The Andrews Labor Government has been considering the findings and recommendations from the Parliamentary Inquiry into unconventional gas in Victoria, which received more than 1800 submissions.
I appreciate that there are significant concerns within the Victorian community about unconventional gas exploration and the extraction methods used.
As the new Minister for Resources, I take these issues seriously and therefore will take more time to meet with industry, farmers and other community representatives.
In the interim, the following measures will remain in place:
- a hold on granting new exploration licences for all types of onshore gas (tight, shale, coal seam and conventional gas)
- a hold on approvals for hydraulic fracturing
- a hold on exploration drilling activities
- a ban on the use of BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene) chemicals, which has been enshrined in legislation
The Government will respond to the Inquiry’s recommendations when Parliament resumes in August.
Reviewed 19 August 2020