RetractionWatch.com reports – The authors of two environmental papers, including one about the effects of fracking on human health, have retracted them after discovering crucial mistakes. The ABC reports – Labor MPs call for ban on fracking in WA’s South West amid community concern – The ABC quotes some fair comments on fracking by retired geologist Peter Lane but hides them right at the end of the article.
‘Mr Salom said he was also concerned about farmers’ lack of veto rights to prevent gas companies from entering their properties.’
The usual story of landowners trying to obtain additional property rights. Financial self-interest dressed up as environmentalism. Which of course the media never reports.
Hardly anyone in Australia owns the rights to minerals under their land.
Yep!
& here in NSW there is nobody exploring for CSG thanks to the vandalism of the Lock the Gaters joint venture with the “Moleskin & Mercedes Chardi-Latte Set”.
One would have to wonder just how high electricity costs will spike if NSW heads down the same path as SA & needs top up generation from Gas Turbines.
The poll driven PC shrinking violets we have as state politicians need a taste of vigorous remedial tropical fruit therapy & some advisors who use calculators rather than slogans & fashionable FB slang.
The legal framework around Crown ownership of minerals is one of the pillars of our economic success – yet it is under attack and not just by the “lock the gate’ers”. In NSW Philip – oil & gas exploration has been recently banned or is moribund in large regions – and is only active in a minority of the State.
Through State Govt changes to regs or legislation since at least 2008 – culminating in recent court cases – exploration for coal, gold & copper etc now is for practical purposes near impossible over much of NSW if the farmer wants to oppose the explorer. This is despite NSW earning vastly more from minerals than agriculture. I try to follow these issues yet I have little idea why Govts embarked on this course of action or if they have any idea that it needs fixing now.
I hope that WA – and other States – maintains access for mineral explorers to explore for Crown minerals and does not start down this slippery slope of giving landowners more rope to strangle exploration access.
I think the WA Liberals are sensible enough to not give landowners additional rights in this area.
But who knows what an unholy alliance of Labor and the Nationals would get up to.
I remember years ago driving thru part of Los Angeles (Long Beach I think) and house after house in one street had a nodding donkey oil well in their backyard, as I assume each housing lot had rights to the minerals under the land.
Upto about 1979 landholders in some areas eg in Hunter Valley and north west of Lithgow had royalty rights to minerals particularly coal and out Bathurst/Cowra way to Limestone. Neville Wran stole the royalty rights by promising compensation based on discounted utilisation. Payments were delayed and the discount factor in many areas meant the owners got little or nothing. If landowners as in USA had royalty right there would be a boon on development. Now with laws, landowners can delay or put off exploration by crazy demands for compensation such as for fencing, roads, water supply, loss of income etc. After exploration miners have buy properties such as that sold by that crook Windsor for coal mining. In Qld Adani owns all the land where it proposes to mine.
The resources industry can live with the USA model where landowners can own minerals – or in the case of US Govt lands the Govt owns minerals – or as in Australia the Crown owns minerals. Industry fits in and adapts to all of these various legal circumstances. But what will inhibit mineral exploration is Govt changing the compliance framework as in NSW over a decade or so – so that now we have a defacto situation where landowners can block exploration access using a multitude of pretexts.