This article was published at midnight in The Australian. I do...

This article was published at midnight in The Australian.  I do wonder why these articles are released at midnight and then seemingly get buried or disappear.  Why midnight when the audience is nil?

Share CSG pot with farmers, NSW told

• THE AUSTRALIAN
•       JUNE 25, 2014 12:00AM

Sid Maher
National Affairs Editor
Canberra

INDUSTRY Minister Ian Macfarlane says the NSW government should offer landholders a percentage of their gas royalties to provide an incentive to spur on more coal-seam gas developments in NSW.
Mr Macfarlane also flatly ruled out any chance of a domestic gas reservation policy being included in the forthcoming energy white paper.
Some businesses have demanded domestic gas reservation be considered as gas export operations contribute to a tight gas supply in NSW.
But Mr Macfarlane was emphatic. “In terms of gas reservation, read my lips: over my dead body,’’ he told a Committee for the Economic Development of Australia conference in Canberra. Mr Macfarlane said Queensland farmers received a share of the earnings from gas extracted from their properties that was higher than just compensation for inconvenience.
There were 4500 farmers in Queensland in partnership with CSG companies, $60 billion invested and 30,000 people working in the industry.
The NSW CSG industry has encountered significant resistance from farmers.
Export demand from facilities in Gladstone in Queensland, combined with a lack of new supply in NSW, is expected to push up prices of gas in the state.
“Part of the way to solve the issue is to incentivise those people who are inconvenienced by it,’’ Mr Macfarlane said.