Fracking Ban for Region of South Australia Passes Lower House

The Australian Petroleum and Exploration Association (Appea) has condemned the South Australian government’s move to pass through the lower house a bill which would see hydraulic fracturing in the state’s South East banned.

“It is disappointing to see the state government align with the Greens and an opportunistic Independent by changing its position on a legislated moratorium,” Appea’s South Australian director Matt Doman said September 5.

The moratorium, which is in South Australia’s Limestone Coast region, is to be for ten years. It still needs to pass the state’s upper house.

The bill was put forward by Mt Gambier independent MP Troy Bell, who is a former member of the centre-right Liberal Party. The Liberal Party, which is currently in power in South Australia, had initially opposed a moratorium.

“Just weeks ago, the Marshall Liberal Government sensibly rejected a Greens bill seeking to lock the moratorium into legislation,” Doman said. “The backflip comes just as political leaders elsewhere are highlighting the need to secure new gas supplies and attacking unscientific bans in other states,” he said.

He said that while there are no companies with any plans to use fracking in the South East, the “political posturing” suggests the method threatens the environment and undermines confidence in the industry, putting further investment in the state’s gas industry at risk.

Bell said the passing of the bill in the lower house is a big win for the South East, particularly farmers concerned about fracking in the region. “I personally want to thank Premier Steven Marshall for showing outstanding leadership and a strong commitment to the people of the South East,” he said.