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SA Labor’s coal gas policy backflipNOVEMBER 19, 2018
Labor wants a coal project that it supported while in government banned because it is offensive to the site’s traditional owners.A motion was passed at the ALP’s state conference in South Australia last month that called for the ban of underground coal gasification at Leigh Creek, 550km north of Adelaide, effectively making it party policy. The Greens hold the same position.Details of the policy change were leaked to The Australian after repeated requests since the convention for a copy of carried motions were ignored by Labor.The UCG process involves igniting coal seams before the synthetic gases are captured on the surface, helping create products such as aviation fuels.The motion moved by the Australian Services Union states that “South Australian Labor stands with the Adnyamathanha people and commits (Labor) to doing everything in our power to ban this dirty and dangerous technology”. It also warns of significant environmental risks and condemns the Liberal government, which came to power in March, for approving a three-month trial that had been three years in the making.While in government, Labor facilitated environmental studies and regulatory approvals for ASX-listed Leigh Creek Energy.“We have a very effective regulatory framework in South Australia and the merits of the Leigh Creek Energy project will be assessed against that framework, not a political decision in Queensland,” Labor’s then energy minister Tom Koutsantonis said in 2016.The Palaszczuk government banned UCG after Linc Energy contaminated its former site near Chinchilla on the Darling Downs, where one gasification well was known as “Mr Bubbles” because leaking gas bubbled to the surface. Linc was fined $4.5 million in May for causing serious environmental harm.South Australian Energy Minister Dan van Holst Pellekaan, whose vast Stuart electorate takes in Leigh Creek, told The Australian that the ALP motion was a concerning policy backflip.“Now that Labor is in opposition, they have chosen a dangerous path where they are deciding the fate of individual projects without expert advice,” he said.“Labor’s new resources policy approach is reckless and would do great harm to the industry and our state’s economy.”ASU campaigner Dan Spencer said fears for workers’ safety and opposition from traditional owners was behind the motion.“We support their right to say no to projects like this,” he said.“We’re really glad to see Labor adopt this as party policy.”The Adnyamathanha Traditional Land Association, backed by Lock the Gate and a range of Aboriginal groups, unsuccessfully tried to halt the trial via a Supreme Court injunction.“Together we are defending the rights of our people to access our birthplaces and burial grounds and to eat from the land without concern for contamination,” traditional owner Jillian Marsh said.Mr Koutsantonis, the leader of opposition business and the party’s mining and energy spokesman, said the motion was “just the party expressing its view” and any decision on UCG should be based on expert advice.