I don't know enough about that to answer this question but I guess do not drill where there are large deposits of coal seem gas.
Here's a few: There's more floating around. Some reports claim the overall levels of funding runs to hundreds of millions, and even billions, but that would include accounting for preferential tax treatment mostly, rather than direct funding... which is an entirely different debate.
This bit is scary: Good thing they have god-given powers that no one else possess which enables them to assess market opportunity then.
I'd love to find an easily accessible, comprehensive list of all these types of funding programs and the amounts no matter what area or industry they are directed towards. Then we could see the relative funding levels because it's hard to put individual figures in perspective. The program's I quoted earlier came from http://www.energyandresources.vic.gov.au/earth-resources/industry-and-investment On a totally unrelated side note, from that site I discovered that private fossickers require a mining license.
Don't worry, I'm against all subsidies. I thought you would know that by now. In the case of the coal ones generally they aren't actually subsidising the production of current brown coal or were relatively small beer investments by state govts looking at extending the life or magnitude of their royalty streams. The report that groups like TAI and The Greens bang on about claiming there are billion of dollars of hidden subsidies is utter crap that has been disproven. It is another one of those memes that refuse to die because people keep quoting it (hence, don't bother looking for it because it is simply bullshit - use your filter).
That stood out as strange to me as well... I guess it's like Chiko Rolls, even though nobody buys them the government is smart enough to give the company money to keep making them, because they know that they are actually awesome.
