Victoria set to ban fracking

Australia

MELBOURNE, August 30, 2016 – The Australian state of Victoria’s Labor government intends to introduce legislation to enforce a permanent ban on shale and coal seam gas fracking before the end of the year, the state entity announced today. The move will make the fracking ban in place in Victoria since 2012 permanent.

The state’s government also plans to implement a moratorium on conventional onshore gas drilling until 2020 while it evaluates the risk and benefits of such operations. Environmental groups and farmers worry that both conventional and unconventional onshore drilling could deplete or contaminate Victoria’s groundwater reserves.

This move comes three days after the election of a pro-ban Labor government in the country’s Northern Territory.
A large part of Queensland and New South Wales’ gas is produced from coal seam sources, at a time when domestic supply is becoming an issue following the commissioning of large LNG export terminals over recent years in the country.