Stop CSG campaigners in the Illawarra are celebrating the NSW government’s confirmation that coal seam gas drilling cannot take place in the Illawarra at this time. Stop CSG Illawarra spokesperson Jess Moore told WIN TV News on June 25: “This is huge news and shows the power the Illawarra community has to affect change.”
Work on the CSG project, a joint venture between Apex Energy and Ormil Energy, has been delayed for so long that development consent has now lapsed. Tom Fontaine, managing director of Ormil Energy, told the Illawarra Mercury: “Progress has been slowed by political conditions beyond our control.”
Moore said: “This is the result of the extraordinary and tireless efforts of so many in the Illawarra community. [It] marks a serious setback to the local project. It puts a freeze on the immediate threat of CSG development to the Nepean and Woronora drinking water catchments.”
But, while a blow to the project, Moore said the licence expirations do not necessarily mean CSG won’t be back. “The Apex/Ormil joint venture must now apply for a modification to the project and the government will need to grant them both this and a new licence, to get the project up and running again. What the government does now is a huge test. Will they reinstate the project in the face of enormous risk and community opposition?”
There are still several current CSG licences covering the Illawarra region, although none have been approved. Two new licences have been lodged for CSG mining in Wollongong and in parts of the drinking water catchment.
Moore said: “The fact is, the government still supports CSG development and fracking. The legislation still permits CSG exploration and mining in the drinking water catchment. The campaign to protect land and water — to put science before development — will continue.”
Stop CSG Illawarra organised a media conference in Wollongong on June 29 to launch a new petition demanding the NSW government ban CSG prospecting and mining in NSW drinking water catchment areas. The launch was supported by Wollongong Lord Mayor Gordon Bradbery, Labor member for Keira Ryan Park and the Illawarra Aboriginal Land Council’s CEO Sharralyn Robinson. The Liberal member for Heathcote was invited to the launch but did not respond to the invitation.
Bradbery said NSW’s drinking water catchments are “sacrosanct”. He said: “Our catchments cleanse the air and our water, and we expect the premier to make good on his promise to protect our water resources.” Stop CSG Illawarra aims to collect 10,000 signatures to trigger a another debate on CSG in NSW parliament.
