Anti-coal-seam gas campaigner Drew Hutton and Friends of the Earth co-ordinator Cam Walker hosted a forum in Colac last night opposing CSG exploration.
ANTI-MINING campaigners have told Colac district landholders they can win a coal-seam gas battle if “farmers and environmentalists” work together.
Friends of the Earth co-ordinator Cam Walker and anti-CSG campaigner Drew Hutton hosted a forum in Colac last night for people concerned with CSG exploration in the district.
Mr Hutton told farmers and residents they could stop coal-seam gas mining in the Colac and Otways region if they took “the mining threat seriously and showed solidarity in the community”.
Mr Walker said Mantle Mining’s decision to walk away from plans to mine coal near Deans Marsh was an example of what a community could achieve by a “show of strength”.
“If landowners refuse to negotiate access with these companies I’m confident they will go away and find somewhere else to mine,” he said.
“The biggest mistake a mining company could make would be to test the law and take a farmer to court over access to his land.”
Mr Hutton said Member for Polwarth Terry Mulder’s view that people should not be concerned about exploration licences was “rubbish”.
“Farmers and environmentalists need to work together on this and not wait around until the mining companies have already gone through the process,” he said.
“If you let it go then two years down the track the mining companies will be here and if they’ve invested money they will be determined to mine.”
Mr Hutton joined the fight against CSG exploration after companies began mining around Chinchilla, Queensland, and he showed the Colac audience a photograph of the region.
“I grew up in Chinchilla and now it’s the capital of gas-land with gas wells and compressor stations everywhere,” he said.
“You need to ask yourselves ‘do you want to protect agriculture and the food-bowl or turn our bush into an industrial wasteland’,” Mr Hutton said.
“Take the time to get organised, learn about CSG, link up with environmental groups and the Lock the Gates campaign and work together,” he said.
Mr Walker said the “huge meetings” at Deans Marsh and Forrest showed the “strong resistance” to the prospect of an emerging fossil-fuel industry.
Tags: Mining
Great stuff! I attended that meeting… I have seen Cam speak before at the Forrest meeting- thought he was great! Saw Drew last night- he was fantastic… so great that he has made it to Vic to talk to us!!!
These companies are well aware of where the resource is, they just do exploration to prove the quantity and quality of the resource to attract the investors and overseas interest. If you allow this to proceed you will find yourself trying to stare down a multi-billion dollar multi-national company. That is what faces those of us in Qld now, when we protest we face the police tactical response group even though no violence has been shown by the protest groups. Another more interesting fact is Qld is a resource state, i went to a meeting with the opposition member of parliment last week, he informed the group Qld debt is so high it attracts $450,000 plus a day in interest. Is this the economic boom any state could want, say NO to CSG and COAL, protect our water and food, the multi-nationals certainly will not. The image of Chincilla shown by Drew is a partly developed gas field, our property sit on one of the next to be developed gas fields. Our Gate is Locked and we have no gas wells, simple message, Lock your Gate, support your neighbor to Lock his Gate, then encourage the community to Lock it’s Gate. Has been working for our property for years, even before the Lock the Gate campange, sadly all around us have fallen, save your region, save your state, the government will not.