PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The Douglas Shire Council, in far north Queensland, has thrown its support behind an anti-fracking lobbying group to oppose coal seam gas (CSG) mining in the region.
An ordinary council meeting on Wednesday passed a resolution for the Douglas Shire to be a “Lock the Gate” supportive shire, with the council saying that it would encourage residents to sign a petition against CSG operations in the region.
Furthermore, the council would also support neighbouring shires in opposition to CSG mining and would sign the “Call to Country” on the Lock the Gate website and send it to local, state and federal members of Parliament, as well as petition the Prime Minister.
Mayor Julia Leu said the council had a responsibility to oppose CSG mining.
“While the issuing of CSG permits is the responsibility of the state government, it is important as a council we take a stand against this controversial practice and send a clear message to authorities and coal seam gas mining companies that we do not wish to compromise our pristine environment for their benefit,” Leu said.
“There is evidence that CSG mining can contaminate underground aquifers and we, as a council, do not support the rights of coal seam gas companies over local landholders.”
The Queensland state government has expended significant energy on moderating its CSG industry and, in June this year, introduced the Mineral and Energy Resources Bill 2014 as the first step in creating a single, common resources Act for the mining, petroleum and gas, greenhouse-gas storage and geothermal energy sectors.
The Bill, which forms part of the Modernising Queensland’s Resources Acts initiative, was aimed at introducing a new framework for managing the state’s overlapping coal and petroleum tenures to facilitate co-existence of coal mining and CSG industries, while also expanding the Land Court’s jurisdiction to hear conduct matters when considering conduct and compensation agreements.
The CSG to liquefied natural gas industry was currently worth about A$70-billion in Queensland, and first exports have been planned for later this year.