A FULL house at the Oatmill Cinema erupted into applause as the closing credits rolled at the premiere screening of Pipe Dreams Fractured Lives on Wednesday night.
The regionally produced documentary, focused on the potential impacts of unconventional gas mining, follows the journey of Kalangadoo farmer David Smith who toured coal seam and shale gas industry heartlands across Queensland and the United States.
Mr Smith visited rural areas of America impacted by gas mining in 2015 with four politicians, a veterinarian and a doctor.
He returned to the United States last year to shoot the 70-minute documentary, which was edited by Mount Gambier cinematographer Rob Tremelling.
“I think now you can understand why I poured a few thousand hours into this project,” Mr Smith said as he addressed the audience after the screening.
“After everything I discovered during my first trip to America I just knew that I needed to get this information to Adelaide and the capital cities.”
Mr Smith interviewed leading gas industry and health experts across Queensland and North America and captured the gut-wrenching stories of farmers devastated by the gas industry.
“My journey started when I made a few initial phone calls to people living in areas of rural America where shale gas mining had occurred,” Mr Smith said.
“Shale gas is the gas we have under the South East.
“These people were dead against it – every person I called said, ‘whatever you do, don’t let it in, it has contaminated our soil, air and water’.
“People I spoke to in one town said they were advised to leave their windows open when they were showering because of the increased methane in their water.”
Mr Smith said he would have “major concerns” if unconventional gas mining gained a foothold in the South East.
“My concern is if Labor are re-elected, Tom Koutsantonis is clearly in favour of unconventional gas extraction and these companies will wiggle their way in one way or another,” he said.
“The concern for many people in the region is that they will do so under the banner of conventional gas mining.”
With not one empty seat at the packed venue for the premiere screening, Mr Smith said he was encouraged by the positive response to the film.
He said due to popular demand a second screening would be held in Mount Gambier at the Sir Robert Helpmann Theatre on March 13.
“I’m keen to take the film around Australia,” he said.
“We need to put pressure on the politicians and make a change.”
He said he would like a ban on fracking introduced similar to other states, such as Victoria.
“We have seen the positive outcome in Victoria when communities were united against this, so we need to take heart,” he said.
