Queensland Government Backs CSG Industry

Queensland government has thrown its support behind the coal seam gas industry but admitted its social licence to operate had been threatened and it had struggled to win community confidence.

Courier Mail quoted Deputy Premier Jeff Seeney as saying that it was no secret the whole industry struggled and because of that there had been a loss of confidence.

Seeney lauded Santos, claiming it was a "great corporate citizen" and everything it did was done well, the report said.

"You can't help but be impressed by the professionalism of the operations that Santos runs," he said.

"I think we are generally the industry and the government winning that battle of minds to win back community support," he said at the opening of the Santos $12 million hi-tech operations centre in Brisbane.

He said the CSG industry had so far boosted the Queensland economy by $6.5 billion.

"The figure clearly shows the LNG proponents are working to ensure they provide local businesses fair and reasonable access to opportunities arising from their developments," he said.