WHILE hundreds of Hunter residents have voiced an emphatic “no coal seam gas” message it’s obvious that representatives of the New South Wales Government and at least one gas company are yet to be convinced.
On Sunday, more than 400 people at Broke and 55 at Putty were among thousands throughout New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia who attended “lock the gate” rallies.
Hunter Valley protests were also held at Newcastle, Maitland, Wollombi and Gloucester.
A spokesman for the Hunter Valley Protection Alliance, Graeme Gibson said: “The community has clearly spoken, coal seam gas is not welcome and we want the New South Wales government to honour its pre-election promise to protect prime agricultural and other sensitive land.
“The general community is increasingly becoming aware of the potential coal seam gas impacts to people’s physical and mental health and our environment.”
It was also revealed at the weekend that the government was considering coal and coal seam gas mining in conservation areas, on prime farming land and in vineyard and horse breeding regions.
Details of a confidential draft plan prepared for the government shows that even “highly sensitive habitats” could be mined as long as similar land offsets were provided by mining companies.
The briefing document has been presented to a land use management committee convened by Planning Minister Brad Hazzard.
The NSW Farmers Association has threatened to quit the committee if the government does not fulfil its promise to quarantine key areas from mining and exploration.
The draft document does not provide a process to identify areas that could be exempt from mining.
It also says mining would be allowable on agricultural and other sensitive habitat if mining companies provided evidence that their activities would “not be likely” to lead to permanent or long-term loss of land, have other adverse impacts or offsets were provided.
And within a day of the lock the gate protests, the coal seam gas company already drilling wells in the Broke area, AGL Energy, confirmed the purchase of two Wollombi Road, Broke, properties.
AGL spokesman Mike Moraza said newly purchased Poole’s Rock Vineyard and the adjacent Yellow Rock Estate were part of his company’s long term commitment to the development of the Hunter gas project.
The properties would be used to demonstrate the gas industry could coexist with viticulture, cattle grazing and cropping, he said.
The Argus reported earlier this month that AGL had bought Poole’s Rock, was believed to have bought the adjacent property, and both could be earmarked for controversial horizontal drilling operations.
Poole’s Rock was founded in 1988 by the late Macquarie Bank chairman David Clarke who was a major opponent to coal seam gas mining.
Mr Moraza said he understood Mr Clarke’s point of view, apologised for concern over speculation on the company’s intended use for the property and expected AGL’s activities at Poole’s Rock to be watched and questioned.
“We know the Hunter is a beautiful place and we promise to keep it that way.”
Mr Gibson said the draft government document and AGL’s property purchases were of great concern.
“The company has taken down the Poole’s Rock signs and I wonder what they’ll now call the vineyard, “Methane Mountain”? he asked.
“The community doesn’t want places like this iconic vineyard to become an industrial landscape and we believe the New South Wales Government is obliged to protect it along with other prime sites.”
A spokeswoman for the Putty Community Association, Kathy McKenzie, said members of her group were worried about coal seam gas impacts on their community and the surrounding Yengo and Wollemi national parks.
“Legal advice we’ve had suggests that coal seam gas extraction in the Putty Valley may be in breach of the National Parks Act,” she said.
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