North Coast Voices looks back on this day for the last three years......

On this day last year North Coast Voices was commenting on…….

*  the fact that the Liberal Party rank and file were beginning to detest Tony Abbott:

Letter to the Editor in The Sydney Morning Herald on 24 December 2014:

Tony Abbott will never learn. His harsh and inhumane policies on refugees, young people, the unemployed and so on have already (and deservedly) earned him acute unpopularity. Now he appoints his henchman Morrison to apply his blowtorch to all social welfare recipients.

One thing he can be sure of – he heads a one-term government. The untrustworthy Bill Shorten, of all people, is destined to become our next prime minister by absolute default.

Having once been NSW and federal president of the Liberal  Party I have to say shame on you Abbott, Morrison and Hockey. You three may get your just desserts. But in the process you will have dumped on the entire Liberal Party community.

John Valder 

Bayview

* assertions that there was a greatest area of need for people with a disability left unmet by Australian Minister for Social Services Scott Morrision:

Greatest area of need for people with disability left unmet by Government’ said Matthew Wright, Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Federation of Disability Organisations (AFDO) and spokesperson for the disability peaks.

Responding to claims in The Australian newspaper by Minister for Social Services, Scott Morrison that the new peaks funding ‘supports the area of greatest need’, Matthew Wright said “The department has cut or not provided funding to the highest population groups of people with disability in Australia’.

Both the NDIS quarterly report and Disability Support Pension (DSP) statistics show consistently that intellectual disability, autism (also the fastest growing disability), mental illness and physical disability are the four most prevalent types of disability.

‘All of these groups including the National Council on Intellectual Disability, Autism Aspergers Advocacy Australia (A4), and Physical Disability Australia have not been funded as part of this process’…..

This day two years ago the comments were about…….

* Senator Bernardi's book reviews:

It seems the masses are not exactly queueing up to purchase Senator Bernadi's book. 

Perhaps reviews like those below explain why.

Dorothy Parker wrote:
This is not a novel to be tossed aside lightly. It should be thrown with great force. Will be a welcome addition to any bookstore's remainder bin. 

The thoughts of Joshua MacLennan:
 From the front bench to the back bench, they're funny, they're thick, they are the Liberals! One man's lonely fight against everything since the Enlightenment. Lurching from one piece of buffoonery to another, Corey proves yet again he is not fit for the 21st century. So shrill you can hear the lump of coal in his butt being converted to a diamond…..

* Tony Abbott’s sense of entitlement & taste in rugs:

On 8 January 2014 News Ltd informed the world that the Prime Minister’s official Sydney residence Kirribilli House was getting a taxpayer-funded $12,915 family room rug from Milgate interior designs.

Now the only floor coverings carried by Milgate appear to be of either English or French design, materials and manufacture.

If the Abbott family’s taste in carpets matches its political sense of entitlement, one wonders what the family room will look like.

Perhaps something to match his plans for a $250 million VIP jet?

This day three years ago when…….

* Margot Kingston went three rounds with The Government Gazette

Margot Kingston 8 January 2013:

* Coal seam gas explorer Metgasco Limited’s shares were in free fall:

Coal seam gas exploration and production company Metgasco Limited’s unwanted intrusion into the NSW Northern Rivers region sees its ordinary share price, as traded on the Australian Stock Exchange, continue its decline…..

While I was away........

After a prolonged absence from blogging due to illness, here is a little catchup from the period July to December 2015.

* NSW Premier and Liberal MP for Manly Mike Baird puts "lipstick on a pig" by calling for an increase in the Goods & Service Tax (GST) to 15 per cent. 

* The community consultation dialogue between ratepayers and Clarence Valley Council over proposed consecutive rate rises every year for the next five years remained as colourful as ever:

______________

* One of Australia’s most influential women, former Federal Labor MP for Page Janelle Saffin announced she will be standing against sitting Nationals MP Kevin Hogan at the 2016 federal election. [Echo Netdaily, 23 September 2015]

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* Clarence Valley Council changed its logo to:

And not everyone was happy.               

        _______________

* Coal seam gas company Metgasco Limited finally bowed to people power and walked away from its exploration leases on the NSW North Coast with a state government compensation cheque totaling $25 million in its back pocket:

http://www.asx.com.au/asxpdf/20151204/pdf/433l1v4zvxvk8v.pdf

http://search.asx.com.au/s/search.html?query=mel&collection=asx-meta&profile=web

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* The NSW Nationals used Twitter to take credit for Metgasco’s capitulation – which saw a predictable response:

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* The strength of NSW gun laws was demonstrated to a retiree living on Palmer's Island in the Clarence Valley:

Full decision at https://www.caselaw.nsw.gov.au/decision/567386b1e4b05f2c4f04a307.

_______________

* On 17 December 2015 The Daily Examiner published an article titled The 600 major companies that paid less tax than you, but neglected to tell its readers that it was owned by one of these very same companies, APN NEWS & MEDIA  LTD, which had an income of $310.3 million in the 2013-14 financial year.  A total of $21.2 million of this was considered taxable income, yet this company had no tax payable listed for that financial year.

http://data.gov.au/dataset/c2524c87-cea4-4636-acac-599a82048a26/resource/237d7ede-3a63-4b9b-9434-2f79b9d70ce8/download/2013-14-Corporate-Report-of-Entity-Tax-Information.xlsx

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* That one-time darling of the Liberal-Nationals federal government, Kathy Jackson, got her comeuppance:

The disgraced union leader declared bankruptcy in June, on the opening day of HSU Federal Court proceedings which resulted in her being ordered to pay $1.4m to the union as compensation for up to $2.5m misappropriated from members while she was its national secretary between 2008 and February this year.

But her discharge from bankruptcy will only remain in place for three years, meaning the HSU may be able to continue to recoup some of the money she owes after that time.

On Tuesday, Ms Jackson's bill increased by $997,349, when judge Richard Tracey ordered she pay $554,215.67 in interest, $356,500 in legal costs and $86,633.81 in appeal costs.

Brisbane-based commercial barrister Gavin Handran, listed in the most recent Doyles Guide as one of Australia's leading insolvency and reconstruction junior counsels, said Ms Jackson solicited bankruptcy too early.

"The order for costs, circa $350,000, made by Justice Tracey on 21 December is not a debt provable in her bankruptcy even though it relates to a damages award made before bankruptcy," Mr Handran said. "The HSU may accordingly enforce that order against her, perhaps resulting in her again becoming bankrupt or surrendering any assets she acquires in the interim, after her current bankruptcy ends." Mr Handran said the law applied differently to interest and costs. "She might be safe with the interest," he said.

"I suspect what Kathy Jackson did, like so many in her troubled circumstances, was that she ran off on first day and filed for bankruptcy. That was premature.

"It's particularly important for the HSU workers to understand that she's not out of the woods. The sword still hangs over her head." "Not only does she face the real prospect of re-entering bankruptcy after she emerges from this period, but there's also the possibility that the HSU, depending on a cost-benefit analysis, may examine her under oath in the Federal Court, with the assistance of the bankruptcy trustee, to ascertain whether she's transferred any assets to a third party or (her partner, Michael) Lawler." HSU national secretary Chris Brown said the union was "alive to the possibility" of Ms Jackson facing a second round of bankruptcy, or interrogation over the transfer of assets. The union was still determining how it would approach the matter. [The Australian, 24 December 2015, p.5]

                                                                 _______________

* NSW Coalition Premier Mike Baird thought his ability to waste $500,000 of taxpayers' money deserved a tweet or two:

Go to http://www.stonersloth.com.au/ to see the Australian version of Reefer Madness that Baird signed off on.

_______________

There were 222 industrial disputes in Australia during the year ended September 2015, involving 78,000 individuals in a workforce of est. 11.7 million people. The majority of these ‘strikes’ appear to have lasted 2 days or less.

This low level of disputes does not please former prime minister Tony Abbott who, living in a time long past, argued in December 2015 for a tougher approach to breaking up illegal union pickets, saying police forces “around our country” had to be prepared to “uphold the law and not simply keep the peace … A lot of police forces have been traditionally reluctant to break picket lines where picket lines have been preventing people from going about their ordinary lawful business”.

                                                                  _______________

* Royal Commissioner Dyson Heydon delivered his discredited final report on union governance and corruption to the Australian Governor-General on 28 December. The full report can be found at: https://www.tradeunionroyalcommission.gov.au/reports/Pages/default.aspx.

It came as no surprise that Dyson Mr.Apprehended Bias 2015 Heydon decided that Kathy Jackson was really a hero who just happened to embezzle over $1.4 million dollars:

_______________

* The independent Q&A Review Final Report released in December 2015 appears to have discovered that this ABC program is skewed in favour of the government of the day:

Conservative flying monkeys dropped from Australian skies in shock.

_______________

* WorkChoices Mark 2 appears to be forming on the horizon ahead of this year’s federal election:

http://www.afr.com/news/politics/scott-morrison-flags-taking-industrial-relations-reform-to-next-election-20151215-gloika

Former workplace relations minister Eric Abetz says the Fair Work Commission cannot ignore calls to reduce Sunday penalty rates, if as expected the Productivity Commission recommends the move on Monday.

Senator Abetz was the workplace relations minister until the Liberal leadership change and cabinet reshuffle in September.

Speaking ahead of the Productivity Commission's release of its final report into the industrial relations system, he told Fairfax Media the review must be respected by the Fair Work Commission which sets wages and entitlements. [The Sydney Morning Herald, 21 December 2015]

The recommendations — laid out in the commission's final report into workplace relations released on Monday — would affect workers in the entertainment, hospitality and retail industries, if adopted.

The commission did not recommend any changes to overtime penalty rates, night penalty rates or shift loadings, nor changes to rates for nurses, teachers or emergency services workers.

"Penalty rates have a legitimate role in compensating employees for working long hours or at asocial times," it stated.

"However, Sunday penalty rates for hospitality, entertainment, retailing, restaurants and cafes are inconsistent across similar work, anachronistic in the context of changing consumer preferences, and frustrate the job aspirations of the unemployed and those who are only available for work on Sunday.

"Rates should be aligned with those on Saturday, creating a weekend rate for each of the relevant industries."

Announcing the report's findings, Employment Minister Michaelia Cash said the Government would examine the recommendations and, if the case for sensible and fair changes to workplace relations were outlined, they would be taken to the next election. [ABC News, 21 December 2015]

ACT Liberal senator Zed Seselja said the Coalition should argue for a cut in Sunday penalty rates at next year's election.

"The Productivity Commission has done some really important work here," Senator Seselja he said.

"I think that we should be looking to put some policies to the next election which make incremental reforms in this area that go down the path the Productivity Commission is recommending.

"In the hospitality industry, in particular, that's where I hear the most from business owners, that's where I think the reforms should be occurring, and I think that's the sort of thing that we could develop a policy to take to an election." [ABC News, 21 December  2015]

Pharmacists in Australia have voted to launch industrial action for the first time, starting Christmas Eve, as a national pharmacy chain moves to slash penalty rates. It comes amid tense debate over a proposed Australia-wide rollback of Sunday penalty rates for workers in hospitality, retail and entertainment jobs, following an inquiry by the Productivity Commission. Pharmacists employed at dozens of National Pharmacies sites across Victoria and South Australia will now become the first in their profession to take action against an employer, as anger rises over threats to their penalty rates. From Thursday, pharmacists will embark on a campaign against National Pharmacies, authorising strikes of up to 24 hours that could force the temporary closure of some sites if the deadlock continues. The campaign this week will begin with pharmacists refusing to perform a range of work duties. National Pharmacies is attempting to cut pharmacists' penalty rates by as much as 50 per cent for certain hours on Saturday shifts. Double-time Sunday rates would remain in place. The company also wants to lower overtime pay, freeze the wages of existing pharmacists and introduce a two-tiered pay scheme, according to the union. In a statement, National Pharmacies said the pressures of a competitive and uncertain marketplace had forced a need to align with the rest of the industry. [The Sydney Morning Herald, 23 December 2015, p.4]

_______________

* It became obvious that local thoughts had begun to turn to the 2016 election of councillors:

   

                                                             
Excerpts from Clarence Valley Rate Payers, Residents and Business Owners Facebook page - featuring Deputy Mayor Cr. Craig Howe & the artwork of a ratepayer.

_______________

With the national terrorism threat level still fixed as "PROBABLE" by the Turnbull Government, DIBP and presumably many in Border Farce took an eleven day Chrissie holiday:

_______________

On 29 December The Guardian reported that the Turnbull ministry is three and a half months old and already there are two casualties. One looks fairly straightforward. The other, not so. In both cases, Malcolm Turnbull is well rid of them under the circumstances….

Jamie Briggs resigned after he “interacted” with a female public servant in an “informal manner” in a late night bar on an overseas trip. She complained he had acted inappropriately…..

The other casualty was Mal Brough, the former special minister of state. This is more opaque and the stink has a potential to linger given Brough has promised only to step aside, not resign…..

Background on Mal Brough “stink” by barrister Ross Bowler.

_______________

Metgasco still a long way from recovering ground lost

Now that the post-Supreme Court judgment market speculators have moved on, coal seam & tight gas explorer and wannabee production company, Metgasco Limited, is watching its ordinary share price start to fall once more.

 Graphs from the Australian Stock Exchange, 5 May 2015

Typically this company's 'lack of charm offensive' continues in this letter to the Editor of The Northern Star on 2 May 2015, in which it is incorrectly asserted that an exploration licence is similar to a land title and that the type of gas expected from the Rosella well is purely 'conventional' gas*:

Confusion reigns

ATTENTION Mr Laurance Axtens:

There seems to be some confusion about NSW resource management.

NSW's mineral and resources are owned by the state, not individuals or selective local communities.

It is the responsibility of the State Government to manage these resources in the interest of all people in NSW. People living in Byron Bay and Balmain, who by the way have no gas potential in their areas and will not be affected in any way by gas development around Casino, have no more rights to impose their views on resource development than any other NSW citizen or community.

NSW Governments of both political persuasions have awarded and renewed exploration licences to Metgasco over a period that exceeds 10 years. These exploration licences are like a title, similar to a farmer's title to his land, and entail both exploration rights and obligations. The licences (titles) need to be respected.

Please be aware that the democratically elected NSW Government has acknowledged the need for gas and is developing a new NSW gas plan accordingly. Please also be aware that the gas industry enjoys strong support from both the LNP and Labor party at federal level. The NSW Labor position is at complete odds with its federal counterpart and seems to be little more than a cynical, short term expedient.

Please also note that Metgasco is exploring for natural gas in conventional, tight rock and coal seams. I presume from your open letter that you support "conventional gas" and hence our plans to drill the Rosella well.

By the way, given that so much of the world and Australia's gas already comes from coal seams, shales and tight gas, the word "unconventional" is becoming less and less relevant. For example, one third of the gas we currently use in Eastern Australia is coming from coal seam gas wells.

PETER J HENDERSON

Managing director

Metgasco

* Metgasco holds PEL 16, which is located in the Northern Rivers of New South Wales. On 6 February 2014, the OCSG approved Metgasco drilling an exploration well targeting conventional and tight sands gas at Bentley, located between Casino and Lismore [NSW Office of Coal Seam Gas, 26 June 2014]

The Rosella well is testing for gas in conventional and tight gas rocks....if we find gas it will be like the gas in the Kingfisher well, almost entirely methane. [www.metgasco.com.au, 6 May 2015]

Unconventional gas is trapped in formations that are atypical in terms of their geological location and characteristics. Recovering these resources requires the use of techniques designed to "untrap" the gas.

The term "unconventional gas" actually covers three main types of natural gas resources: shale gas, tight gas and coalbed methane (also known as coal seam gas). Conventional and unconventional gases differ not by their chemical compositions (they are all natural gas) but rather by the geological characteristics of their reservoir rock.

Hydrocarbons (mainly natural gas, but some oil as well) are trapped in subsurface formations called "reservoir rock." Despite the word’s connotation, however, these are not huge, continuous "pools" but rather minuscule pores between the grains that make up the rock matrix.

The quality of a reservoir rock is determined by its porosity and its permeability.

Porosity is the void space between the grains, and thus represents the rock’s capacity to contain fluids (liquid or gaseous hydrocarbons). A highly porous reservoir rock therefore can contain a large volume of oil or gas. But porosity alone will not suffice: the fluids must be able to flow, meaning that the pores must be interconnected. This characteristic, called permeability, is the measurement of the rock’s ability to permit the flow the oil or gas.

Tight gas is trapped in ultra-compact reservoirs characterized by very low porosity and permeability. The rock pores that contain the gas are minuscule, and the interconnections between them are so limited that the gas can only migrate through them with great difficulty. [www.total.com, 6 May 2015]

Tight gas, like shale gas, requires large quantities of water for fracking [Parliament of Victoria, research paper]

We'll see what NSW National Party MPs are made of as a party member pushes for Megasco to commence drilling for tight gas on one of his farms

Northern Rivers communities and Bentley in particular need to keep a sharp eye on National Party MPs, particularly those with electorates on the North Coast, as it appears that former Lismore City councillor National Party member Peter Graham may be trying to play the political mates card in order to activate the terms of his access agreement with coal seam & tight gas miner Metgasco Limited.

Echo Netdaily 27 April 2015:

A Bentley landowner is hoping the state government will support any moves by gas mining company Metgasco to begin exploring for gas on his property.

Farmer Peter Graham, a former Lismore city councillor, signed an access agreement with Metgasco in January 2012, which covered his family’s land at Bentley.

Before any drilling could take place, thousands of protestors set up camp on land adjacent to the Graham’s property, vowing to stop any drill rigs from entering.

With reports of up 800 police set to ‘break’ the Bentley blockade, the state government announced that it was suspending Metgasco’s drilling license.

Last week, however, the NSW Supreme Court overturned that decision, describing it as unlawful.

Now Mr Graham wants Metgasco to get on with the job, arguing NSW Premier Mike Baird was supportive of the industry.

‘Throughout the state election both Labor and the Greens were saying that Mike Baird was supportive so I assume that support is still there,” Mr Graham told ABC radio.

He rejected claims that there was no gas shortage, saying NSW was buying gas from Queensland instead of developing a local industry.

Mr Graham said he was concerned that local Federal National MP Kevin Hogan and state National MP Chris Galaptis had spoken out against the industry.

‘It does concern me and I have to talk to my National Party friends.

‘I need to sit down and talk with them, and the industry needs to sit down and talk with them,’ he said......

Coal seam & tight gas miner Metgasco Limited puts a dollar price on walking away from its NSW North Coast exploration leases

Metgasco chief executive Peter Henderson said they would be seeking compensation for the year-long suspension of the drilling licence and all associated losses of the suspension, which could run as high as $15 million.

Mr Henderson said Metgasco would require a further $110m if the company was forced to exit its operations in the state’s north.

[The Australian, 27 April 2015]

One hundred and ten million dollars is a small price to pay to protect an existing NSW North Coast^* regional economy which annually contributes an estimated $20.6 billion plus to the Gross State Product (GSP) or 15% of the total NSW GSP.

In 2012-13 the Northern Rivers^** (where Metgasco has its exploration leases) contributed $13.6 billion in Gross Regional Product (GRP) to the North Coast regional economy, in large part via its tourism, agribusiness-forestry, manufacturing and commercial fishing sectors.

* Local Government Areas: Ballina, Bellingen, Byron, Clarence Valley, Coffs Harbour, Gloucester, Great Lakes, Greater Taree, Kempsey, Kyogle, Lismore, Nambucca, Port Macquarie-Hastings, Richmond Valley, Tweed.

** Local Government Areas: Ballina, Byron, Clarence Valley, Kyogle, Lismore, Richmond Valley, Tweed.

NSW Supreme Court rejected CSG miner Metgasco's contention that the NSW Government acted unreasonably in finding its community consultation process "inherently ineffective"

Excerpt from Metgasco Limited v Minister for Resources and Energy [2015] NSWSC 453 (24 April 2015):

74.          Fourthly, to the extent that Metgasco submitted that it was unreasonable for the Delegate to find that the consultation undertaken was inherently ineffective, in the sense of lacking attributes and qualities that would make it efficacious, I respectfully reject that submission. The Delegate was entitled, by way of more than one pathway leading to the guidelines, to consider whether Metgasco had engaged in consultation that could be characterised as being effective in its attributes but not its results. That includes whether the community consultation plan was sufficient. I do not propose to engage in an impermissible review of the merits of that decision; to my mind it was not so unreasonable to be amenable to judicial review. It follows that, if this were the only ground upon which Metgasco relied, I would not intervene on the basis of it.

Coal seam and tight gas miner Metgasco Limited sets out on a deliberate collision course with Northern Rivers communities yet again

Coal seam and tight gas miner Metgasco Limited sets out on a deliberate collision course with Northern Rivers communities yet again and, just as before, it intends to drag the NSW Government and police along for the ride.

The Sydney Morning Herald 24 April 2015:

Energy company Metgasco says it will need police to escort gas drilling equipment onto its site on the NSW north coast following a court victory overturning a suspension imposed on it by the state government.

Chief executive Peter Henderson said protesters would return to the site at Bentley once the company seeks to start drilling in about three months' time.

"When we drill now we know there are going to be protesters and we will need police in there to uphold our rights," he said.

"Otherwise NSW will be the state of anarchy."….. [my red bolding]

The Northern Star 24 April 2015:

PROTESTERS will continue to fight Metgasco at Bentley even if the State Government passes legislation banning protests at drilling sites, Ian Gaillard says.

Mr Gaillard, of Gasfield Free Northern Rivers, said locals would not allow Metgasco to start drilling at Bentley and called on the State Government to revoke all gas licences…..

Clarence MP Chris Gulaptis has also expressed his unhappiness with the decision.

"I am extremely disappointed with the decision of the NSW Supreme Court to quash the decision of the NSW Government to suspend Metgasco's drilling licence at Bentley," Mr Gulaptis said.

"I will be urging the Minister to seek every opportunity to appeal this decision because I believe it is wrong."….

Federal Member for Page Kevin Hogan says it would be "foolish" for Metgasco to consider returning to the region, adding the legal avenues over their licence suspension are far from exhausted.
Mr Hogan said he had been in touch with state colleagues who were already in talks with Resources and Energy Minister Anthony Roberts about grounds for an appeal. He said he was "extremely disappointed" by the news.
"We do not want CSG in the Northern Rivers and we need to do everything we can to make sure that is what happens.
"This isn't over, while they may be feel happy with the decision today, I don't think it's over legally and it's certainly not over as far as them coming back into our community to do what they want to do."
Mr Hogan added it would be "quite foolish" for Metgasco to consider returning to Bentley in the near future.
"I think this community has shown very strongly that they do not want coal-seam gas in this region," he said.
"While they have won this court case, there are still legal options for the state government to take, and the first one would be an appeal.
"I think the suspension should remain until that appeal is heard."

 Lismore City Mayor Jenny Dowell on Twitter:

Excerpt from NSW Greens media release 24 April 2015:

Greens Member for Ballina Tamara Smith said, “Despite the court victory, Metgasco should heed the clear message from the community that they want a gas field free Northern Rivers.  Metgasco should pack up and leave. “If Metgasco try to drill again, the community will resist and I will be standing with them.

The Knitting Nannas Against Gas (KNAG) on Facebook, 25 April 2015:

Excerpt from an editorial in The Northern Star, 25 April 2015:

If past history is anything to go by, protesters will likely be setting up camp at Bentley in the very near future.

So are we back to square one on this issue? Or has the government's election results on the Northern Rivers taught them any lessons?

Considering the government trumpeted its buy back of CSG licences during the last election campaign, perhaps they should extend it to the licence that covers Bentley.

Otherwise we are in for more of the same.

Another blockade at Bentley and the government forced to make the difficult decision of sending hundreds of police officers north, at taxpayers' expense, to remove thousands of protesters.

The NSW Supreme Court has delivered a sharp rebuke to the government which is going to cost them a lot of money.

But the circumstances that led them to the suspension still remain.

Comments published in The Northern Star on 25 April 2015:

Lynne Stebbing: There is going to be trouble!

Hugh Nicholson: This decision only relates to the way the government went about suspending Metgasco's license.

It has nothing to do with the reason for the suspension - namely Metgasco's failure to consult with the community. Go away Metgasco.

From Land Water Future tweet on 24 April 2015:

UPDATE

The Northern Star 27 April 2015:

Bentley landowners Meg and Peter Nielsen believe that if energy company Metgasco returns to the region public resistance will be even stronger than it was at last year's blockade.

"It will be on for young and old," Mr Nielsen declared.

"Our resolve will never turn. Metgasco would be absolutely foolish to try it again."

But the couple believes the NSW Government will "see common sense" before it comes to that.

Metgasco says it could be back drilling at Bentley within three months

Within hours of the NSW Supreme Court handing down its judgment in Metgasco Limited v Minister for Resources and Energy, Metgasco Limited publicly stated that it could be back drilling at Bentley in the Northern Rivers region within three months.

I’m sure the Northern Rivers community will be there to greet the return of this coal seam & tight gas mining company with its own unique, non-violent and uncompromising resistance.

NSW Coalition Government response to Supreme Court judgment in Metgasco Ltd v Minister for Resources & Energy

Metgasco misses out on NSW compensation offer

The Australian 10 April 2015:

At close of business on Friday10 April 2015 the Australian Stock Exchange listed Metgasco's ordinary share price at 0.023 cents.

Metgasco Limited v Minister for Resources and Energy is listed for judgment in the NSW Supreme Court at 10am on Friday, 24 April 2015.

A desperate Metgasco Limited can not put a corporate foot right

Metgasco Limited/ASX Media Release

Monday 16 March 2015

Metgasco today announces that it has terminated its merger with Elk Petroleum.

The proposed merger was subject to a number of conditions precedent, including Metgasco's ability to raise funds to support the merger and a Material Adverse Condition (MAC) associated with oil prices.

The oil price MAC has been triggered.  Based on discussions with numerous financial organisations, Metgasco has concluded that the chance of securing acceptable finance is now very low.  This is due to a number of factors, including current oil prices, which are significantly lower than anticipated when the original merger terms were negotiated.  As such, Metgasco's Board of Directors, has decided to exercise Metgasco's rights and terminate the Merger Implementation Deed.

Under the terms of the Convertible Loan Facility, which was put in place to support Elk Petroleum through the merger implementation period, no further payments to Elk Petroleum will be made and Elk Petroleum has 30 days in which to repay the loan plus interest incurred.  Of the overall A$2.5 million loan facility, A$1.69m has currently been drawn down.  The loan is secured against Elk and all its assets.

Metgasco is disappointed that this opportunity has not been successful and will continue seeking means to realise value from its Clarence Moreton Basin exploration acreage and identifying opportunities outside of NSW.

About Metgasco

The Natural Gas Company - Metgasco Limited Our business is about finding, producing, marketing and delivering gas from natural gas reserves.  We are a natural gas company that is focused on developing the coal seam gas and conventionally trapped gas resources of the New South Wales Clarence Moreton basin. 

BACKGROUND

ABC News 25 February 2015:

Metgasco has now accumulated losses totalling almost $120 million.

The gas company's latest financial report was released yesterday.

It shows Metgasco lost more than $2 million in the six months to the end of last year.

Company directors say it incurred significant legal expenses in its Supreme Court action against the New South Wales Government.

It is still waiting on a decision regarding the suspension of drilling approval at Bentley.

Metgasco lost a similar amount over the last half of 2013, and its accumulated losses now total more than $119 million.

Total equity is listed at almost $10 million.