Coal seam gas mining is shaping up as a major issue for the next state government election, with candidates jostling for the moral high ground on the controversial issue.
Following news that the Liberal/National government had renewed AGL’s licence to allow fracking in Gloucester, both Greens and ALP candidates have criticised the move.
But not without taking a few swipes at one another.
Northern rivers Greens candidates Adam Guise (Lismore), Tamara Smith (Ballina) and Dawn Walker (Upper House), joined together to ‘call out’ the old parties on unconventional gas mining.
‘The move by the ALP to ban only CSG, and only in the Northern Rivers, is disappointing and smacks of political opportunism,’ Tweed resident and Upper House Greens candidate Dawn Walker said.
‘While many in the community would welcome the banning of unconventional gas operations anywhere in NSW, the fact that the ALP have limited this policy to the Northern Rivers suggests this is more about politics than good sense,’ she said.
‘If it represented a genuine change of heart from the party that originally brought invasive gas exploration to NSW, then the ALP would also be standing up for the residents of Gloucester who are about to have fracking within a few hundred metres of their homes.’
Lismore Greens candidate Adam Guise said residents of Gloucester were asking the ALP and the Liberal National government, ‘where’s our protection from industrialised gas drilling?’
‘Why aren’t National Party members like Thomas George and George Souris pushing for the same two km buffer zones that apply to marginal electorates in Western Sydney?
‘Why aren’t the Nationals calling for the protection of agricultural industries such as the dairy, sugar and macadamia industries? Have the Nationals betrayed their communities to the lure of the mighty mining dollar?
‘In contrast to both the ALP and the Liberal National government, the Greens have policies which protect farmland, water and communities from invasive gasfields wherever they are in NSW.
‘The Greens’ policy is not one motivated by political opportunism, but by the firm belief that food and water security is critical for healthy and prosperous communities.’
Ballina Greens candidate Tamara Smith described the resolution passed at the recent ALP conference as ‘a dog’s breakfast’.
‘It talks about both a moratorium and a ban, as if they are interchangeable. It talks about CSG in one breath and then talks about unconventional gas in another, which gives no protection from tight sands gas drilling which was planned at Bentley,’ Ms Smith said.
‘What communities really want is lasting protection. That’s why the Greens seek to have gas licences covering the Northern Rivers revoked, so that people do not have to continually fight to protect the region they love.’
Meanwhile, ALP Tweed candidate Ron Goodman and Lismore candidate Isaac Smith are also critical of the Gloucester decision.
Mr Goodman said the State Government’s National Party-led crusade for coal seam gas mining by whatever method necessary had been exposed.
‘Geoff Provest and the Nationals like to pretend there is no coal seam gas in the Tweed, and Mr Provest even told a media outlet last week that “there is no licence”,’ Mr Goodman said.
‘That is a complete and deliberate falsehood. There remains a petroleum exploration licence, PEL 445, that covers large parts of the Northern Rivers, including Clarrie Hall Dam and its catchment area.
‘With the Nationals government approving fracking in other locations, that shows there is still a direct and immediate threat to Tweed’s water supplies and environment.
‘The National Party should stop telling lies and get behind Labor’s policy of a gasfield-free Northern Rivers.’
Lismore candidate Isaac Smith said areas west of Lismore were also under direct threat because of PEL 13 and PEL 16, which could lead to coal seam gas mining.
‘Nationals leader Andrew Stoner is on the record saying the Nationals are in lockstep with the Liberals when it comes to coal seam gas mining,’ Mr Smith said.
‘Labor is leading on representing the North Coast community on this issue, and we will fight the Nationals and Lismore MP Thomas George every day to ensure the North Coast remains gas-field free.’
Lismore MP Thomas George recently conceded that the coal seam gas issue could impact on his ability to win a fifth term in government, at the time he announced that he would stand again as a candidate for the National Party in the March election next year.
Asked if CSG would be a significant factor, Mr George said there ‘was no doubt the CSG debate has certainly played a significant impact on me personally, the electorate and the party’.
‘But let me assure people I’m not a single-issue person. I’ve made appropriate representations to the ministers, the party … and I continue to represent the wishes of the electorate,’ he said.
Mr George conceded under questioning that he has not spoken in parliament about CSG, nor turned up at the Bentley blockade.
‘Since being elected as deputy speaker I haven’t spoken on a number of issues because I’ve tried to remain neutral,’ he said.
‘My representations are not on the front page or on television. They’ve always been done behind the scenes and I’ve been no different in this CSG debate.
‘I’ve listened and taken forward views openly and honestly.’
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