Anti-fracking movement gaining steam in Mid West

Communities and towns across WA's Mid West are declaring themselves 'gasfield-free', as public opposition to the emerging unconventional gas industry grows. Residents are worried about the potential impact of fracking - a drilling technique - on their water supplies, but the oil and gas industry says those concerns are misplaced.

[We] are the only people that can stop it and we're having a heck of a battle against these big multinational companies.

Lives in Jurien Bay

Is a member of the Jurien Action Group, which hopes to declare the town "frack-free" once a survey of residents is completed

"No-one that I've spoken to, and some of them are very qualified geologists, can tell me what's going to happen to that ground that they drill in 30 years' time.

"What's going to happen to all the filthy sludge water? These are the things that you don't see in the glossy brochures."

[Lock the Gate] come into communities, they hold meetings, they show movies which are designed to scare people, they paint a picture that ... the oil and gas industry ... is going to industrialise the landscape, it's going to destroy the environment and they've got no choice but to put up signs to stop it happening.

Peak body for oil and gas exploration and production in Australia

Fracking has been safely used in WA in the conventional gas industry

Lock the Gate is running a scare campaign

"To the extent that this campaign by Lock the Gate and others has scared people, it's because there's been an information vacuum. Yes, the industry does need to do a better job at engaging the community, listening to concerns, demonstrating to them that the operating practices and the regulatory controls that apply to the industry can ensure that the environment and water can be protected and jobs, contracts and perhaps an extension of the Dongara gas plant in the region can be delivered and those are the things that will have a benefit.

"What's being unrolled in WA is a formula that Lock the Gate ... has developed in New South Wales and is using around the state. They come into communities, they hold meetings, they show movies which are designed to scare people, they paint a picture that ... the oil and gas industry ... is going to industrialise the landscape, it's going to destroy the environment and they've got no choice but to put up signs to stop it happening.

"Now that's a lie, that's not what's likely to happen in Western Australia and it's certainly not the experience of what's happened in Queensland, where Lock the Gate started but now virtually ceases to exist."

It's the people that make these choices and in that way it's not Lock the Gate. We're all under one banner saying 'no, we don't want it'.

One of three campaigners appointed in WA

Began in the eastern states in opposition to the coal seam gas industry, now getting a sizable foothold in Mid West

Opposes fracking due to potential environmental impacts

"In this area, in Irwin, it has been ... quite difficult because they live in a conventional gas field already, so it took some time for them to actually start researching and seeing that there is a difference [between conventional and unconventional gas]. In saying that, they've had a group that's been active in Dongara for over two years.

"It's the people that make these choices and in that way it's not Lock the Gate, it's the people and they're working under one banner, that's what it comes down to. We're all under one banner saying 'no, we don't want it'.

"If regulation is the key, we need regulators, and that's something we don't have and something that Lock the Gate has been calling out for. Where are the people that are supposed to be regulating this? We're not getting them."

[We have] strong regulation systems in Western Australia, probably the strongest in the world, and [companies] have to comply with those regulations, they have to get environmental approvals.

"If we can get [shale gas] from around the Dongara area, which already has infrastructure in place, that'll provide hopefully some security for Western Australia and the domestic gas market.

"Shale gas is about three kilometres below their land, their pasture, and there's at least two kilometres between where the gas is coming and the water table.

"[We have] strong regulation systems in Western Australia, probably the strongest in the world, and [companies] have to comply with those regulations, they have to get environmental approvals.

"[In decades] of hydraulic fracturing, there's been no contamination of water and indeed the actual hydraulic fluid is safe enough to drink."

I believe that if we were to go down that path of actually adopting a policy in regard to trying to halt fracking, then we would be raising community expectations above a level that we could deliver at.

Shire remains neutral on fracking, in contrast to other Mid West shires

Conventional oil and gas industry is a key part of Dongara's economy

Local government does not have any power to prevent shale gas fracking (falls under state legislation)

"I believe that if we were to go down that path of actually adopting a policy in regard to trying to halt fracking, then we would be raising community expectations above a level that we could deliver at, and I believe that that's unfair for us to profess to be able to do something that we can't.

"I guess the difference between us and neighbouring shires that have adopted a policy is the fact ... that we've also got to be mindful of the amount of our community that are actually employed within the industry, and because of our long association within the industry, we believe that we're in a unique situation to actually come out on one side or the other would not be allowing both sides to express their point of view.

"At the moment, there's three shires that have chosen not to adopt a position, or any policy, and two shires that have, and ironically the two shires that have [adopted an anti-fracking position] don't have any existing and have had no previous history in the gas and oil industry.

"Having had family and still have family working within the industry that I believe that it's a fairly highly regulated industry now, more so than it was in the earlier days, and I believe the level of risk is minimal.

"Much of the data that's being used to promote the anti-lobby, if you like, has been derived from the coal seam gas industry and I believe that is not relevant."

I think the worst thing that anyone can do that's got any concerns about fracking is to sit back and do nothing now. We have to be proactive rather than reactive.

Mango farmer whose property adjoins a farm bought by oil and gas company AWE

Concerned about potential impact of fracking on underground water (farm depends on aquifers)

Supports the Lock the Gate movement

"I think the worst thing that anyone can do that's got any concerns about fracking is to sit back and do nothing now. We have to be proactive rather than reactive.

"They [the industry] will never reassure me ... because I just believe they're playing around with something they shouldn't be. I liken it to a can of coke - you shake it up and you know pressure is in that can, you put a pinhole in it and the pressure's out and that's exactly what will happen one day.

"I've had a lot of people ask me, 'have you seen any problems from fracking?' Well, that's the last question I ever want to answer yes to, because when that happens, it's too late."

Western Australia needs to have long-term gas security and the Perth Basin, both in the conventional gas and the unconventional gas, offers that security.

Company has fracked three wells in the Perth basin exploring for shale gas

Last year, AWE claimed to have found the largest reserve of onshore gas in WA since the 1960s

Does not plan to drill any horizontal wells at this stage (further testing required)

"We're confident about what we're doing and we believe that with good information, good decisions will be made but yes, we need to make sure we keep engaging with the communities, and we've done that with the Coorow shire and we've done that around Dongara, and as a company we will continue to do that.

"I think the Perth Basin has a real role to play in the domestic market in Western Australia, and it will be a very valuable role.

"Western Australia needs to have long-term gas security and the Perth Basin, both in the conventional gas and the unconventional gas, offers that security."

The chemicals from fracking could make their way into our water supply. It may take years, it may take months, nobody knows. And it may never occur. But we can't take that risk.

Green Head just completed survey to declare itself 'frack-free', with more than 96 per cent of residents in favour

Gasfield-free declaration by Central Greenough; Irwin and Leeman communities set to follow

"They all say the risk is really, really small. I'll accept that. But why can't, if it's so small, why can't they guarantee just that small area, that should something go wrong we are covered for our water?

"The chemicals from fracking could make their way into our water supply. It may take years, it may take months, nobody knows. And it may never occur. But we can't take that risk."





Topics: oil-and-gas, community-and-society, wa