These issues in Qld will surely make the GLNG players see that...

These issues in Qld will surely make the GLNG players see that they need diversity of supply. At the moment significant community action makes them very vulnerable to a slight shift in political will or sentiment. I am not suggesting they might be shut down but I think that in all likelihood they will be slowed down. In these sorts of circumstances Governments look to compromises and in this case I suspect a whole lot more red tape is about to be thrown at the industry in Queensland.

All the better for ESG - especially if management can present ESG as the environmentally friendly face of the CSG industry.

A word of caution though. Just because the Pilliga is a State Forest does not make it controversy free. I worked with the Farmers and saw millers in the area opposing the Carr Government's Regional Forest Agreements. The Greens like to view most State Forests as future wilderness areas and they place high value on the Pilliga - even though it is mostly highly disturbed Cypress scrub it still contains Koalas and other protected species.

The Farmers should see reason (they are ethically aligned with us) - just as long as they dont succumb to the scare stories put out there by the Greens who will ship people in from other regions to say how awful it all is (we used to do that too!)

I would hope that ESG will get on the front foot and start building strong relationships with local land owners. Only by doing this will they be able to diffuse the propaganda from those who are opposed to any fossil fuel extraction.

Farmers are our natural allies but the behaviour of some of the Qld gas companies and SGC (which was abominable) has given the whole industry a bad rep.

As a start - John Anderson should be out there leading a charm offensive and the business should be open to very publicly answering questions from anyone who is concerned.