New conditions for the coal and coal seam gas industry announced by the State government yesterday
do not go far enough to protect the environment or local communities, according to the Nature
Conservation Council of NSW.
“The State government will need to dig deeper than temporary bans and short‐term fixes to bring the
unrestrained growth of coal and coal seam gas mining in NSW under control, and restore a good
balance between our environment, agricultural land and the mining industry,” Nature Conservation
Council of NSW Chief Executive Officer Pepe Clarke said today.
“Fracking is a highly toxic process that poses serious risks to our drinking water supplies, local wildlife
and their habitat and human health. But a temporary ban on fracking does not go far enough; we need
action that addresses the underlying permanent and destructive impacts of all mining exploration and
extraction techniques.
“Coal seam gas exploration and extraction should not be allowed to go ahead in our state until the full
environment, water supply and other risks can be appropriately assessed.
“The Nature Conservation Council of NSW is calling on the State government to establish areas in NSW
that are off limits to open cut and longwall mining and coal seam gas extraction based on
environmental, water supply and agricultural values. Conservationists, farmers and the broader
community do not support mining development at the expense of our food production, water security,
endangered species or the climate.
“We support the creation of an open, independent inquiry into the environmental impacts of coal
seam gas drilling and extraction. However, an inquiry must be complemented by strong precautions
now that rein in unsustainable mining expansion while the community and scientific experts have their
say on the impacts of projects across the state,” Mr Clarke said.
Photo: Yewenyi
