The Palaszczuk Government’s decision to funnel dirty and water-guzzling unconventional gas from a drought-parched region into Cleanco is an example of political doublespeak, according to Lock the Gate Alliance.
LTGA spokesperson Ellie Smith said Cleanco should not be tied up with dirty polluting gasfields.
Cleanco describes itself as ‘Queensland’s newest publicly owned clean energy company’, with a purpose to ‘contribute to improved security and reliability of Queensland’s electricity supply and support new investment and jobs in the renewable energy sector in regional Queensland’.
“It may come as a surprise to the Palaszczuk Government, but unconventional coal seam gas is not a renewable energy source,” Ms Smith said.
“Methane leakage produced as a byproduct of the unconventional gas industry is a major driver of global heating - methane is up to 30 times more potent as a heat trapping gas than carbon dioxide.
“Gas is a polluting fuel which is causing farmers to lose water bores and driving up energy prices in Australia.
“It is even more galling that the Palaszczuk Government would try to celebrate this deal at a time when farmers near the gasfield in the Wandoan area are struggling with an unprecedented drought,” she said.
The announcement comes after Queensland’s Office of Groundwater Impact Assessment’s Underground Water Impact Report revealed massive drawdown of water bores across the Surat Basin as a result of CSG activities.
“Alarmingly, the Office of Groundwater Impact has confirmed that 127 bores have already been drained by CSG activities in the Western Downs, and a total of 571 bores are expected to be impacted over coming years,” Ms Smith said.
“As this destructive drought marches on, and bushfires burn out of control, the Palaszczuk Government will make the situation worse with their short-sighted gas push.”