If a fraction of the national potential to produce unconventional gas is realised, then Australia will benefit:
security of domestic and export gas supplies for decades to come;
supply-side competition for decades to come;
improved balance of trade and transport fuel security as Australia's supplants imports with gas-based transport fuel;
billions of dollars invested in environmentally sustainable projects;
thousands of jobs;
considerable royalties and tax for revenues public good; and,
world-class intellectual property that can be converted into export services and equipment.
Given these drivers, the SA State Government convened a Roundtable for Unconventional Gas Projects in October 2010. Participating in this roundtable are a total of 260 organisations plus individuals, including: peak representative bodies focused on economic, social, and natural environment outcomes; and, companies, universities, and key agencies from all state, NT, and commonwealth governments.
This roundtable informed a Roadmap for Unconventional Gas Projects in South Australia that was published in December 2012. The objectives of this roadmap are to credibly inform industry strategies, government policies, and public perceptions. In particular, this roadmap explains how people and enterprises potentially affected by unconventional gas operations are given information and time to draw considered views so their rights to object in part or full to activity—and location-specific land access—are supported. This will facilitate the efficient, profitable, and welcomed deployment of capital, technologies, and infrastructure for the commercialisation of unconventional gas. This extended abstract details the findings of this roadmap.
Patronage in the Financing of Social and Sustainable Projects
