I am really worried that Coal Seam Gas mining is coming to the Tweed.
I’ve watched Gasland and I know that this mining process can contaminate the water table, can make our water flammable and destroys adjoining farmland. It is a travesty that it is coming here.
The New South Wales Government is the one that has to approve any new mines and it is this government that has promised to overhaul planning procedures to hand the power back to local councils.
If this is what happens, then local councils are the ones that are going to have to deal with approving or denying each application for each Coal Seam Gas mine.
The Tweed Shire Council staff are already overworked and surely don’t have the expertise to deal with this sort of thing and when they make sensible environmental recommendations, the Tweed Shire councillors overrule them anyway.
The Federal Government has no power to approve or forbid and so it is up to our local State Member to protect us. It is only the State Government that can impose a moratorium over Coal Seam Gas mining.
It is only the State Government that can ban the chemicals that this process uses. It is only the State Government that can protect our water, our farms and our national parks.
It is time for Provest to do something for locals. It is his government that can do something and so far he has failed to even raise this issue.
C Page
Tweed Heads
