Qld CSG watchdog vows independence

The head of a new watchdog body that will oversee the coal seam gas (CSG) industry in Queensland has vowed independence, saying he won’t be a puppet of the “pro-mining” Liberal National Party (LNP) government.

John Cotter, the former boss of agricultural lobby group AgForce, says he will be “fearless and free from influence” in the role overseeing the government’s Gasfields Land and Water Commission.

Mr Cotter has said the Toowoomba-based body will balance the interests of landholders, environmentalists and industry.

It will be independent and have its own powers to ensure a level playing field, he told AAP newsagency.

“I’ll have a voice as I’ve had all my life in this game, fearless and free from influence, and the deputy premier Jeff Seeney expects me to be in that position,” Mr Cotter said.

“He knows that I won’t be sidelined or not be open or transparent.”

So far it hasn’t been all plain sailing for Mr Cotter whose appointment last week was dismissed by anti-CSG group Lock the Gate Alliance.

Its president Drew Hutton said the commission would be a “toothless tiger” under Mr Cotter after he’d failed to stand up to the government while at AgForce.

The anti-CSG protester reinforced his comments by saying Mr Seeney had appointed Mr Cotter to ensure the commission toed the government line.

“How much is this commission going to be politicised by a pro-mining government?” he asked.

“This appointment is a signal to the coal seam gas industry that this government has no intention of keeping them under strict control.”

However, Mr Cotter accused environmentalists like Mr Hutton of driving farmers out of business by pushing for strict regulations on them.

“I’ve spent three-quarters of my life dealing with issues that have been driven by the Drew Huttons of the world, trying to put farmers out of business,” he said.

“The audacity of him to stand up there and say he’s now a friend of the farmers.

“He would put farmers out of business tomorrow if it suited him, and I don’t cop that at all.”

Mr Cotter said the commission’s powers and responsibilities had not yet been established, but would be determined with the help of public feedback over the next month.

He said main areas of concern so far were ‘fracking’, the controversial process used to extract gas from coal seams, and the large amount of regulation imposed on the CSG industry.

The commission would review whether the regulations were necessary but would not hesitate to refer any company that broke the rules to be prosecuted, he said.

Applications are being sought for six other commissioners to help run the new body.