Energy Body Supports Repeal of South Australia’s Fracking Ban

Australian Energy Producers has lauded a decision by the South Australian government to lift a decade-long fracking ban in the south east of the state, saying it will put downward pressure on prices and boost business and manufacturing.

But the practice of fracking has long drawn opposition from environmental advocates who argue it results in contamination of land.

Hydraulic fracking is a method used to extract oil or gas from rocks deep underground. Generally, the process involves drilling and pumping high-pressure water, sand or chemicals into the rock, which then generates small fractures that allow resources to be extracted.

In 2018, the then Liberal state government under Steven Marshall introduced a 10-year moratorium on fracking across South Australia’s Limestone Coast region, covering Mount Gambier—about 430 kilometres southeast of Adelaide—and surrounding council areas.

That same year, then Opposition Leader Peter Malinauskas, who would later become premier—a position he still holds—said Labor would “listen to the people” on the issue.

Marshall’s decision at the time was criticised by then federal energy minister Josh Frydenberg, who said a ban on fracking in the region would increase electricity prices.

Australian Energy Producers CEO Samantha McCulloch said the current government’s announcement overturning the ban was “pragmatic and necessary.”

“At a time when energy security is has never been more important, the South Australian government is rightly focused on enabling investment and supporting gas exploration and development so that South Australian’s continue to have access to reliable and affordable energy,” she said in a statement.

On May 14, Malinauskas told radio station FIVEAA that the new legislation to be passed in coming days did not authorise fracking, but opened an avenue for it.

“It removes the ban on it,” he said.

“It provides the ability for mining companies to be able to do the requisite exploration, the scientific study, to work out whether or not there is an economic resource there and then go through the process to get the approvals to be able to extract it in conjunction with engagement with local landowners.

“It’s no different to what we’ve done in copper mining, iron ore mining, gold mining, in other parts of the state. But for some reason, the Marshall Liberal government … for what I think were entirely political reasons … instituted a ban on this practice over a specific geographical area to appease a local community.”

Lock the Gate, an environmental and community action group, told The Epoch Times that a survey carried out in 2018 found that 95 percent of residents did not want fracking carried out in the region.

The group maintains that fracking causes contamination of land and large amounts of toxic wastewater.

“Premier Malinauskas is now breaking the commitment, abandoning the state government’s promise to protect precious groundwater and fertile farmland from the environmentally disastrous impacts of fracking,” the group said.

“We’re seeing a dangerous trend of political leaders in Australia responding to the global energy crisis by worsening Australia’s dependence on expensive, volatile and polluting energy sources like gas.

“Communities want clean, affordable energy–not extractive gas projects destroying their backyards for multinational profits.”

The Epoch Times has contacted shadow energy spokesman Ben Hood for comment.