Stop Coal Seam Gas Sydney activist Pip Hinman gave the speech below at the Marrickville local council meeting on June 19.
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I am a long-term resident in Newtown, a mother and an activist with Stop Coal Seam Gas Sydney.
I want to speak in favor of council supporting this poll.
We did have a win recently with DART announcing that it was not going to drill in St Peters after council decided to add a no CSG condition to Dial-a-Dump’s development application.
While that was a victory – it was only a victory of sorts.
Because we cannot be certain that Dart will not drill elsewhere. Dart has previously told the Stock Exchange of its intention to drill 10 wells by the end of this year. If it’s not in St Peters, then where? Will it be Eastern Creek? Rosebery? Some bit of waste land?
Dial-a-Dump has gone to the Land and Environment court to contest the DA. We don’t yet know about what. It could be many things. But you’d have to be suspicious – given their track record of not being very open.
We also know that Dart Energy’s licence to drill (PEL 426) still stands – and while it has expired, it has not been cancelled by the Barry O Farrell government.
We know we have to keep up the pressure on this pro-CSG mining government to cancel the licence for this industry.
Until we are convinced that there are no adverse health and environmental consequences of coal seam gas drilling, we should be very cautious about giving this industry the go-ahead.
That’s why keeping the community pressure up is critical if we are to eventually to declare that we really have stopped the CSG industry in the inner west.
Stop CSG Sydney has organised several well attended public events – and the next big one on the calendar is in October – to coincide with the next national day of action on coal seam gas.
In the lead up to council elections, we have another opportunity to make the case for why the licence should be cancelled – non-binding poll on coal seam gas allowing residents to indicate what they truly believe about CSG, in the privacy of a ballot box.
The results will allow us to add more pressure on the state government to cancel the licence and for a Royal Commission into the health and environmental impacts of CSG.
Stop CSG Sydney was inspired by the Lismore City Council deciding late last year to push for a poll. Southern Cross University is preparing the question, and the Yes and No cases. This will give the results more credibility.
As the concern about unregulated CSG are getting broader by the day, councils – as extensions of the community – have an opportunity to act. If Marrickville council goes the way of Lismore, it will be the first urban council to do so – and may inspire other councils to do the same.
Lismore Mayor Jenny Dowell told me today that residents have told her repeatedly that they welcome the opportunity to cast a vote. The council has taken a brave stand, as they faced some flak from Metgasco, one of the local coal seam gas miners, which is trying to get rid of its produced water through the local sewerage works.
Independently of this, Lismore streets are being festooned with Stop CSG signs. In one area, more than 90% of streets had them up.
I urge councillors to support this poll on coal seam gas mining in the LGA at the council elections and make it the third unanimous vote to stop coal seam gas for this council.
