Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment says fracking can be done safely
November 27th, 2012 at 2:00 pm by David FarrarThe Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment has announced:
Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Dr Jan Wright released her interim report on fracking this afternoon.
The report, Evaluating the environmental impacts of fracking in New Zealand, concludes that fracking can be done safely if well managed but raises concerns about the rules and safeguards surrounding the practice in New Zealand.
“During the course of this investigation I have come to a similar conclusion to the Royal Society which is that fracking is safe if it is properly regulated and managed.
“However I have significant concerns about how fragmented and complicated the regulatory environment for fracking is and about how these rules are being applied.
“If fracking is not done well it can have significant environmental impacts including polluting water and triggering earthquakes.
“I am also concerned that regulation may be too light-handed, particularly if fracking opens the door to a large-scale and widespread oil and gas boom with a lot of different companies involved.
“These concerns form the basis of the next stage of my investigation into fracking which I hope to conclude before the middle of next year.”
If the Greens ever go on about evidence based policy again, then recall how they demanded this inquiry and despite the findings they are still calling for fracking to remain banned until it is “proven safe”. They did the same with genetic engineering.
I’m pleased to see the Commissioner (who has not been shy to seriously attack the Government when she thinks they have it wrong), come up with sensible conclusions, and her further work should be very useful in providing a regulatory regime for fracking to continue to be used in New Zealand – as it has for over 20 years already.
Related posts:
- Top UK scientists say fracking is safe
- A leftie reader writes in on fracking
- The fracking report
- Fracking inquiry
November 27th, 2012 at 2:07 pm
and from the report:
“There have been calls for a moratorium to be placed on fracking in New Zealand, but I do not think this is justified at present.”
Your response Greens?
Vote:November 27th, 2012 at 2:07 pm
Frack it, suck it, sell it.
Vote:November 27th, 2012 at 2:08 pm
Fracking sensible report.
Vote:November 27th, 2012 at 2:09 pm
And we can look forward to DPF and his government throwing their support behind Wright’s similarly evidence-based recommendation to leave the southern lignite in the ground?
Vote:November 27th, 2012 at 2:10 pm
But fracking hasn’t been “proven safe”!!!??!?!11!!
How can she do such a thing, when so many local bodies have rejected it based on mass hysteria and misinformation?
Vote:November 27th, 2012 at 2:10 pm
Gareth will be very annoyed when he gets off the plane.
Vote:November 27th, 2012 at 2:10 pm
“DPF and his government”
Congratulations DPF, I hear you’ve got a new job.
Vote:November 27th, 2012 at 2:13 pm
The parlimentary comissioner of the enviroment’s job is to comission the enviroment. One would expect her to lean against things that have enviormental risk, so no.
Vote:November 27th, 2012 at 2:15 pm
SO it can be done safely, but there needs to be more straightforward and tighter regulation than what we currently have.
It sounds like this report has something for just about everyone!
Vote:November 27th, 2012 at 2:17 pm
“And we can look forward to DPF and his government throwing their support behind Wright’s similarly evidence-based recommendation to leave the southern lignite in the ground?”
That conclusion was based on the unexamined acceptance of the global warming alarmism and the alleged effects of CO2. If the global warming theory is false then that conclusion must also be false.
The global warming theory has been comprehensively falsified, therefore the report’s objection no longer stands.
Vote:November 27th, 2012 at 2:20 pm
Thank god for common sense. Poor old pee wee “cry me a river” Gareth. He is going to be one pissed off little green elf.
Vote:November 27th, 2012 at 2:37 pm
However, the communist Luddites continue their campaign against our country.
Vote:http://news.msn.co.nz/nationalnews/8571057/fracking-moratorium-still-needed-greens
November 27th, 2012 at 2:41 pm
I bet no one saw this coming:
Vote:November 27th, 2012 at 2:56 pm
He’s a hysterical, yet predictable, wee chap.
Vote:November 27th, 2012 at 3:06 pm
Have the Greens proved that their party is safe?
Vote:November 27th, 2012 at 3:22 pm
rangitoto: quite. Actually I’m pretty sure they’ve proven themselves very dangerous indeed.
Vote:November 27th, 2012 at 3:30 pm
The Interim report, for people who actually want to read it for themselves instead of regurgitated versions or press releases, is located here:
http://www.pce.parliament.nz/assets/Uploads/Fracking-interim-web.pdf
From the introduction:
“The high-level conclusion from the work done to date in this investigation echoes,
Vote:and is broadly consistent with, the reviews of fracking that have been done
elsewhere in the world. That conclusion is that the environmental risks associated
with fracking can be managed effectively provided, to quote the United Kingdom
Royal Society, “operational best practices are implemented and enforced through
regulation”. But at this stage I cannot be confident that operational best practices
are actually being implemented and enforced in this country.”
November 27th, 2012 at 4:09 pm
Well this is the key, isn’t it…
Lack of regulation and oversight were major elements on the leaky homes and Pike River events
Vote:November 27th, 2012 at 5:35 pm
Peter: He’s actually not hysterical….but he is a very young man with very little life experience doing what Russel and Meteria tell him to…
Vote:November 27th, 2012 at 5:38 pm
Right up the Greenpeace NZ Branch
Vote:But they will never accept it anyway as they are so bigotted, and if contrary to what they say and think, can never be right anyway, so why waste your breath – Greenpeace are always right in everything.
Bloody frightening as they will have shared power after 2014.
But Labour had better do what they want, because both parties are power mad at any cost.
Bugger New Zealand’s future.
November 27th, 2012 at 5:52 pm
The Greenies wouldn’t even accept report that said crossing the road is safe.
But but but what about the precautionary principle? How can you prove you will never ever ever get injured or worse?
Vote:November 27th, 2012 at 6:35 pm
TVNZ1 News,the nation’s supposedly leading broadcaster has just shown the discredited ,tap on fire scene from the movie Gasland in relation to this parliamentary report.
Unbelievable.
Vote:November 27th, 2012 at 8:04 pm
The Commissioner is as fruity as a recently fed parrot.
And they were fracking without resource consent in Taranaki – fucking confidence inspiring, that, given the bullshit hoops you have to jump through to get a house built.
http://nowoccupy.blogspot.com/2012/11/parliamentary-commissioner-on-fracking.html
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