Lock the gate from corporate miners!
Land holders of Illford take a stand against the corporate mining threat
(Central Tablelands, New South Wales, Australia)(©Photo SMH, 20110530)
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Illford rural landholder, Nell Schofield, has learned of deals by the New South Wales government and corporate miners to dig up rural land around her and the local community and bugger the environment in the process.
Greedy Sydney-based coal exporter Centennial Coal and Swiss-based coal-mining multinational Xtrata have secretly secured underground mining exploration licenses from the previous unscrupulous Labor Government of New South Wales in the rural Illford area, situated north-west of the Blue Mountains in the Central Tablelands of New South Wales.
In true Labor Party style, the big coal companies have strategically taken on a divide and conquer tactic over the local landholders to secure a legal foothold, by offering financially enticing agreements to individual land holders, slyly one by one.
”The way they come into the community is divide and conquer … they throw contracts down in front of landowners who don’t have lawyers. They just get done over“, says Schofield.
This reverberates of the similar scheming tactics employed by the NSW Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) across the nearby Blue Mountains. Under the past decade of NSW Labor Government direction, the RTA has village by village, bulldozed its juggernaut B-Double expressway through the Central Blue Mountain’s, urbanising villages into suburbs and dividing locals geographically in the process.
But these corporate miners will have a fight on their hands as their baby boomer boards pursue their 20th Century dirty energy agendas.
The locals of Illford and surrounding districts affected by this mining threat are set to follow the ame reaction by hundreds of Queensland farmers who have already vowed to lock their gates to keep coal and gas explorers at bay. They are also not alone – check the links below.
[Source: ‘Not in my backyard, actor tells coalminers’, by Cosima Marriner, The Sun-Herald, Sunday 29th May 29, 2011, http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/not-in-my-backyard-actor-tells-coalminers-20110528-1f9fr.html, viewed 20110529].
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.Find out about the Gas Industry Report in NSW 2009-10, click HERE
(Go to page 27, and be aware that from 1st March 2011, thanks to the previous NSW Labor Government, Origin Energy acquired the remaining dominant retail energy providers of New South Wales: Integral Energy and Country Energy).
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Drew Hutton and friends, the Greens
(Darling Downs, south-west Queensland)
(prepared to get arrested for campaigning against coal seam gas…and he did).
.Massive coal seam gas projects in the Darling Downs have received government approvals, but not community approval. The scam laws negotiated with the Queensland Government, under Section 804 of the Petroleum and Gas Act, permits mining and gas companies access to private land and provides for $50 000 fines for hindering the companies’ access.
This corporate intimidation of locals at its worst, and Origin Energy stands to be one of the largest investors, buyers and beneficiaries.
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‘Origin Energy to invest additional $114 million in Queensland Coal Seam Gas’
(ASX/Media Release, 25th July 2006)
‘Australian integrated energy company Origin Energy will invest an additional $114 million in its Spring Gully Coal Seam Gas Project to double its production capacity to around 85TJ/Day thereby providing further security to Queensland’s energy supply. This investment will see Origin supply natural gas to prominent Queensland businesses QAL, Incitec Pivot and Energex. .Located 90km north of Roma in central Queensland, the original $200 million Spring Gully Gas Project entered into commercial service in July 2005 and has been performing above expectations by delivering higher than expected levels of natural gas. The Plant was officially opened in November 2005 by Premier Peter Beattie. .
Origin Chief Operating Officer, Karen Moses, said the expansion of the Spring Gully Project further underpins and secures Coal Seam Gas as a reliable and key energy source for Queensland in the decades ahead. “There is a strong and ongoing role for Coal Seam Gas in the mix of Queensland’s energy supply,” said Ms Moses. .
“Since Origin was listed in 2000 it has invested over $800 million in Queensland in oil and gas production, power generation and LPG distribution. Doubling the output of our Spring Gully Project maintains Origin’s position at the forefront of the gas industry in Queensland, as well as one the major providers of commercially proven Coal Seam Gas.” .
“One of the most significant changes in Australia’s gas supply in recent years has been the emergence of Coal Seam Gas as a reliable and viable major new energy source for Queensland. We are particularly pleased that our Coal Seam Gas developments in Queensland are playing a crucial role in supporting the State Government’s Clean Energy Strategy* ” .
“Origin is already committed to clean energy and, with over 100,000 customers, sells green power to more customers than any other energy retailer in Australia. Indeed, Origin has introduced GreenEarth Gas, the first product of its type in Australia to offset a customer’s greenhouse gas emissions from their use of natural gas” added Ms Moses. .
Origin is also seeking Government approval for a nominal 1,000 MW gas fired power station to be co-located with the Spring Gully Gas Plant.’
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[Source: http://www.originenergy.com.au/news/email-article/asxmedia-releases/682].
Live in NSW and concerned whether you’re at risk from mining leases under you?
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Check this NSW Government Mining Lease map and make sure that you’re not in either of the two chlorine blue zones:
NSW State Mining Lease Map (‘TAS’)(Source: http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/minerals/titles/online-services/tasmap)
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Further Information:
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[3] ‘New Era for Mining Consultation in NSW‘, by Suzanne Hill, Thursday 14th April 2011, ABC Rural (NSW), ^http://www.abc.net.au/rural/nsw/content/2011/04/s3191549.htm?site=sydney [4] ‘New Mining Minister says reaching balance between mining and agriculture a challenge‘, by Suzanne Hill, Friday 15th April 2011, ^http://www.abc.net.au/rural/nsw/content/2011/04/s3192718.htm?site=sydney [5] ‘Anti-mining activists protest in Sydney‘, by Jessica Burke, 22nd March 2011, CoalMining.com.au, ^http://www.miningcoal.com.au/news/anti-mining-activists-protest-in-sydney?utm_source=20110530&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletters [6] ‘The Impact of Coal Mining on the Gardens of Stone‘, by Keith Muir, March 2010, The Colong Foundation for Wilderness, ^http://www.colongwilderness.org.au/Gardens_of_Stone/Impact_of_coal_mining_on_GoS2_final_low_res.pdf [7] (Various media releases on this issue), The Colong Foundation for Wilderness, ^http://www.colongwilderness.org.au/media_releases/media_archive09.htm [8] ‘More on the death of Thirlmere Lakes‘, by Chris, 30th November 2010, Rivers SOS, ^http://riverssos.org.au/tag/colong-foundation-for-wilderness/ [9] Campaign against Mining & Gas, Nature Conservation Council (NCC), ^http://www.nccnsw.org.au/campaigns/mining-and-gas [10] ‘Open Cut Mine for Blackalls Park? – Where will you be when it all hits the fan? ‘, published in the interest of the community by webmaster: John Woods, ^http://www.anzacs.net/Awaba.htm (Lake Macquarie Electorate, NSW) [11] ‘Protest Centennial Coal AGM‘, Rising Tide Australia, ^http://www.risingtide.org.au/node/255 (Dated 2004, but organisation still very active) [12] ‘Charged Green won’t take foot off the gas‘, Daniel Hurst, 31st March 2011, Brisbane Times, ^http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/environment/charged-green-wont-take-foot-off-the-gas-20110330-1cg57.html [13] ‘Farmers to ‘lock the gates’ on mining companies‘, Sunday 28th November 2010, by Jim McIlroy, ^http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/46263 [14] Environmental Defenders Office (EDO) on Mining, ^http://www.edo.org.au/edonsw/compliance/mining.html
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© Photo: Groomgreens.org
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-end of article –
Tags: Centennial Coal, Illford, lock the gate campaign, Lock the Gate resistance movement, Origin Energy, sixdegrees, Xtrata
