The full Gas Market Taskforce report has been provided to the Victorian Government and is being released for public comment.
It would be fantastic to get heaps of submissions in from members of Frack Free Geelong. Submissions are due by the end of March 2014.
“The Gas Market Taskforce, chaired by former Federal Minister Peter Reith, was established in January 2013 by Premier Ted Baillieu to examine gas supply issues. The release of this report demonstrates the Victorian Coalition Government’s commitment to full public consultation about how Victoria should address these important issues.
The Government will consider a wealth of information from a variety of sources in order to gain a full and comprehensive understanding of this issue before moving forward.
The Government received the final report on November 1, 2013 and will now consider its findings and respond in due course. The report will be one input the Government considers to build a comprehensive picture of the issues around gas policy.
The Government will consult widely on these issues and there will be future opportunities for community input.”
Noah Beecher Kelk wrote:
“Quit Coal is working on producing a fairly long and detailed one but if you don’t have time for that then don’t worry! I’ve put together a few dot points that you can use some or all of. The submissions only need to be a paragraph long, but they can be as long as you want! I have some more technical points that a few more knowledgable Quit Coalers put together so if you want to really sink your teeth into a response then email me back and I’ll pass them on.
The most important thing is that we want to make it clear to the government that WE DO NOT WANT THIS INDUSTRY.
So if you want to completely ignore my dot points that is totally fine, just speak from your heart about why you oppose the development of an onshore gas industry.
The link is here: www.energyandresources.vic.gov.au/about-us/publications/Gas-Market-Taskforce-report
NB: You must click on ‘Feedback’ at the bottom.
If anyone has questions or problems with the website etc., feel free to call me on 0403 274 103.
Yours,
Noah Beecher Kelk
Quit Coal”
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Report is heavily biased – why were there gas industry members on the supposedly impartial taskforce?
Report only addresses ‘how to make the industry most effective’ without first asking ‘should we have this industry’?
Affected communities need to be consulted – without their input, no report is adequate;
Ignores widespread community opposition and participatory democracy that has been organised at ground level;
Report ignores widespread complaints against fracking from Queensland and NSW, and overseas;
Report claims we need more gas for Victoria when there is more than enough coming from offshore wells, for example in the Bass Strait;
Report is a thinly veiled attempt to create an export industry to allow large corporations to increase their profit margin by selling to an overseas market instead of the cheaper domestic market;
Linking the domestic market with the overseas market will cause domestic prices to skyrocket. Peter Reith is aware of this and claims that destroying farmland with unconventional gas mining is the only way to offset this;
In fact there are many alternatives including storing gas for domestic use, finding alternative power sources such as renewable energy, and alternative chemical feedstocks such as biochar.
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Annoyingly there’s no ability to upload word documents/bigger submissions. Must use online submission form.
The link is here: www.energyandresources.vic.gov.au/about-us/publications/Gas-Market-Taskforce-report
NB: You must click on ‘Feedback’ at the bottom.