As a santos shareholder i am distressed to see santos destroy the company. Working with people and not against them will improve the profitabilty. Csg is destructive! It is not a good option. Think outside the box and look for environmental opportunities.

I care about the water table and what we drink. Santos should too.

Contamination of an aquifer with uranium caused by Santos' exploration of the Pilliga is only one reason the continued development by Santos of this area for gas must be halted for good. It is time for the government to accept that the people of Australia do not want this country destroyed by industrial concerns for the sake of fossil fuels.

The Narrabri gasfield poses a real risk to our two most precious water resources: the Great Artesian Basin and the Murray-Darling Basin.
The area of the Great Artesian Basin with the highest recharge rates is almost entirely contained within the Pilliga East forest.
In a worst-case scenario, the water removed for CSG extraction could reduce water pressure in the recharge areas--potentially stopping the free flow of waters to the surface at springs and bores across the whole Great Artesian Basin

I have always been opposed to CSG and the method of Fracking. I believe it to be a geologically unsound practice which will have wide and permanent negative impacts long into the future, especially in an Artesian basin.
I believe the practice should be banned altogether.
GS

1. The Narrabri Gas Project risks precious water sources, including the Great Artesian Basin--Australia's largest groundwater aquifer
The Narrabri gasfield poses a real risk to our two most precious water resources: the Great Artesian Basin and the Murray-Darling Basin. The area of the Great Artesian Basin with the highest recharge rates is almost entirely contained within the Pilliga East forest. In a worst-case scenario, the water removed for CSG extraction could reduce water pressure in the recharge areas--potentially stopping the free flow of waters to the surface at springs and bores across the whole Great Artesian Basin.¹

Creeks in the Pilliga run into the Namoi River--a part of the Murray Darling Basin. This system is vulnerable to contamination from drilling fluid spills and the salty treated water produced from the proposed 850 wells.

2. The Gamilaraay Traditional Custodians are opposed
There are hundreds of cultural sites as well as songlines and stories connecting the Gamilaraay to the forest and to the groundwater beneath. Gamilaraay people are deeply involved in the battle against CSG, and have told Santos they do not want their country sacrificed for a coal seam gas field.

3. Farmers and other local community reject the project
Extensive community surveys have shown an average of 96% opposition to CSG. This stretches across a massive 3.2 million hectares of country surrounding the Pilliga forest, including 99 communities. Hundreds of farmers have participated in protest actions unlike any previously seen in the region.

4. The Narrabri Gas Project has a long history of spills and leaks of toxic CSG water--Santos cannot be trusted to manage the project safely
Santos has already contaminated a freshwater aquifer in the Pilliga with uranium at levels 20 times higher than safe drinking water guidelines, as well as lead, aluminium, arsenic and barium². In addition, there have been over 20 reported spills and leaks of toxic CSG water from storage ponds, pipes and well heads. Santos cannot be trusted.

5. The Pilliga is a haven for threatened wildlife
The Pilliga is one of 15 nationally listed `biodiversity hotspots' and is vital to the survival of threatened species like the Koala, Spotted-tailed Quoll, Black-striped Wallaby, Eastern Pygmy-possum, Pilliga Mouse and South-eastern Long-eared Bat. The forest is home to over 200 bird species and is internationally recognised as an Important Bird Area². The Santos gasfield would fragment 95,000 hectares of the Pilliga with well pads, roads, and water and gas pipelines--damaging vital habitat and threatening the survival of endangered species.

6. Coal seam gas fuels dangerous climate change
Methane is by far the major component of natural gas, and is a greenhouse gas 72 times more powerful than CO2. CSG fields contribute to climate change through the leakage of methane during the production, transport, processing and use of coal seam gas.

7. Human health is compromised by coal seam gas
A range of hydrocarbons and volatile organic compounds can be released into the air from coal seam gas operations, including flaring of gas wells. The effects of volatile organic compounds vary, but can cause eye, nose and airway irritation, headache, nausea, dizziness and loss of coordination⁴. These impacts have been documented in human populations nearby to existing gasfields in Queensland, Sydney and in America.

8. The nation's premier optical astronomical observatory is at risk
The Siding Springs Observatory, situated in the Warrumbungles and adjacent to the Pilliga, is under threat from the Narrabri Gas Project due to light and dust pollution⁵. The area has been internationally recognised as a `dark sky park'⁶ and the 50m high gas flares proposed by Santos threaten the viability of the facility.

9. Thousands of tonnes of salt waste will result from the project
Santos has no solution for disposing of the hundreds of thousands of tonnes of salt that will be produced. Between 17,000 and 42,000 tonnes of salt waste would be produced each year. This industry would leave a toxic legacy in NSW.

10. Risk of fires would increase throughout the Pilliga's tinder-box conditions
Methane flare stacks up to 50m high would be running day and night, even on total fire ban days. The Pilliga is prone to severe bushfires. The project would increase ignition sources as well as extracting, transporting and storing a highly flammable gas right within this extremely fire-prone forest.


¹SoilFutures Consulting 2014, Great Artesian Basin Recharge Systems and Extent of Petroleum and Gas Leases. http://www.gabpg.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/GAB-Report1.pdf
²http://www.smh.com.au/environment/santos-coal-seam-gas-project-contaminates-aquifer-20140307-34csb.html
³BirdLife International (2017) Important Bird Areas factsheet: Pilliga http://www.birdlife.org
⁴Marion Carey Doctors for the Environment Australia (DEA), Air pollution from coal seam gas may put public health at risk The Conversation, November 20, 2012
⁵https://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/oct/21/siding-spring-observatory-threat-coal-seam-gas-light-pollution
⁶http://darksky.org/first-dark-sky-park-in-australia-designated/

I have visited the Pilliga and the Siding Springs observatory. The bases for my objection to this project include the following:

1. The Narrabri Gas Project risks precious water sources, including the Great Artesian Basin--Australia's largest groundwater aquifer
Santos cannot guarantee to not damage our two most precious water resources: the Great Artesian Basin and the Murray-Darling Basin. The area of the Great Artesian Basin with the highest recharge rates is almost entirely contained within the Pilliga East forest. In a worst-case scenario, the water removed for CSG extraction could potentially stop the free flow of waters to the surface at springs and bores across the whole Great Artesian Basin.

Creeks in the Pilliga run into the Namoi River--a part of the Murray Darling Basin. This system is vulnerable to contamination from drilling fluid spills and the salty treated water produced from the proposed 850 wells.

2. Thousands of tonnes of salt waste will result from the project
Santos has offered no solution for how they intend to dispose of the hundreds of thousands of tonnes of salt that will be produced. This industry would leave a toxic legacy in NSW.

3. Risk of fires would increase throughout the Pilliga's tinder-box conditions
Santos cannot guarantee how they will safely extract, store and transport a highly flammable gas right within this extremely fire-prone forest. Methane flare stacks up to 50m high would be running day and night, even on total fire ban days. The Pilliga is prone to severe bushfires.

4. Farmers and other local community reject the project
Santos cannot even convince the local community of the benefits of the gaswells. Extensive community surveys have shown less than 5% community support for CSG. This stretches across a massive 3.2 million hectares of country surrounding the Pilliga forest, including 99 communities. Hundreds of farmers have participated in protest actions unlike any previously seen in the region.

5. The Gamilaraay Traditional Custodians are opposed
Santos has shown no respect for the views of the traditional landowners. There are hundreds of cultural sites as well as songlines and stories connecting the Gamilaraay to the forest and to the groundwater beneath. Gamilaraay people are deeply involved in the battle against CSG, and have told Santos they do not want their country sacrificed for a coal seam gas field.

6. The Pilliga is a haven for threatened wildlife
Santos offers no viable plan to safeguard the biodiversity of the Pilliga. The Pilliga is one of 15 nationally listed `biodiversity hotspots' and is vital to the survival of threatened species like the Koala, Spotted-tailed Quoll, Black-striped Wallaby, Eastern Pygmy-possum, Pilliga Mouse and South-eastern Long-eared Bat. The forest is home to over 200 bird species and is internationally recognised as an Important Bird Area. The Santos gasfield would fragment 95,000 hectares of the Pilliga with well pads, roads, and water and gas pipelines--damaging vital habitat and threatening the survival of endangered species.

7. Coal seam gas fuels dangerous climate change
Santos is happy to ignore the effects this project will have on climate change. Methane is by far the major component of natural gas, and is a greenhouse gas many times more powerful than CO2. CSG fields contribute to climate change through the leakage of methane during the production, transport, processing and use of coal seam gas.

8. Human health is compromised by coal seam gas
Santos is happy to ignore the effects this project will have on human health. A range of hydrocarbons and volatile organic compounds can be released into the air from coal seam gas operations, including flaring of gas wells. The effects of volatile organic compounds vary, but can cause eye, nose and airway irritation, headache, nausea, dizziness and loss of coordination. These impacts have been documented in human populations nearby to existing gasfields in Queensland, Sydney and in America.

9. The nation's premier optical astronomical observatory is at risk
The Siding Springs Observatory, situated in the Warrumbungles and adjacent to the Pilliga, is under threat from the Narrabri Gas Project due to light and dust pollution. The area has been internationally recognised as a `dark sky park' and the 50m high gas flares proposed by Santos threaten the viability of the facility.

10. The Narrabri Gas Project has a long history of spills and leaks of toxic CSG water.
Santos cannot be trusted to manage the project safely. Santos has already contaminated a freshwater aquifer in the Pilliga with uranium at levels 20 times higher than safe drinking water guidelines, as well as lead, aluminium, arsenic and barium. In addition, there have been over 20 reported spills and leaks of toxic CSG water from storage ponds, pipes and well heads.

I have visited the Pilliga and the Siding Springs observatory. The bases for my objection to this project include the following:

1. The Narrabri Gas Project risks precious water sources, including the Great Artesian Basin--Australia's largest groundwater aquifer
Santos cannot guarantee to not damage our two most precious water resources: the Great Artesian Basin and the Murray-Darling Basin. The area of the Great Artesian Basin with the highest recharge rates is almost entirely contained within the Pilliga East forest. In a worst-case scenario, the water removed for CSG extraction could potentially stop the free flow of waters to the surface at springs and bores across the whole Great Artesian Basin.

Creeks in the Pilliga run into the Namoi River--a part of the Murray Darling Basin. This system is vulnerable to contamination from drilling fluid spills and the salty treated water produced from the proposed 850 wells.

2. Thousands of tonnes of salt waste will result from the project
Santos has offered no solution for how they intend to dispose of the hundreds of thousands of tonnes of salt that will be produced. This industry would leave a toxic legacy in NSW.

3. Risk of fires would increase throughout the Pilliga's tinder-box conditions
Santos cannot guarantee how they will safely extract, store and transport a highly flammable gas right within this extremely fire-prone forest. Methane flare stacks up to 50m high would be running day and night, even on total fire ban days. The Pilliga is prone to severe bushfires.

4. Farmers and other local community reject the project
Santos cannot even convince the local community of the benefits of the gaswells. Extensive community surveys have shown less than 5% community support for CSG. This stretches across a massive 3.2 million hectares of country surrounding the Pilliga forest, including 99 communities. Hundreds of farmers have participated in protest actions unlike any previously seen in the region.

5. The Gamilaraay Traditional Custodians are opposed
Santos has shown no respect for the views of the traditional landowners. There are hundreds of cultural sites as well as songlines and stories connecting the Gamilaraay to the forest and to the groundwater beneath. Gamilaraay people are deeply involved in the battle against CSG, and have told Santos they do not want their country sacrificed for a coal seam gas field.

6. The Pilliga is a haven for threatened wildlife
Santos offers no viable plan to safeguard the biodiversity of the Pilliga. The Pilliga is one of 15 nationally listed `biodiversity hotspots' and is vital to the survival of threatened species like the Koala, Spotted-tailed Quoll, Black-striped Wallaby, Eastern Pygmy-possum, Pilliga Mouse and South-eastern Long-eared Bat. The forest is home to over 200 bird species and is internationally recognised as an Important Bird Area. The Santos gasfield would fragment 95,000 hectares of the Pilliga with well pads, roads, and water and gas pipelines--damaging vital habitat and threatening the survival of endangered species.

7. Coal seam gas fuels dangerous climate change
Santos is happy to ignore the effects this project will have on climate change. Methane is by far the major component of natural gas, and is a greenhouse gas many times more powerful than CO2. CSG fields contribute to climate change through the leakage of methane during the production, transport, processing and use of coal seam gas.

8. Human health is compromised by coal seam gas
Santos is happy to ignore the effects this project will have on human health. A range of hydrocarbons and volatile organic compounds can be released into the air from coal seam gas operations, including flaring of gas wells. The effects of volatile organic compounds vary, but can cause eye, nose and airway irritation, headache, nausea, dizziness and loss of coordination. These impacts have been documented in human populations nearby to existing gasfields in Queensland, Sydney and in America.

9. The nation's premier optical astronomical observatory is at risk
The Siding Springs Observatory, situated in the Warrumbungles and adjacent to the Pilliga, is under threat from the Narrabri Gas Project due to light and dust pollution. The area has been internationally recognised as a `dark sky park' and the 50m high gas flares proposed by Santos threaten the viability of the facility.

10. The Narrabri Gas Project has a long history of spills and leaks of toxic CSG water.
Santos cannot be trusted to manage the project safely. Santos has already contaminated a freshwater aquifer in the Pilliga with uranium at levels 20 times higher than safe drinking water guidelines, as well as lead, aluminium, arsenic and barium. In addition, there have been over 20 reported spills and leaks of toxic CSG water from storage ponds, pipes and well heads.

I am appalled at OUR Government's lack of understanding of the devastating effects that the proposed gas field would have, not only on the Pilliga region, but the precious Great Artesian Basin as a whole!
All for the lure of the Almighty dollar that has been waived under Parliamentarian noses by an unscrupulous company that has demonstrated no social concern at all for consequences of their proposed environmental vandalism.
About time this government VETOES, once & for all, all such proposals!
If our so called elected leaders could demonstrate any social caliber they would take a salary & perks cut to bolster the coffers that WE have put at their disposal.

I am against this project for many reasons.

- this project will destroy the Pilliga forest
- it compromises the Great Artesian Basin and is a huge risk for all the people who depend on it for their farm water
- it seriously risks the future of Australia meeting our obligations under the Paris Climate Agreement
- it will not do anything to help Australia's energy security.

I object to any further drilling for gas in Australia because our water must be protected from pollution as it is needed for our farming community to provide food for all Australians.

Furthermore there is a global oversupply of gas and the big multinationals dont care as they have signed contracts to supply what they don't have. They keep on drilling for more whilst not paying anything for what they are taking due to stupidity or corruption in government. They are also driving up the price of domestic gas.

So further gas wells should be stopped to protect the environment and the people of Australia.