response to the australian article..., page-9

psi81
you may have missed this post by another poster from "Daily Reckoning", I will repost for you to comment on:
--We chased up the reporter in the story to see where the quote came from. She produced a Microsoft Word document provided to her by a media spokesperson in the Department of Mines and Energy. The document compiles the various positions from the multiple government parties involved in the whole process.

--Under a section titled "Advice from the Office of the Minister for Mines and Energy," it reads:

"The Department of Mines and Energy has no intention of granting production tenures for underground coal gasification for at least three years. Underground coal gasification is a new technology, untried in Australian conditions, and it poses some potential problems, especially with groundwater systems. We will only do what's best for Queensland. In this case, we don't believe it's in the best interests of Queensland to grant production tenures for technology that is untried. It would have to meet the most stringent environmental standards."

--To our knowledge, this is the first time the Department has made any of those views public, if indeed those are the views of the Department. We phoned them up to verify the documents authenticity, and to determine whether "Advice" meant a tentative position or a policy position. So far, our call hasn't been returned. We'll report back tomorrow when we know more.

Some Govt. response would clarify the situation.
Thanks Jahar