An environmental group says a cabinet report on development risks to the Queensland section of the Lake Eyre Basin shows that the Palaszczuk government is ignoring independent scientific advice to classify unconventional gas activities as unacceptable in Channel Country floodplains.
Western Rivers Alliance spokeswoman Riley Rocco said the leaked report outlined fracking as a key threat to the health of the ecologically-sensitive and wildlife-rich wetland areas.
The report compiled by Redleaf Environmental at Toowoomba comments that at present there is minimal unconventional and conventional petroleum and gas production and mining development activity in the Queensland section of the basin but lists potential impacts to habitats, species in waterholes, declines in water pressure and changes to water quality, and potential changes to overland flow.
Identifying riverine and floodplain ecosystems as very significant for the long term sustainability of the basin, a main recommendation was that infrastructure for mining and petroleum/gas activities should not be allowed in the floodplains, because of flow alterations, fish passage issues, and major impacts to floodplain ecosystems.
It also said quarry extractions from rivers for construction of infrastructure such as roads shouldn't be allowed to occur in waterways and floodplains, and that large, raised infrastructure in floodplains should be limited.
"Storage ponds for resource development (eg tailings dams) should not be placed on the floodplain due to the risk of structural integrity issues, from flooding and spillage of waste.
"It would be necessary to have restrictions on capacity of dams during a wet season."
There was also a recommendation to enforce speed limits to reduce the likelihood of hitting threatened animals.
Looking specifically at the management and mitigation of conventional and unconventional petroleum and gas, and mining infrastructure, some recommendations were targeted to floodplains and others addressed impacts to surface and groundwater resources.
It said open cut mining shouldn't be allowed anywhere within the basin, and that the Regional Planning Infrastructure Act should regulate the location of bores and the amount of water taken from certain places.
It also said gas wells and ponds should be excluded from frequently flooded areas.
Looking at mining, the report says "impacts...to surface water flow/levels and changes to overland flow, water quality, temperature and ecosystem structure is potentially a greater contamination risk to water quality than gas extraction".
Further along, it notes that the operation of petroleum/gas and mining industries including drilling, hydraulic fracturing, dewatering, extraction and processing, rated highly for their initial impacts, such as leaks into aquifers from wells, dewataring impacts, groundwater quality impacts, overland flows, subsidence and groundwater drawdown.
It also quoted a 2018 Huddlestone-Holmes report that identified taking water for hydraulic fracturing for shale gas was unlikely to be significant for a single well but cumulative impacts were likely to be greater over time than CSG activities.
Ms Rocco said community members had made repeated requests for the findings of the scientific expert panel to be released but the government refused to discuss its findings or why it needed to be kept secret.
"We are absolutely appalled that the government has buried the findings of an expert panel of scientists who have said loud and clear that fracking should be banned from Channel Country rivers and floodplains," she said.
"Then there was that obscure consultation that didn't make floodplain protection clear."
She said the December proposal released by the government for consultation would allow unconventional gas fracking on the floodplains.
Of the news in early March that the government had approved Santos to prospect for commercial gas opportunities in the Channel Country, Ms Rocco said it was another example of the government's lack of transparency.
"The government makes motherhood statements, committing to protecting the region but approving large commercial licences at the same time."
Natural Resources Minister Anthony Lynham said petroleum activities have been undertaken in the area for 40 years through many legislative frameworks.
"This tenure and its accompanying environmental approvals were granted under the current laws," he said.
A spokeswoman for Environment Minister Leeanne Enoch said the government was committed to working with traditional owners, stakeholders, environment groups and communities to achieve a balance between the long-term protection of the rivers and floodplains of the Lake Eyre Basin and the cultural, social and economic priorities of the region.