The Winchelsea Star 20 Nov 2013 - Vol.36, Ed.41 | Page 9

Wednesday, 20th November, 2013

The Winchelsea Star

9

Greens bid to make fracking moratorium
permanent continues in Victorian Parliament

A Greens bid to make the moratorium on
fracking in Victoria permanent remains
unresolved, with the Nationals and Labor
both divided on the issue and the vote put
off until late November.

moratorium is not based on legislation or
policy but simply on the government’s
own decision, and we know that the
government is seriously looking at lifting
it.

exploration areas were granted both on the
eastern side of the Otways and almost up
to the doorstep of Geelong and also west
of the Otways through the Port Campbell
and Timboon area.

In a debate witnessed by forty farmers
and their supporters from the Gippsland
region, Mr Barber told Parliament: “With
this motion I invite members of the Labor
and Liberal parties and The Nationals to
put a stop to the devastating impacts we
have seen from widespread gas extraction
in other states. This is a phenomenon we
are about to see popping up very soon here
in Victoria.

“When that happens there will be a
number of exploration permits in place
under both the Petroleum Act 1998 and
mining legislation. In other states the
focus has been on coal seam gas, but here
in Victoria we have a number of other
proposals in the area of tight gas and shale
gas, and these all fall under the general
heading of ‘unconventional gas’.

“With this motion I am inviting the Labor
and Liberal parties, and The Nationals
as well if they like, to explain to the
community either their preferred approach
to the regulation of what will soon be a
widespread activity or alternatively to join
the Greens and lock the gate not just on
the property of one individual farmer who
might seek those rights but to lock the gate
on the state of Victoria and make a rapid
transition from gas as a source of energy
supply to renewable energy sources.”

“The government has in place a shortterm moratorium on gas fracking. That

“Just today we released some information
on two planned gas exploration operations
in western Victoria. Some large

BLOCK BUSTER

Tanks For The Memories - Part 1
Sam’s next adventure sees him
organizing a car accident where he
is both in control of the car and a
pedestrian at the same time. Block
Buster, when will you learn?
We’d been having water problems for a
little while. Nothing serious - dripping
taps, blocked filters, mild discolouration.
I thought… I’ll get to that, one day.
In a seemingly unrelated matter, I had
decided the vines and shrubs overgrowing
our 20 year old galvanized iron tanks
needed a prune. As I cleared and cut a
rather large hole unveiled itself where
the limbs of bushes had been resting on
the once-metal roof of the tank and I
found myself staring into it. As my eyes
adjusted, the reason for the discolouration
and blocked filters became apparent.
Sure, there was the high level of leaf litter
and sunken compost one might expect to
gather over a 20 year period. But, is that
a…? And is that another…? “Oh dear,” I
muttered to myself, “Don’t tell Audrey.”
You see, it’s been a long hot summer
down our way and it seems this has been
the trigger for local possum families to
enjoy our two tanks as swimming pools.
And with the hole as an accommodating

entry point, why wouldn’t they?

Anyhoo, I made a net on a pole and began
the gruesome task of extracting the bodies.
The floaters were easy pickings as decay
was less advanced. The sinkers, however,
quickly turned to possum juice.
After ordering the new tanks and setting
up a temporary drinking water regime
from another tank, I began planning the
draining and extraction of the offenders.
When finally the day came to put my plan
into action, I was confident all was ready
and the plan itself was sound. (There was
even a sub-plan to re-use the old tanks as
vegetable gardens. Genius!)
With the rope wrapped around the base
of the tank and attached to the tractor, I
eased the great machine forward to gently
take the strain. Then some more strain.
And a little more. And SNAP! Bugger! I
doubled the rope around the tank and tried
again. SNAP! Double bugger! Tripled
it. SNAP! By then I had moved beyond
bugger. As the steam cleared from around
my head, it became obvious a new plan
was required.
After some head scratching and camomile
tea I got back in the saddle. This time the
steel cable on the winch of the Landcruiser
was wrapped around the first tank. With

myself, horses, dogs and the donkey
watching the tank intently, I pressed the
button rewinding the winch. The squeak
of metal on metal startled the animals
initially but their curiosity overwhelmed
them soon after and back they trotted for
a gawk. I imagined their conversation,
“How’s he gonna stuff it up this time?”
The winch slowly took the strain. Metal
ground metal. The dogs sought cover.
The horses persisted. I pressed the
button rewinding the winch some more
expecting at any moment to see the tank
lurch forward. A few more depressions.
Nothing. A few more. Still nothing. With
my tension level equal to that of the cable,
I pressed the button one more time all the
while wondering how heavy can an empty
tank be?
Watching the tank closely for any sign
of movement, I pressed the button again.
And that’s when it hit me – the car, from
behind. I hadn’t been moving the tank
because I had been pulling the Landcruiser
toward me.
As if to claim he had won a bet, the
donkey brayed.