Hypocrisy

Lismore mayor Jenny Dowell and Tweed mayor Barry Longland have been long term anti gas. That, it would seem, makes them both hypocrites in the true sense of the word. Why is this you ask?

Almost all of the gas coming into Brisbane is now CSG, as can be expected with the massive ramp up of CSG activity across the state of QLD, brought about by the major export projects and a supportive QLD government. However, it is not all a one way street/pipeline. There is a gas line that comes off the Brisbane system around Browns Plains, cuts through through the Gold Coast and then crosses the Tweed River, culminating in a maze of high pressure pipeline in the Tweed head, Tweed Heads South and Banora Point regions. The heartland of Barry Longland and the Tweed Shire.

During the protest against the Rosella well Mr Longland said "We have a strong position in the Tweed that is anti-CSG," "Given (the Rosella mine test well) is a Northern Rivers activity, any exposure to CSG is a worry for our residents and I am representing them."

Not only was the Rosella well not targetting CSG, but Mr Longland is quite happy to have kilometre after kilometre of high pressure pipeline in his shire, underpinning the viability of businesses and his shire as a whole. That seems like a pretty big exposure to CSG to me.

For decades Lismore has had a reticulated gas pipeline system. As recently as January 2013 the council entered into a 15 year contract (with two ten year options)for Elgas to lease the gas depot at Lismore and therefore continue use of the pipeline system to supply local business. Yet, Lismore has a mayor who is anti gas and is doing everything in her power to stop Casino and the Richmond Valley from having the same. Surely what is good for the goose is good for the gander?

Maybe the truth can be found in a statement from local councilor Isaac Smith in 2012:

"Lismore is the capital of the northern rivers and needs to stay that way. For development to be sustainable it must be close to services, so Lismore is the only place in our region where we can grow the urban population and keep the environmental and social impacts contained."

From this statement it is clear that economic growth in the Casino/RV area is not something that Cr Smith wishes to see.

This is also in line with the Labor party that Cr Smith and Mayor Dowell belong to.

On Sunday, delegates at the Labour party's state conference backed a motion to make the state's north coast a coal seam gas free zone. This is the same Labor party who issued the licenses in the first instance.

The ramifications of this decision were not lost on ex federal resources minister Martin Ferguson who stated that:

“it appears NSW Labor has forgotten who it is supposed to represent"
“A Labor Party hellbent on chasing green votes in Nimbin and Lismore will do nothing to further the interests of the working families of western Sydney, Newcastle, or the central coast.
“Industry analysis suggests it will be western Sydney’s large gas users and manufacturers, who will be the first — and the hardest — to be hit. The Labor heartland of this state has every right to feel abandoned,’’

These thoughts are in line with the findings of a recent paper commissioned by the Australian Food & Grocery Council, Australian Industry Group, Australian Aluminium Council, Australian Steel Institute, Australian Energy Users Association and the Plastics and Chemicals Industry Association. The report by Deloitte Access Economics on gas prices and availability, highlighted the costs to the economy ($118 billion over the next seven years) and employment (14,600 manufacturing jobs to be lost) if a supply of readily available cheaply priced gas is not maintained. In addition the paper rejected the assertion of gas reservation as a genuine policy .

It is clear that the only way for Australia to address a gas shortage is to provide more gas or dictate where the gas goes.

Unfortunately for NSW it has no control over where the gas goes, as it currently only produces 5% of the gas used within the state. It is effectively a hostage to its laissez-faire approach to gas exploration, production and development.
It would seem that the only way for NSW to ensure a supply of readily available cheaply priced gas is to produce more. Yet, we have Santos writing down Narrabri by 600 million, AGL hamstrung and Metgasco cast aside like a rag doll by government too worried about polls and not worried enough about the future of the state.

Where is the gas going to come from? The Cooper basin is not an option for cheap gas as any existing contracts will head north to tap into the Gladstone export market. Bass Strait is not an option as pipeline capacity is not sufficient. The future is grim unless the government takes action to help NSW explorers and producers deliver indigenous supply to NSW.

The strongest regulations in the world are present. The government is at near unbackable odds to maintain its position in March. It is time to ignore the hypocrites, man up and get on with what needs to be done.