The Wire

The NSW government is currently deciding how it should regulate the controversial Coal Seam Gas industry. Any further expansion of the industry has been put on hold by the O’Farrell government for sixty days, while it considers its options. Farmers and legal experts are urging the NSW government to steer clear of the approach used in Queensland, which is sometimes referred to as ‘adaptive management’. They say that under adaptive management, drilling for gas could cause irreparable damage to ground water systems before the law catches up.