“A moratorium on all onshore gas activities is not good for investment or for energy supplies in Victoria,” said Australian Pipelines and Gas Association (APGA) Chief Executive Cheryl Cartwright.
Ms Cartwright was responding to the announcement by Victoria’s Energy Minister, The Hon Lily D’Ambrosio, on the Andrews Government’s new inquiry into onshore gas development.
“The independent scientific reviews already conducted have shown that, with appropriate safety measures and regulation, Coal Seam Gas (CSG) extraction can be achieved safely and efficiently, and provide benefits to local communities,” said Ms Cartwright.
“Water from CSG developments is treated and available for use by landholders, improving the value of their operations and landholders are paid by the gas companies for the use of their land.
“Furthermore, natural gas has half the emissions of coal-fired power and that’s what we should be using as the back-up fuel for renewable energy generation and as the transitional fuel as the nation moves towards increased renewable energy.
“Policies that halt development of natural gas condemn Victorians to using electricity generated by high carbon emitting coal-fired power.
“This outcome is generating twice as much carbon emissions as gas-fired power, clearly not the aim of the switch to renewable energy.
“We encourage the Government’s latest review to fully consider the independent science on CSG development and also consider the carbon emissions consequences of ignoring the benefits of natural gas.”
