NEW ZEALAND'S environmental watchdog has announced an investigation into the consequences of fraccing.
The Green Party says New Zealanders should be worried about fraccing which international studies have linked to drinking water contamination, health problems and earthquakes.
Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, Dr Jan Wright, says the preliminary work indicated there is a need to examine the issue more closely.
“The work that has been done by my office thus far shows a substantive case for an official investigation under the Environment Act. Over the next few months my staff and I will conduct this investigation and produce a report to Parliament. I realise this is a hugely contentious issue and I would hope to have a report tabled in the House before the end of this year.”
Green Party Energy spokesperson Gareth Hughes stated that given numerous overseas studies which have linked fraccing to drinking water contamination, human health problems and earthquakes, New Zealanders are rightly worried about the safety of fraccing in New Zealand.
"Evidence from Taranaki backs up New Zealander’s concerns. A Shell Todd Oil report from 2011 found that discharge of fracking fluids in Taranaki resulted in groundwater contamination that was unsuitable for drinking or stock use, or for irrigation," Mr Hughes said.
Four New Zealand councils have recently voted to call on government to implement a nationwide moratorium.
"New Zealand doesn't need to resort to fracking when we have a wealth of smart green energy opportunities that will deliver real prosperity," Mr Hughes said.
However, Shell Todd General Manager Rob Jager said high safety standards in New Zealand mean serious environmental impacts from fraccing are unlikely.
"We're confident, and we have been confident for a long time, that when done properly, the fracking is safe. So I expect that the outcome will be a confirmation of that,” Mr Jager said.
GNS Science is confident the independent inquiry will not find a link between fraccing and quakes in Taranaki .
Last year, the head of Petroleum Geosciences at GNS, Rosemary Quinn, was commissioned to study fracking in the region and says there is no direct correlation between the process and quakes in New Zealand.
"Hydraulic fracturing always causes some movement in the ground because it generates cracks and fractures - but it very, very rarely generates damaging seismic activity, and that's the thing that I think people need to keep in mind. Very rarely it generates a magnitude 2 event, maybe a 2.3 - and that's not from fracturing itself, that's more because there's been a fault nearby that's been affected,” Ms Quinn said.