Indiegogo

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Coal Seam Gas: Behind the Seams

Shining the spotlight of reason on the Queensland election campaign's hot issue.

  • Team:

    20120203182036-bio_-_mark 20120130045256-bio_-_me see more »

  • Location:Brisbane, Australia

  • Category:Writing

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Our Story

FAQ Research is a collective whose mission is to promote reasoned discussion of public policy issues. We analyse facts to answer questions. Led by Dr Mark Bahnisch and managed by Pandora Karavan, a team of prominent and experienced researchers and writers, including Professor Roger Jones, Professor John Quiggin, Dr Robet Merkel, Dr Tina Hunter, Troy Collings and Kim Jameson, will shine the spotlight of reason on the Coal Seam Gas industry during this year's Queensland election campaign.

We hope to both provide a new model for online investigative journalism and to make the debate over CSG accountable to fact and reason. We dispel the fog and let the light in, and reach out to stimulate an interactive and high quality debate on a hot button issue.


The Impact

Coal Seam Gas is set to be one of the biggest issues in this year's Queensland state election. Impacting directly on farmers, rural and regional communities and the environment, CSG exploration and extraction also raises big questions about the future of our state, of our nation, and of our planet. As with many such controversies, claims and counter-claims fly, and PR and political spin hides the truth. 


Working in conjunction with the prominent Australian independent media website, Crikey, we will be mining for facts, drilling into CSG, going behind the seams to tell the whole story of how CSG has become so controversial, how the debate has been shaped, and its policy and political implications.


A dedicated website and blog will sit on the Crikey website, demystifying the facts and answering the FAQs, allowing participants in the debate and affected citizens to put their own point of view, testing that point of view against expert knowledge, and providing a space for real time debate as the campaign unfolds.


We believe this initiative is a first for an Australian election campaign, and we hope that it will become a model for interactive, deliberative and stimulating debate on key issues, where the spin and the announceables that clutter the airwaves can be held accountable to facts and to reasoned argument.


We are very excited about this project, and we hope you will be too – and that you will give not just a donation but also give of your expertise, energy and citizen reporting to its realisation.


What We Need & What You Get

We have fully costed our budget, and have already raised $7000 from donations sought through Facebook and email. Crikey is providing significant in kind support to this project, but we need cash to make it happen! Your donations will be directed toward the cost of field reporting, necessary equipment, website and communication tools and hosting, and most importantly, the research, editing and writing time that is needed to  fully realise the project's aims.


By donating, you make a real difference to the quality of public debate in Australia, and to getting the information out that policy makers and citizens need. For far too long, many of us have been passive in the face of political, media and corporate spin, and we now have the chance to get on the front foot around an issue that could hardly be more important to our collective futures.


We are more than happy to provide a detailed breakdown of our budget on request. If we raise funds over and above our target, we'll use those to facilitate evaluation of the project (whose processes are being mapped to ensure it provides a template for future similar projects) and to expand the scope of the project with even more field reporting and interactive goodness!


We have not accepted, and will not accept, any donations from groups, parties or entities with a stake in the CSG debate. We want to prove it's possible to raise funds for a public interest media project, and we're delighted with our progress so far.


If 100 people give $100, or 200 people give $50, then we've reached our target! And you will have made a significant contribution for a small outlay towards improving the quality of public debate in Australia on a key issue and more generally!


Other Ways You Can Help

Please share the appeal with all potentially interested friends, family, colleagues and contacts!


You can use the buttons at the top of this page to easily share the campaign via social media, including facebook, Twitter and Google+, as well as embedding the fundraiser at your blog, Tumblr or website.


Please also join us on facebook and Twitter to stay in the loop. 


The whole idea of CSG: Behind the Seams is to source as much energy, smarts and enthusiasm from interested citizens and groups so please help us spread the word!

Team on This Campaign: