SE inquiry to highlight risks

More than 160 written submissions were received by the Natural Resources Committee - which will oversee the inquiry - with many concerned about proposed fracking in such a highly productive agricultural area.

On Tuesday and Wednesday last week in Millicent the committee - comprising seven MPs - heard face-to-face from eight of nearly 40 groups and individuals.

Among the concerns raised by advocates from industries including viticulture, farming, local government and agriculture included the potential risks from groundwater contamination to existing industries and communities.

NRC presiding member Steph Keys says the inquiry will have many "layers" before they decide on recommendations to take to parliament.

"We want people to feel they can have their say and provide a forum for that and we will need to get a whole host of people including geophysicists and hydrologists to tell us what they know," she said.

"We are not aware of any substantial proposal to frack in the SE, so we may be early in trying to intervene in an issue which has such sensitivity, but on the other hand we have been told people have been worried about the idea of fracking for a couple of years, and we know it will take time to hear from everyone."

Greens SA leader Mark Parnell, who moved the motion for the inquiry last year after community concern over two exploratory wells drilled by Beach Energy near Penola, was at the hearing.

He said documenting scientific evidence and community concerns were important.

"It has been an excellent opportunity for people in the SE to eyeball the politicians who will make the decisions about this issue, which will have a huge impact on their families and livelihoods," he said.

Mr Parnell said one of the biggest lessons came from the wine industry highlighting the need to protect the region's clean, green image.

"When people buy wine they look at the label first. If it is from the Coonawarra there is automatically an element of quality, but there is real fear this will change. If the Coonawarra and Limestone Coast become an industrial gas field it will affect their brand and market share," he said.

Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Tom Koutsantonis said the government's submission was an evidence-based response to the emotion and scaremongering that threatened to undermine oil and gas exploration in SA.

"Decades of experience in SA have shown fracture-stimulation can be carried out safely and without harm to social, natural or economic environments," he said.

"More than 750 petroleum wells have been fracture stimulated in the Cooper Basin in the Far North and more than 100 petroleum wells have been drilled in the Otway Basin in the SE. Again and again the outcomes have been demonstrably safe.

"SA is at the centre of a global energy revolution with record oil production and billions of dollars being spent in the search for oil and gas.

"Unlocking our unconventional gas potential offers great opportunities for investment and job creation in this state, particularly in our regional areas."