Environment Report - Santos

3. Stakeholder Consultation
3. Stakeholder Consultation
Stakeholder 1 consultation is a requirement
of the project permitting process.
Santos sees it as an effective mechanism
for establishing relationships with
key individuals and organisations with
an interest in the project. It also builds
on those relationships in a way that both
encourages stakeholders to express their
views in a receptive and constructive
atmosphere whilst at the same time providing
opportunity for the delivery of accurate
information about the project in a
timely fashion. The overall goal is a situation
where stakeholder concerns are
actively sought, considered and acted
upon, as appropriate, during the planning
and design phase of the project.
In November 2003, Santos prepared a
stakeholder consultation plan to guide
the Casino Gas Field Development
project team in the implementation of an
effective consultation program.
The principal objectives of stakeholder
consultation for the project are to:
• Identify relevant stakeholders.
• Provide appropriate opportunities for
involving and communicating with relevant
stakeholders.
• Provide a process in which project
planning can take account of issues
raised by stakeholders at the earliest
possible stage.
• Provide a means for recording all initiatives
in which consultation is undertaken,
issues are raised and
responses to these issues are provided
to stakeholders.
Specifically, the stakeholder consultation
process will:
• Provide accurate information about
the project to stakeholders in a timely
fashion, thereby reducing the potential
for stakeholder disaffection which
can result from a misunderstanding
of the project and, particularly for local
communities, either a real or perceived
exclusion from the environmental
assessment and approvals
process.
• Ensure that local communities and
government are properly informed
about the project and that there are
adequate and timely opportunities for
these stakeholders to provide input
into the environmental assessment
and approvals process and express
any relevant problems, difficulties or
concerns, they may have.
• Minimise the risk of delays to project
permitting so as to deliver approvals
as scheduled. Ensuring that issues
or concerns are dealt with during the
environmental assessment and approvals
process rather than after
submission of the required documentation.
• Ensuring that the relevant regulatory
requirements are being met with regard
to appropriate stakeholder input
to the process.
• Provide the groundwork for final
presentation of the environmental
assessment findings and ongoing
consultation through construction,
operation and (eventually)
decommissioning.
3.1 Relevant Stakeholders
A diverse range of stakeholders has been
identified as having an interest in the
proposed Casino Gas Field Development.
Table 3.1 identifies the stakeholders
and groups them into broad
categories reflecting their differing interests.
It also identifies the key issues
raised by various parties during consultation
undertaken to date.
3.2 Stakeholder Consultation
Program
Santos has been undertaking petroleum
exploration and production activities in
southwest Victoria since 2000, and has
consequently been undertaking consultation
with relevant stakeholders on an
ongoing basis since. With the proposed
Casino Gas Field Development, Santos
has embarked on a program of consultation
that has focused specifically on those
stakeholders potentially affected by this
proposal.
The Casino Gas Field Development
stakeholder consultation process has utilised
a number of mechanisms, both formal
(e.g., scheduled presentations and
meetings) and informal (e.g., visits to
landholders and telephone conversations),
to communicate with stakeholders.
These mechanisms are listed below.
• Project briefings – project briefings
have been held with key stakeholders
at key project milestone points
(e.g., project inception, environmental
assessment scoping, study findings
and mitigation planning).
• One-on-one technical discussions –
one-on-one meetings with stakeholders
for information dissemination and
obtaining stakeholder input to technical
issues.
• Lands and easement meetings – held
with landholders and occupiers, land
managers and Aboriginal communities
in relation to land access and
easement negotiations.
• Information releases – dissemination
of information to the wider community,
including:
– Media releases.
– Public notices advising of invitations
to comment on project information
and permit applications.
– Information mail-outs (e.g., project
brochures and notifications).
1 A stakeholder is defined as any group or individual
that has an interest in the project or may be
affected in any way by the project.
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