News
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Lock the Gate calls for communities' right to veto mining in SRLUP submission
Date: Tue 15-May-12
The Lock the Gate Alliance submission to the NSW Government's Strategic Regional Land Use Policy has called for communities to be given a veto right over exploration, mining and gas production in their regions.
Recommendation 8 of 12 in the submission reads: "Introduce a process to enable local communities to be able to say no to mining and petroleum exploration or production in their areas.
Dart's Energy announces they will not drill in St Peters: Community group Stop CSG Sydney remains cynical.
Date: Thu 10-May-12
Author: Jacinta Green
Stop CSG Sydney welcomes the ASX announcement today that Dart Energy will not drill in St Peters. However after 18 months of dealing with Dart Energy they remain cynical and will not abandon their campaign until the well is completely off the table.
Coal seam gas plans for St Peters never had permission to go ahead
Date: Thu 10-May-12
Author: Kate Ausburn
Residents of St Peters have been shocked to discover the company that planned to drill for coal seam gas in their community never had a formal land access agreement with the owners of the proposed site.
This news comes just days after Marrickville Council voted unanimously to prohibit CSG on the site in question as a condition of the council issued development renewal. The St Peters site is owned by Dial A Dump and is home to a waste and recycling facility. The decision made by Marrickville Council on Tuesday 8 May permits Dial A Dump to continue operations provided it does not allow any CSG activity on the site.
Marrickville Council unanimously backs residents in a big win effectively banning Coal Seam Gas from St Peters.
Date: Wed 09-May-12
Author: Jacinta Green
Marrickville Councillors backed residents campaigning against coal seam gas in the inner city tonight when they voted unanimously to support a new condition on agreeing to the development application of a waste recycling business - to prohibit coal seam gas mining.
Inner City Council votes to LOCK THE GATE - A huge win as inner city anti-coal seam gas campaigners gets unanimous support from local council to Lock the Gate on Coal Seam Gas.
Date: Wed 09-May-12
Author: Jacinta Green
Stop CSG Sydney, one of many community groups part of the Lock The Gate Alliance, had a monumental win in the anti coal seam gas campaign last night. Marrickville Council voted unanimously to make approval of a Development Application conditional on no Coal Seam Gas development taking place on approved site.
NSW SRLUP Submission extended to 14th May
Date: Mon 07-May-12
Submissions to the NSW Strategic Regional Land Use Plans has been extended to the 14th of May.
Please get your submission in and encourage friends and family to do likewise
LEARD FOREST NEXT BIG BATTLEGROUND IN MINING FIGHT
Date: Sun 06-May-12
Report confirms Coal Seam Gas a risk
Date: Thu 03-May-12
New South Wales parliamentary inquiry shows Queensland the way on coal seam gas
Date: Wed 02-May-12
Author: Drew Hutton
The New South Wales upper house inquiry into coal seam gas is set to issue a report today recommending the NSW government should cease issuing production licences for coal seam gas production until a ''comprehensive framework'' for regulating the industry is developed.
Government warned: Don't try to divide farmers and environmentalists
Date: Sun 29-Apr-12
Author: Drew Hutton
The Lock the Gate Alliance has warned the New South Wales Coalition that it risks losing the support of much of the rural vote it received at the last election if it continued to pursue its current policies on mining and coal seam gas.
Bellata (Home to world famous Bellata Gold Pasta) withdraws social licence for CSG, Hartcher must do the same, or will be seen as supporting CSG Worst Practice
Date: Sun 29-Apr-12
Author: Penny Blatchford
Bellata, Gurley, Terry Hie Hie farmers withdraw social licence from Leichhardt Resources: Hartcher must now withdraw government licence
The Bellata Gurley Action Group Against Gas (BGAGAG) has lodged a submission to the Director General (DG) of Trade & Investment objecting to the renewal of PEL470 held by Leichhardt Resources Pty Ltd.
The vast antique Pilliga Forest
Date: Sat 28-Apr-12
Author: Jacinta Green
When word went out to environment groups, students and regional media that another Coal Seam Gas tour of Australia's most threatened semi-arid forest was on, the response was wide and enthusiastic. Last Friday in front of the National Park's Pilliga Forest Discovery Centre in Barradine, a large group from all ages and walks of life, gathered for the tour. Coming from Queensland to ACT and points in between, the group assembled to find out more about the Pilliga Forest and the threat of coal seam gas. Inside the discovery centre at Barradine, displays show the diversity of wildlife to be found in this vast antique forest.
Lock the Gate Alliance call its members to action on 1 May
Date: Wed 25-Apr-12
Author: Justin Field
Lock the Gate President Drew Hutton calls on all supporters to Rally against the Government's weak Land Use Plans on 1 May @ Martin Place Sydney
Lock the Gate warns CSG committee to back moratorium
Date: Fri 20-Apr-12
Author: Drew Hutton
Lock the Gate Alliance President Drew Hutton has warned Shooters and Fishers Party MP and Coal Seam Gas Inquiry chair Robert Brown that he risks a backlash from the bush if the inquiry report does not recommend a moratorium on coal seam gas exploration and production in NSW.
Good science and balanced development must guide new LNP government in Queensland
Date: Thu 29-Mar-12
Author: Drew Hutton
The Lock the Gate Alliance today congratulated Queensland Premier Campbell Newman whose government yesterday ruled out approving the Acland and Felton coal mines on the state's Darling Downs and called on him to make science and balanced development the key themes of his term of office.
Lock the Gate president, Drew Hutton, said it was obvious Mr Campbell was going to make quick and decisive changes to the way things worked in Queensland and he was hoping Lock the Gate could work with the new government instead of going to war with it, as they had to do with the previous Labor government.
"Mr Newman has made a good start. The Acland and Felton projects should never get approval because they are on good agricultural land and in closely settled areas. Such places are not suitable for high-impact mining," Mr Hutton said.
Hutton condemns Palmer's 'mischievous' defamation
Date: Mon 26-Mar-12
Author: Drew Hutton
Lock the Gate Alliance president, Drew Hutton, responded with disgust to today's news that mining magnate, Clive Palmer, had made his defamatory comments about him to distract the media from negative stories about the LNP.
"Clive Palmer has simply made any defamation case against him more winnable because his comments were made knowing they were wrong and for mischievous, opportunistic reasons," Mr Hutton said.
Labor punished for selling state assets: Newman must learn the lesson
Date: Sun 25-Mar-12
Author: Drew Hutton
Lock the Gate Alliance president, Drew Hutton, congratulated Campbell Newman on his election victory last night and welcomed his statement that he would govern for all Queenslanders.
Mr Hutton said the LNP should learn from the mistakes of the Bligh government which had been rightly punished by the voters.
"Anna Bligh's complete failure to appreciate the traditional nature of Queensland politics and the widespread belief that state assets should not be flogged off because the government can't balance the books led to the almost complete obliteration of the Labor Party in the Queensland Parliament," Mr Hutton said.
Lock the Gate welcomes Labor's plans to protect Bimblebox
Date: Fri 23-Mar-12
Author: Drew Hutton
The Lock the Gate Alliance welcome the overnight announcement by the Queensland ALP to protect nature refuges from mining, including the Bimblebox refuge near Alpha.
Alliance president, Drew Hutton, said this was a major concession by Labor and he called on the Liberal National Party to match the promise.
Media: Alliance locks the gate on Saxon Drilling
Date: Tue 20-Mar-12
Author: Drew Hutton
The Lock the Gate Alliance will begin blockading a training camp for coal seam gas drilling at Wellcamp on the outskirts of Toowoomba starting at 3 p.m. today.
The address for the blockade is Lot 31 Cecil Plains Road. The training camp is run by Saxon Drilling.
Media: Coal seam gas tenements in Brisbane suburbs
Date: Mon 19-Mar-12
Author: Drew Hutton
A large coal seam gas exploration permit has been granted over a large part of Brisbane's western suburbs.
The permit, known as EPP641 is owned by BNG Pty Ltd which is a subsidiary of the large CSG company, Arrow which is, in turn, owned 50-50 by the multi-national corporations, PetroChina and Shell.
Suburbs of Brisbane covered by the EPP include Moggill, Pullenvale, Karana Downs and Brookfield and the tenement comes within a kilometre or so of the Kenmore shopping centre.
LNP promises to protect nature refuges from mining in response to Lock the Gate questionnaire
Date: Sun 18-Mar-12
Author: Drew Hutton
The LNP has agreed to refuse to allow mining in areas of high conservation value such as nature refuges in a response to the Lock the Gate Alliance's policy questionnaire.
This puts the LNP on a collision course with mining magnate, Clive Palmer, whose Waratah Coal project planned to obliterate the Bimblebox nature refuge, near Alpha in the Galilee Basin.
The LNP also promised to protect from mining the eastern Darling Downs, the Golden Triangle in central Queensland and the Scenic Rim, south of Brisbane, although they received only a disappointing 5 out of 20 on the Lock the Gate scorecard.
NSW Government's commitment to 'Community Consultation' under a dark cloud as Petroleum Exploration licences for the Riverina are announced in the middle of the flood crisis.
Date: Wed 14-Mar-12
Author: Jacinta Green
The new 'community consultation guidelines' do not apply until after the exploration licences is granted, leaving flooded farmers in Urana locked out of the the process
Media: Lee Kernaghan to open and close Food Security Forum
Date: Wed 07-Mar-12
Author: Drew Hutton
Australian country music singer and songwriter and 2008 Australian of the Year, Lee Kernaghan will open and close next Monday's Food Security Forum at the Brisbane Convention.
Mr Kernaghan, who feels passionately about the destruction being caused to the Australian bush by coal and coal seam gas, will sing some of the songs that have made him a household name in this country.
The Food Security Forum will be hosted by radio broadcaster, Alan Jones, and will feature four intelligent and courageous women farmers on the front line of the conflict with the resources sector in Queensland. These women are Ruth Armstrong, a cotton and grain irrigation farmer from Cecil Plains, Tanya Plant, a farmer who lives next door to the Acland coal mine, Katie Lloyd, a cattle farmer from Chinchilla who has had to live for several years with over 20 gas wells on her property, and Debbi Orr from the Tara residential estate who is forced to live next to a QGC gas field. All women are also mothers with small children.
Media: Fight goes on as Government fails on coal and gas promises
Date: Tue 06-Mar-12
Author: Drew Hutton
Lock The Gate Alliance has described the Strategic Regional Land Use Plans and Aquifer Interference Policy released today by the NSW Government as just more broken promises and said the fight will continue to prevent coal and gas mining from wrecking NSW.
"The NSW Government has broken its promises to put some decent controls on coal and gas mining and instead chosen to literally sell the farm to coal and gas companies.
"The community will not be deceived by the spin and rhetoric around this announcement by the NSW Government but will now redouble the fight against coal and gas mining in NSW.
