November 12: Do you really trust assurances of the frackers?

HOW many of you know the speed limits? How many of you break those speed limits? I would guess somewhere close to 100 per cent of drivers – but only by a tiny bit of course. However, some do it recklessly and dangerously, while others even do it while passing police speed traps and cameras.

Imagine then how bad it would be if people could greatly increase profits by ignoring regulations and knowingly breaking the law.

Would you employ a builder or other tradesman and trust them implicitly, based only on their own word in a very compelling advert? Personally, I only trust people who’ve earned it.

Fortunately, when it comes to fracking, we’ll have a scrupulously honest bunch because the Government and industry constantly tell us we’ll have “gold standard regulation”. You know you can trust the industry because their adverts and PR leaflets tell us so, even though they’ve never done any high volume hydraulic fracturing (fracking) before.

Do you believe “gold standard regulation” means anything without gold standard enforcement? How will that happen when the agencies responsible have already had substantial budget cuts with another 30 per cent imminent?