Unconventional Gas Projects

Mr ODENWALDER (Little Para) (14:26): Thank you, sir. My question is to the Minister for Mineral Resources and Energy. Can the minister inform the house of the outcomes of an inquiry into hydraulic fracking conducted by Western Australia and the relevance of any of its findings to South Australia?

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens—Treasurer, Minister for Finance, Minister for State Development, Minister for Mineral Resources and Energy, Minister for Small Business) (14:27): I thank the member for his question and his keen interest in developing our natural resources of this state.

Mr GARDNER: Point of order: under 97, the question asks for the minister to provide advice to the house about the findings of a report which is publicly available.

The SPEAKER: I guess it is a question of ready availability. Earlier this week, I was invited by the member for Schubert to rule out an answer on the basis that some of the material was in the member for the federal division of Hume's website, which is rather like saying there is a reference to it in chapter 3 of the Second Book of Chronicles.

Mr GARDNER: Sir, if we are talking about something that has been published by a parliament of this country, then clearly, if that is to mean anything, it would apply here.

The SPEAKER: I think it is a question about a report of another jurisdiction and the minister is being asked to precis it. On that basis, I rule the question in. Minister.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Thank you very much, sir. The Standing Committee on Environment and Public Affairs of the Western Australian Legislative Council this week tabled its report on hydraulic fracturing or unconventional gas, and I am looking at the member for Mount Gambier directly. The findings of this inquiry will be of the greatest interest to the people of this state where the energy revolution in the Cooper Basin offers great opportunity for the future of jobs and investment in this state.

After two years of gathering and considering evidence, the parliamentary inquiry in Western Australia did indeed find there is significant community concern about the risks associated with hydraulic fracturing, but at the same time the inquiry found that there is a level of misinformation present in the public domain that can cause confusion and mistrust. Quite frankly, it was in response to this high level of misinformation that I launched this year's 'The facts about natural gas and fracture stimulation in South Australia'. By arming people with the facts, we can address this confusion and continue to build trust, particularly trust of our world-class regulators.

After weighing up the extent of misinformation and mistrust against the abundance of scientific evidence, the committee in Western Australia came to the view that many of the concerns expressed by the community in relation to the impact of hydraulic fracturing can be addressed through robust regulation and ongoing monitoring. Importantly for South Australia, where water is a major concern amongst the rural community, the committee also found that the likelihood of hydraulic fractures intersecting underground aquifers is negligible.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Negligible, Mr Speaker. The Western Australian findings mirror the recommendations earlier this year of the independent inquiry conducted in the Northern Territory by respected public servant Dr Allan Hawke. Dr Hawke found there is no justification whatsoever for the imposition of a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing in the Northern Territory—

Mr Bell interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Mount Gambier is called to order.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: —and that the environmental risks associated with hydraulic fracturing can be managed effectively, subject to the creation of a robust regulatory regime. The Western Australian inquiry has provided 51 findings and 12 recommendations seeking to strengthen the state's existing regulatory safeguards.

In South Australia, I am confident we have the world's best regulation for our oil and gas industry, despite what the opposition say about them. But, I am equally confident that our world's best regulators, working in the Department of State Development, will also be looking at the Western Australian findings and bringing any observations to me for consideration.

I am aware that the parliament's Natural Resources Committee here in South Australia has handed down an interim report into its inquiry into the use of hydraulic fracture stimulation to produce gas in the South-East of South Australia. I think it is fair to say this is not an inquiry that I thought was necessary, but after the Greens and the Liberals teamed together to impose this inquiry on the committee, it has seen considerable damage to the bipartisan support this industry used to receive. Having said that, the committee has informed the parliament that it will hand down its final report midway through 2016, and I await its findings.