For those that couldnt follow the link... Here is the letter from Gus Elliott, posted to Katherine and NT Issues Willem Westra van Holthe As you know I have attempted to contact you on these matters long before today. I will admit however that I did eventually concede that I no longer had any desire to hear from you. That is primarily due to the fact that a substantial amount of time had passed without any response at all and it took a very matter of fact follow up email to solicit a reply and even then, it was from your assistant assuring me that I would receive a reply from you at some stage in the near future. By that stage your silence had answered many of my questions already. As you may have realised by now, generalisations and assurances without any evidence are just not going to cut it at this point. Whether people know you or not is irrelevant. By all accounts you seem like a nice guy…. Despite that, it is what you deliver to us in the form of real information that is relevant. We have a right to question you and we have a right to receive quantified answers to those questions. This is yet to occur and in all honesty, this is the major speed bump we are all facing. The generic categorisations need to stop ( i.e.: scaremongers, money grabbing governments etc. ) and the real information needs to start. By all accounts from what you are eluding to Willem, you are indeed the Minister with all that information. I have researched exhaustedly both sides of the fracking debate and I have gathered as much information as I can from anti fracking sites, pro fracking sites, government sites, scientific sites, petroleum sites, medical sites and several other sites in between. I have read impact studies, industry studies, forecasts, historical analysis, medical reports, seismic reports and a number of other informative reports. I have studied surface water maps, aquifer maps and other very valuable data available from Water Resources and other government sites. Still, there are pieces of what I consider crucial coalface issues that I cannot find answers for. Things such as; Industry accountability in the event of an incident involving water contamination, be it minor or major? Having the most relaxed water act in Australia seems to leave us very vulnerable to such a scenario. It’s extremely deficient as it stands and I would like to know what other robust policies are in place to protect us in this event. How is the consumption of our water resources to be managed when the petroleum industry is exempt from the water act by law? This is a major issue for several reasons. The consumption rates of a mature and developed unconventional gas industry has the potential to more than double our total water consumption here in the NT. Can our ground water sustain that? Particularly in the southern regions where the aquifers are already dropping and classified to have intergenerational sustainability only? They are not sufficiently replenished already and we are looking to extract even more… What is in place in order to keep the current policy of preserving 80% of our underground water resource for the environment and only 20% for consumption and industry? There can only be 2 options as far as I can see. The petroleum industry is set to use up a large portion of our 20% and the 80% for the environment is untouched or the petroleum industry is set to utilise some of that 80%..? More importantly, how do we even know when they are exempt and can use whatever amount of water they like, wherever they see fit to use it? Independent monitoring, inspecting and auditing is a major concern in my opinion. It is one thing to have strict policy and regulation ( which I don’t believe we currently have ) and it is another to police them. What resources do you have to monitor and inspect the tens of thousands of potential wells across a vast area? What frequency will these inspections and audits take place? Will you have the manpower to monitor the performance of the industry adequately? I have zero faith in a self-regulated oil and gas industry… And I am sure that I would not be the only one that would find reliance on such an arrangement unacceptable. I could go on but these are just some of the concerns I have. I would think that some of the other community members who have taken the time to educate themselves on the subject would have similar concerns… Nowhere amongst all this research have I found answers to the questions above ( plus many more ) nor have I found anything that gives me the confidence that you have. That leaves me to consider that there is one of two reasons for that. 1. You have access to crucial elements of this industry and the proposed control of this industry that I do not and therefore have sound basis for your confidence unlike myself, or; 2. Your confidence is much easier to satisfy than mine. There is a simple solution and I sincerely hope, for all our sake, that you consider it. That is, to join us and share some of this vital information that we need, to appease our concerns. Our questions are reasonable, rightful and important. There is no reason why, or no suggestion so far through the dialogue that I have seen, that you should be required to address anything unreasonable or unwarranted. I am sure that the many people concerned here would be more than happy to attend if you were to make a time that is suitable to your busy schedule. Those I have spoken with are prepared to make arrangements around work and other commitments to achieve this if need be. We could also arrange a venue if required.
Posted on: Mon, 12 May 2014 04:47:09 +0000
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