Dart Energy slashes costs amid CSG changes

DART Energy will slash 70 per cent of its workforce as it reins in costs in response to tighter government restrictions on coal seam gas projects.

Dart will suspend its field operations in NSW and focus on its overseas CSG projects, including those in Britain and China, instead.

It is axing 70 per cent of its workforce, taking the number of employees to 50, and slicing 60 per cent of its overall costs.

Dart will also suspend field operations at its Fullerton Cove project near Newcastle, despite the recent lifting of a court injunction on the company sinking exploratory wells.

The moves come after the NSW government in February announced tough new coal seam gas regulations, including a ban on CSG drilling near homes.

The federal government has also announced new environmental laws covering coal mines and CSG projects.

Dart chairman Nick Davies said the company was extremely disappointed with the uncertainty created by recent NSW and federal government decisions in relation to CSG.

"The consequence is that investment is leaving the country, field operations are being suspended, Australian jobs are being lost, and the impending energy crisis in New South Wales is not being addressed, and indeed, will only get worse," he said.

"This is in direct contrast to the United Kingdom, where the government is actively seeking to support the responsible development of unconventional gas resources."

Dart's shares were 2.7 cents, or 25.7 per cent, lower at 7.8 cents at 1055 AEDT.

The NSW government's measures include an independent review of all CSG activities, their impact on water catchments and a two kilometre buffer zone around homes and industry clusters such as horse-breeders and wineries.

Dart and AGL Energy attacked the new regulations, saying billions of dollars worth of investment and hundreds of manufacturing jobs would be affected.

Under proposed new federal laws, the government will impose tougher restrictions on coal and CSG mining amid public concerns about their impact on water resources.

The anti-CSG group Lock The Gate Alliance on Tuesday welcomed Dart Energy's suspension of its field operations at Fullerton Cove.

"This is a huge victory for the community of Fullerton Cove, and for Newcastle at large," said Steve Phillips, Hunter regional coordinator for Lock The Gate.

"Our precious drinking water is safe, for now, from coal seam gas.

"The people of Fullerton Cove have fought bravely to defend their community from a global gas company, and for now at least, they have won."

Mr Phillips called on Dart Energy to end the uncertainty for residents in the Lower Hunter, and relinquish its exploration lease.

He said CSG companies "had no social licence to operate in NSW" and also called on AGL, Santos and all other CSG companies to suspend their operations.

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Make changes or lose reef: marine expert

THE Great Barrier Reef will become little more than a mass of seaweed if the development of coal ports on the Queensland coast continues, a marine expert says.

Professor Callum Roberts says mining firms don't care about the reef, and the Queensland government needs to do more to protect "this global icon".

"Most of the (mining firms) don't give a stuff about the environment," Prof Roberts, a marine conservation biologist at the University of York in England, told AAP.

"The Great Barrier Reef requires the very best protection.

"It deserves the very best, if it is going to survive."

Prof Roberts, whose research examines the impact of human activity on marine ecosystems, has served on the US National Research Council Committee and worked with the World Conservation Union.

Last weekend he visited Abbot Point near Bowen, Yeppoon near Rockhampton, and Gladstone to assess damage and determine what harm future projects may cause.

A section of the reef off the central Queensland coast, where there is a concentration of coal terminals, is in the worst state, he says.

"It's obvious in looking at it visually that the impacts are spreading like a bruise from the coastline."

He described the level of development in Gladstone as shocking.

"What we've got is this sprawling development which goes for miles and miles, rather than being constrained," he said.

Proposed expansion of the port at Abbot Point, which would include significant dredging, would impact the reef, he said.

A boost in the number of ships carrying minerals across the reef would also increase the chances of a spill.

And loud noises from ships could cause chronic stress for marine life.

Any development at Fitzroy River at Yeppoon, which Prof Roberts says is a complex and valuable eco-system home to many species, could be devastating.

The estuary filters water which runs off land before it is dispersed into the ocean.

Prof Roberts agrees with a UNESCO ruling that the Great Barrier Reef is under threat.

Last year, UNESCO said the Great Barrier Reef could be listed as a World Heritage site in danger due to the rapid increase in coastal developments.

The federal government must now report back to UNESCO outlining how the reef will be preserved.

Prof Roberts says the reef will likely be covered in seaweed within two decades if changes aren't made.

"We'll have little in the way of the wonderful life that we have grown to love and enjoy and which fuels Australia's tourism industry," he said.

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