CAN THE NSW GOVERNMENT BE TRUSTED TO KEEP THE NSW NORTHERN RIVERS GASFIELD FREE?

Late in 2015 the NSW Government reached agreement with gas-mining company Metgasco about a buy-back of its petroleum exploration licences in the Northern Rivers of NSW.  This followed years of community protests against coal seam gas and unconventional gas mining with major campaigns at Glenugie near Grafton, Doubtful Creek near Kyogle and which culminated in massive protest at Bentley close to Casino and Lismore.

The agreement with Metgasco effectively meant that the Northern Rivers became gasfield free.  This was what community groups like Gasfield Free Northern Rivers, Lock the Gate and the Knitting Nannas Against Gas had been aiming for in the Northern Rivers area.  And local National Party MPs like Chris Gulaptis, Member for Clarence, assured the community that the area indeed was and would continue to be gasfield free.

However, since then community members have learnt about a number of developments that cast considerable doubt on these assurances.

On February 9 2016 the Lismore-based paper The Northern Star published a story about NSW Mining Minister Anthony Roberts stating that the NSW Government intended to unlock new coal seam gas reserves "to local mining companies that will supply into local markets rather than export".

In support of this plan Minister Roberts claimed that NSW last year had come within a hair's breadth of "catastrophic" gas shortages because of a lack of a local supply.

This is a repetition of the spurious arguments that were used by the Government during the Northern Rivers community campaign to declare this part of the state gasfield free.  It completely ignored the fact that NSW had a very plentiful supply of gas from interstate and there was no danger of gas shortages, catastrophic or otherwise.

The next development which caused concern was the release of the NSW Department of Planning's Regional Plan.The Draft North Coast Regional Plan which was put on exhibition in March is the "proposed blueprint" for the next 20 years.  According to the foreword it "outlines a vision, goals and actions that focus on a sustainable future for the region as it grows that protects the environment, builds a prosperous community and offers attractive lifestyle choices for residents." 

The Draft Plan also states clearly that gas mining in the Clarence -Moreton Basin is still on the agenda.  "The North Coast also includes areas of the Clarence-Moreton Basin, which has potential coal seam gas resources that may be able to support the development and growth of new industries and provide economic benefits for the region..." It also states that the NSW Department of Industry is mapping coal and coal seam gas resources in the region.

If the two developments above were insufficient to cause community concern about the government's intentions, early in May the community learned of another indication of the government's desire to restart gas-mining in the region. Marketing material, prepared by NSW Trade and Investment bureaucrats, was presented in March to a mining conference in Toronto attended by thousands of mining investors from more than 100 countries.

Investors were told that a 16,000 sq km area of the Northern Rivers, the Clarence-Moreton Basin, "has very good petroleum potential" and that almost all the wells drilled have yielded gas or oil.

Was the marketing promotion a "bureaucratic error" as claimed by some local politicians? In the very unlikely event that it was, it indicates that the Government is performing very poorly in communicating its policies to the bureaucracy.  Presumably the inclusion of gas-mining in the Draft Regional Plan was also a "bureaucratic error".

The Northern Rivers community has good reason to be very suspicious of the Baird Government's commitment to a gasfield free Northern Rivers.

NSW GOVERNMENT BUYS BACK TWO SMALL PETROLUEM LICENCES

The NSW Government's Minister for Energy and Resources, Anthony Roberts, announced on March 10 that the government had bought back two Petroleum Exploration Licences (PELs) in the Clarence Valley. 

The fact that Roberts travelled to Grafton to make the announcement alongside Chris Gulaptis, the local National Party Member for Clarence, is significant.  It suggests that the Nationals and their Liberal Party coalition partners have concerns about the widespread opposition to gas mining in the Northern Rivers - and the impact this could have on the result in the March 28 State Election.

The announcement is another Government attempt to defuse the concern about gas mining in the region.  It follows the Government's release of their Gas Plan late last year and an advertising campaign early this year  in local media claiming the Plan addresses community concerns about gas mining.

The NSW Gas Plan was developed in response to the report (Final Report of the Independent Review of Coal Seam Gas Activities in NSW ) by the NSW Chief Scientist and Engineer following her inquiry into gas mining in the state.  Neither the Plan nor the advertising campaign have been successful in allaying community concerns. Opponents to gas mining in the region have pointed out that the Plan has not addressed all of the recommendations made by the Chief Scientist and there is considerable uncertainty about when, if ever, these will all be addressed.

While Member for Clarence, Chris Gulaptis, claimed that the buyback shows the Gas Plan is working, opponents see it as a political stunt.  Gasfield Free Northern Rivers Coordinator Elly Bird  said, "This is a cynical and tokenistic attempt by the  Liberal-National government to look like they are doing something on this issue when they could have acted decisively long ago by refusing to renew the Metgasco and Igas licences that were quietly renewed despite repeated calls from rhe community for their cancellation."

BENTLEY GAS DRILLING APPROVAL SUSPENDED

On Thursday May 15 gas-miner Metgasco's right to drill an exploration well at the Rosella site at Bentley was suspended by the NSW Minister for Resources and Energy Anthony Roberts.

Bentley, 12 km north-west of Casino in the Richmond River Local Government Area, has for months been the site of protest  by community members opposed to gas-mining in the Northern Rivers of NSW.  The Bentley protest has been a continuation of protests against Metgasco at earlier test drilling sites at Glenugie, near Grafton, and Doubtful Creek, near Kyogle.

Minister Roberts said that he suspended the  approval on the grounds "that it did not fulfil a condition of its exploration licence, namely to undertake genuine and effective consultation with the community as required." (  Minister Roberts' Media Release   )

Metgasco has apparently misled  local landowners about the type of mining it expected to undertake at Bentley, denying that the gas was in a tight sands formation, which would have meant that fracking was required for its extraction.  The local community has been well aware that the gas is locked in tight sands and is obviously very concerned about the effect fracking would have on the agricultural activities in the area.

It is interesting that the Minister also announced that he has written to the Commissioner of the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) "following receipt of information concerning shareholdings and interests in Metgasco Limited". 

The protesters at the protest camp on the property next to the drill site have been celebrating the suspension as have many other members of the Northern Rivers community - and indeed other opponents of the CSG and the unconventional gas industry throughout NSW and further afield.  There is, however, general awareness that, while a celebration is justified, the battle against the invasive gas industry is far from over.

It is interesting to speculate on the suspension decision.  There may have been other factors contributing to it.  A possible confrontation between thousands of Bentley protesters and hundreds of police next week when Metgasco was to begin its preparation of the drill site may have worried the Government.  Compounding this may have been some nervousness about the approach of the state election due in March next year - particularly in the light of the State Government's concerns about the recent relevations in ICAC.