The Wire

As Victorian parliament resumed today, farmers and anti-coal seam gas activists rallied on parliament house steps to demand a total ban on fracking in the state. Strong community concern has led to a moratorium on the practice and prompted a state government inquiry into the effect of the drilling. 70 communities in Victoria have declared themselves “gasfield free” as a symbolic statement to oppose the industry they fear will have devastating effects on their community, farmland and water resources. The Victorian government will decide in the coming months whether to lift the current ban on onshore gas drilling.