VICTORIA’s peak farmer lobby is calling for the current moratorium on the exploration and extraction of gas to be extended until at least 2020.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) made the call in Melbourne on Wednesday to a state parliamentary inquiry into onshore gas mining.
The VFF will also broaden the debate about onshore gas mining when speakers address a member forum in Warrnambool on August 19.
VFF land management committee chairman Gerald Leach said its members’ greatest fear was that onshore gas developments could put at risk the state’s precious groundwater reserves.
“We ran an onshore gas survey that showed 47 per cent of VFF respondents identified water as their key concern in regard to the impacts of onshore gas extraction. The fact is we don’t know enough about our groundwater reserves, their profiles, recharge processes and interactivity to know what impacts onshore gas drilling would have on our water,” Mr Leach said.
In 2010 the Victorian Auditor General’s Office (VAGO) found: “Data gaps and the uncertainty about groundwater quality mean that DSE (the former Department of Sustainability and Environment) and water corporations cannot effectively monitor, plan and manage Victoria’s groundwater resources”.
“In addition to State Observation Bore Network coverage, the condition of bores is also problematic. Around 55 per cent of groundwater management units have key bores that are at risk of failure, in part due to their age”.
Mr Leach said more research needed to be done to understand groundwater access at greater depths
The VFF’s submission to the inquiry calls for farmers to be given the right of veto on the extraction of onshore gas and mining on their land and to receive appropriate commercial payments for all mining and petroleum developments on their land. It also seeks a stronger regulatory framework to protect land and water. VFF members wanting to register for the August 19 forum should contact Emily Waters on 1300 882 833 or email ewaters@vff.org.au