integrity of the government’s long-awaited waste management action plan for coal seam gas brine, saying it relies on research from oil and gas lobby group the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association (Appea) and the University of Queensland Centre for Natural Gas, whose donors include Arrow Energy, Australia Pacific LNGand Santos.

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Teal independents join farmers in Liverpool Plains to oppose Santos gas development

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Sydney-based MPs Kylea Tink and Sophie Scamps meet locals fighting coal seam gas project and Hunter pipeline

City-based teal independents have crossed the great dividing range to support Pilliga and Liverpool Plains farmers and traditional owners fighting a Santos coal seam gas project and the accompanying Hunter gas pipeline.

North Sydney MP Kylea Tink, who grew up in Coonabarabran on the edge of the Pilliga, returned to NSW’s north-western slopes on Wednesday with fellow independent Sophie Scamps to hear the concerns on local landholders.

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Queensland government acknowledges subsidence caused by CSG could affect farmland

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Farmers in the Darling Downs say even minuscule changes to the flat black soil plains could disrupt soil drainage and farming methods

A Queensland government technical study has acknowledged for the first time that subsidence caused by coal seam gas drilling could have potential consequences for farmers in the fertile Darling Downs.

Relationships between some farmers and CSG companies have become strained in the past few years, amid claims that one company, Arrow Energy, drilled diagonally beneath farmland without notifying landholders.

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Coal seam gas company Arrow Energy fined $1m for breaching Queensland’s land access rules

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Investigation began after discovery of ‘deviated’ wells drilled from neighbouring properties

The Queensland government has fined coal seam gas company Arrow Energy $1m for breaches of land access rules over four years, after an investigation into allegations the company drilled diagonally beneath farmland without notifying the landholders.

The fine is among the most significant non-compliance penalties ever issued to a resources company in Queensland. Groups that have raised concerns against the rapid spread of the coal seam gas wells in Queensland’s farming communities say the penalty is a “small start”, but that landholders’ rights to object to gas drilling must now be strengthened.

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What burns beneath: the deadly threat of underground coal fires to children in Zimbabwe

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Alisha was eight when she died after being badly burned near a coal mine in Hwange. Families who live in fear of the ground opening up under their children’s feet say more must be done


Alisha Muzvite was out playing when she was caught short and went behind a bush to go to the toilet. But as the eight-year-old crouched down, the ground beneath her shifted, pulling her into one of the underground fires which burn all around her home in Hwange in north-west Zimbabwe.

An aunt pulled her to safety, but Alisha’s legs were so badly burned that they had to be amputated. More than a month after the accident, the little girl died of her injuries.

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