THE coal-seam gas concerns of Manning and Gloucester residents have been raised directly with the Prime Minister of Australia and referred to the recently established Interim Expert Scientific Committee on Coal Seam Gas and Coal Mining.
Member for Lyne MP Rob Oakeshott hand-delivered a comprehensive letter from the Manning Alliance to the Prime Minister this week, which outlined the potential threat from coal-seam gas (CSG) mining to the environment, water catchments and food production.
Mr Oakeshott said the Prime Minister understood the local community’s concerns about the potential impacts of CSG and coal mining, and had referred his request for the catchment to be identified as a research priority area to the Expert Scientific Committee.
“The scientific committee is undertaking a scoping study to determine priority areas for regional water assessment, and our catchment is now part of that review,” Mr Oakeshott said. “Hopefully we will know in a couple of months if we’ve secured research priority status, which would result in an evidence-based scientific report on any possible threat to our waterways and groundwater.”
Meanwhile, Mr Oakeshott has welcomed the Queensland Government’s decision to sign up to the new strengthened regulation of coal-seam gas and coal mining developments, negotiated by Mr Oakeshott and New England Independent MP Tony Windsor.
“The state MPs representing our region, Stephen Bromhead and Leslie Williams, must convince the NSW Government to follow Queensland’s lead and sign up to the National Partnership Agreement on Coal Seam Gas and Large Coal Mining,” Mr Oakeshott said.
“By doing so, the NSW Government will have access to the independent scientific panel and its science-based research, as well as significant incentive payments.”
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