The only country not to prioritise local supply

Barry O'Farrell, Chris Hartcher and our Federal Government are scamming us.

We are against Coal Seam Gas mining fracking because of the risk of chemical contamination to our safe ground water supplies.

Telling us there is oversight of the permits Labor issued, and if there is a problem regulators will be all over it, is just rubbish.

I do not believe it is possible to fix destroyed aquifers and poisoned ground water after the damage has been done.

These are natural resources which farmers and home owners rely on to feed themselves and produce crops.

I know Chris Hartcher has let us down because I listened to him attracting voter support around the Cessnock, Wyong and Hunter regions telling anyone who would listen how, if elected, he would work to protect the wine industry, primary producers and horse studs.

You should resign, Hartcher.

Here are some parts of easy to access information lifted from DOMGAS Alliance report dated 2002.

At a time when manufacturing is facing significant challenges, competitively priced energy is one of the few advantages Australia has to offer and which government can help deliver.

This advantage is being lost overseas as major gas producers focus on maximising LNG exports to China, Japan and Korea.

Gas prices have risen sharply from $2.50 per gigajoule in Western Australia to $8/GJ, and from $3-4/GJ to $6/GJ in the East Coast.

Australia is the only country that allows international oil companies to access and export natural gas without prioritising local supply.

It is also the only gas exporting country experiencing serious gas shortages and sharply rising gas prices.

In the United States, domestic gas prices have fallen in recent years from $14/GJ to as low as $2.50/GJ (Henry Hub).

To secure this advantage, the US Government has conditioned approval of new LNG exports from the Sabine Pass on gas producers prioritising the local economy and ensuring affordable prices.

We are being run into a fiscal ditch by the very same people at Federal and state levels of Government whom we have given our votes to in trust.

Australians are not well represented

Email, 25 Feb 2013

Edward James, Umina