Green activist and newspaper publisher, Susana Stock, wrote this letter on coal seam gas to newspapers in northern NSW.
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Congratulations to Lismore Councillors for your stance on coal seam gas mining. Hopefully, your stance will be endorsed by Tweed Council. It is also a relief to see that the NSW ALP government will try to address the issue too, with new rules giving communities a greater say before projects are approved.
Gas drilling companies will have to submit proposed work plans detailing environmental impacts and what chemicals would be used during extraction.
However, what is the policy of the NSW National Party? How will they address this issue, if as expected they are elected to government in a coalition with the Liberals?
It was disturbing to read in the Sydney Morning Herald earlier this month (04/12/10) that two of the companies with licences to explore for coal seam gas in NSW are chaired by former National Party leaders: Aston Resources by Mark Vaile and Eastern Star Gas by John Anderson.
The Northern Rivers Greens are very concerned about the explosion in exploration of coal seam gas mining in our region eg Keerong, and its impact on farmers, prime agricultural land and our aquifers.
The Greens are calling for a moratorium on all coal seam gas (CSG) mining activities in NSW.
Overseas experience as seen in the movie “Gasland”, has shown that CSG presents significant environmental risks to water supplies and can have a devastating impact on productive farming lands as gas wells and surface infrastructure such as roads and pipelines limit their use for agricultural purposes.
Queensland campaigners fear that up to 40,000 gas wells could be drilled by 2030 with 4000 exploration wells already in place across that state.
NSW should not wait until it is too late to put appropriate regulation of the coal seam gas industry into place. The vast majority of NSW residents live on top of coal reserves.
Susan Stock and Wayne Wadsworth
Co Convenors
Northern Rivers Greens
Lismore
