The Malinauskas Government will introduce legislation to remove the current moratorium on hydraulic fracture stimulation in the South East, ensuring potential future gas resources are not unnecessarily ruled out at a time when South Australia and the broader east coast face increasing pressure on domestic gas supply.
The Energy Resources (Regulated Activities) Amendment Bill will be introduced into State Parliament next week.
Hydraulic fracture stimulation is currently permitted everywhere in South Australia, except for the South East, which is subject to a legislated moratorium put in place by the former Marshall Liberal Government.
The Australian Energy Market Operator has forecast increasing risks to gas supply in southern Australia from 2029, with additional supply required in many scenarios from 2030.
By acting now, the Government will allow any future proposals in the South East to begin the planning, technical studies and baseline environmental work needed to support regulatory assessment.
No hydraulic fracture stimulation activity is being approved as part of this decision.
Any future proposal would still need to undergo detailed environmental assessment, mandatory public consultation and formal regulatory approval under South Australia's strict environmental and regulatory framework.
South Australia has a long and successful history of safely regulating hydraulic fracture stimulation. More than 1,300 wells have been fracture stimulated since 1969 in the Cooper Basin without impact on aquifers.
Independent scientific research has also strengthened the evidence base. Through the South Australian Government's partnership with CSIRO's Gas Industry Social and Environmental Research Alliance (GISERA), extensive research has been undertaken in the Limestone Coast region examining groundwater systems, environmental impacts, and social and economic considerations.
This work, together with findings from parliamentary inquiries in South Australia and the Northern Territory, supports the conclusion that hydraulic fracture stimulation in deep geological formations, when properly managed and regulated, is unlikely to pose significant risks to groundwater.
Removing the moratorium now will allow potential sources of domestic gas in the South-East to be explored and, if proven, developed to provide gas for a range of uses in South Australia, such as manufacturing or gas-powered generation.
The Government recognises that community views on this issue are diverse and that many people have strong concerns, particularly about groundwater and the protection of existing industries such as agriculture and viticulture.
To support informed discussion, the State Government will undertake a community engagement program across the South East.
The Malinauskas Labor Government has led the nation in securing energy supplies for domestic consumption, securing a long-term domestic gas supply agreement with Santos in February, ensuring gas currently sold overseas will instead be used in South Australia and help underpin the transformation of the Whyalla Steelworks.
The South Australian Strategic Gas Reserve will see Santos supply 20 petajoules of gas each year for 10 years from 2030 – the equivalent of a third of the state's entire annual gas usage across the residential, commercial and industrial sectors.
This strategic reserve will be managed through a newly created SA Gas and Water Trust.
As put by Peter Malinauskas
It is my firm view that science and economics should dictate energy policy, not politics.
For this reason, we take seriously multiple examinations, including from the CSIRO that the most appropriate form of energy in this country is renewable energy backed up by gas.
Gas also has an incredibly important role in the decarbonisation of industry, hence my government's investment in a Strategic Gas Reserve.
The Iran fuel crisis is giving all Australians a window into what happens when we fail to take our energy security and sovereignty seriously.
It was a folly by the former Government to lock up a potential future gas supply in one part of our state, while continuing to allow fracture stimulation everywhere else.
We are acting now so that potential gas opportunities in the South East can be properly assessed under some of the strictest environmental and regulatory safeguards in the country.
This decision does not approve fracking. It removes a blanket ban and ensures that any future proposal must meet rigorous scientific, environmental and community scrutiny.
Groundwater protection is non-negotiable. If those standards cannot be met, the project will not proceed.
As put by Tom Koutsantonis
We have committed to consider all options to ensure South Australia retains ready access to gas supplies.
We have signed the South Australian Strategic Gas Reserve agreement and are implementing the Firm Energy Reliability Mechanism and South Australian Gas Initiative.
But it is no longer appropriate to pursue all these options while our gas potential remains limited by a long-term decision taken by the former Marshall Liberal Government for purely political reasons.
The Liberals have been most vocal about the need to unlock new gas potential and safeguard energy security – they must now join the Malinauskas Government in a bipartisan effort to do just that.
