The Protect Country Alliance condemns the use of more public money by the gas loving Gunner Government to prop up the fracking industry in the Northern Territory, following reports $450,000 in taxpayer funds has been granted to the pro gas industry arm of the CSIRO, GISERA.
“Let me be clear, GISERA (Gas Industry Social and Environmental Research Alliance) is not an independent scientific body. Rather it is overseen by a collection of fracking executives who want to see gas wells pierce the Territory like a pin cushion,” PCA spokesman Jesse Hancock said.
“There is no hiding the fact that historically this CSIRO research arm has been heavily influenced and funded by the gas fracking industry. And now gas loving Gunner is allocating public money to keep GISERA going in the NT.
“We wouldn’t be accepting cigarette research from tobacco companies, so why are we accepting fracking research from the fracking industry?
“This is a totally unacceptable use of taxpayer funds. From Texas junkets to paying gas-linked researchers to tell us problems could be managed with Government-funded regulation - it's inappropriate that taxpayers are footing the bill at a time when money is tight in the Territory.
“The fracking industry has been proven to be financially unviable off the back of a full decade of losses in the United States. Gunner is throwing taxpayer cash at an industry that will do very little for our economy, and guzzle up and pollute precious water in the meantime.
“Protect Country Alliance calls on the NT Government to end the cash giveaways to the fracking industry, and to explicitly publish how much money has been spent on fracking related expenses since elected in 2016.”
Background on GISERA: http://www.tai.org.au/content/gisera-and-conflict-interest
