Lyne MP Rob Oakeshott says the grassroots community campaign which urged the government to include Gloucester on the bioregional priority list has been won.

Yesterday’s announcement, he said, comes at a crucial time as Gloucester Resources Limited applies to operate an open cut mine just a few kilometres from town. “This has been an intense campaign over a substantial period of time to get the Commonwealth involved in what essentially has been a NSW Government planning matter,” Mr Oakeshott said.

“The community had lost faith in the NSW approvals process so the best way to restore that faith was to seek independent, scientific advice on the potential risks to our water supply.

“Having secured a national agreement, and the creation of an expert scientific committee on CSG, the next step was to get priority status for Gloucester so that the community’s questions about possible ground and surface water contamination can be thoroughly investigated.”

“It was critical to get Gloucester on the list, not only because of increasing mining company interest in the region but because the basin is part of the Manning catchment and impacts on 50,000 water users downstream,” he said.

As a result of Mr Oakeshott and New England MP Tony Windsor’s negotiations on the mining tax last November, the Commonwealth committed $150 million over four years to support the work of the Independent Expert Scientific Committee. A further $50 million will be provided to those states which use the advice of the committee in assessing CSG and coal mining applications.

“This is a sensible, practical approach to CSG assessments, where unbiased research addresses the key scientific questions about the relationship between CSG and water, free of influence from stakeholders and interest groups,” Mr Oakeshott said.