INDEPENDENT SCIENTIFIC PANEL INQUIRY INTOHYDRAULIC
FRACTURE STIMULATION IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA — SUBMISSIONS
544. Hon KEN BASTON to the Minister for Environment:
I refer to information contained in the WAtoday article
titled, ''Radioactive water reignites concerns over fracking''
published online on Sunday, 24 June.
(1) What date
were submissions to the Independent Scientific Panel Inquiry into Hydraulic
Fracture Stimulation in Western Australia 2017 made publicly available on the
fracking inquiry WA website?
(2) Is the
minister confident that no unauthorised persons were able to access the
submissions prior to the public release?
(3) If no to (2),
how many unauthorised persons accessed the submissions before they were made
public and who are they?
(4)
How does the minister respond to the article's assertion that the Lock
the Gate Alliance was able to access the Buru Energy submission before it
became publicly available?
Hon STEPHEN DAWSON replied:
I
thank the honourable member for some notice of the question. It is a good
question.
(1)
I am advised by the independent scientific panel that all submissions were made
available on the inquiry's website on 25 June 2018.
(2)–(4)
I am advised by the independent scientific panel that during the process of
uploading the submissions to the website for future public release, the Lock
the Gate Alliance accessed the submissions through an internet search. Only
information that was intended for public distribution was available on the
inquiry website. I understand that the independent scientific panel will
consider all matters raised in the public submissions, including Buru Energy's
submission.