- Published:
- Monday 6 June 2016
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.