On Tuesday 4th December the vigil outside Metgasco's
coal seam gas well site at Glenugie
became a blockade when trucks carrying fencing arrived. The number of protesters grew as the news
spread. Six local police were in
attendance to clear a passage so that the trucks and other vehicles could enter
the site. Waiting on the site for the
equipment was one Metgasco employee – reported as being Stuart George, former
Richmond River Councillor and son of Thomas George, Member for Lismore.
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| Metgasco convoy |
The first major impediment to Metgasco was a campervan parked on the side of the road and blocking
access to the site gate. Having
misplaced her vehicle's keys, the owner was unable to comply with a police
order to move it out of the way.
Eventually a recovery truck arrived from Grafton. The camper was winched onto its tilt tray and
driven out of the way.
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| Protesters blocking access |
Once the access was clear, protesters moved in, milling
around and blocking the way. The leading
utility moved forward steadily, pushing the protesters back. While this was happening, local resident Deb
Whitley locked herself on under the second truck which was some distance down
the hill and away from the police.
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| Deb Whitley locked on. |
Releasing Ms Whitley took some time. The police were unable
to cut her free; an ambulance attended for a short time and then a Police
Rescue unit arrived and managed to release her.
The arrival of about eight riot police in a van saw additional pressure
put on the protesters to move out of the way.
After some discussion, they did so and the Metgasco convoy drove onto
the site at around 4.15 pm after being
delayed some hours.
Since then a vigil has been maintained at the site. The drilling rig is expected to arrive within
the next few days.
