Debate over coal seam gas
The controversial issue of coal seam gas extraction will be brought to the fore at the "Politics in the Pub" event in Newcastle tonight - featuring speakers from industry, environmental and community groups.
The environmental effects of the process have been called into question with several large coal seam gas projects planned for the Hunter Valley.
Ross Dunn from the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association says he plans to dispel the concerns by citing the success of several Queensland projects.
"Every single aspect of these projects have been examined in minute detail by the State and Federal Governments," he said.
"Environmental impacts including the regional impacts of water extraction and regional impacts on aquifers have been examined.
"Environmental approvals have been granted with certain conditions, but the aim of those safeguards is to further protect the aquifers, the environment and land holders rights."
Mr Dunn says the proposed gas wells in the Hunter Valley are positive for the region.
"This is an opportunity for us to put forward what we see as the good story on coal seam gas," he said.
"That it's an industry that does bring jobs, bring money and services and people back into rural communities.
"It produces a product which goes a long way to meeting our increased energy demand and does so with about half the greenhouse gas output that coal does."
But Warrick Jordan from the environmental group the Wilderness Society says there have already been some significant environmental mistakes made by the region's fledgling coal seam gas industry.
"In the Broke area we've seen large amounts of salt dumped into paddocks, that's been a real concern," he said.
"The Gloucester coal seam gas project we're looking at large amounts of salt being dumped into rivers and so on.
"So we're seeing a level of regulation that is entirely inadequate."
Mr Jordan does not believe the coal seam gas industry reduces greenhouse gas output.
"This is one of the big misconceptions that's put out there by the coal seam gas industry," he said.
"This is actually quite greenhouse gas intensive as a fuel, in a lot of circumstances you have a lot of emissions that actually escape from the wellhead before the gas is actually burnt.
"So you do end up with quite considerable emissions, not quite up to coal, but not far away."