PRIME farming land, rivers, lakes and coastal waterways throughout the Mid North Coast face serious threat from the encroaching coal seam gas industry, local Greens co-convenor Ian Oxenford has warned.
The hi-tech survey plane owned by a West Australian company which has been flying around mapping the presence of coal seam gas and others resources between the Manning Valley and Nambucca over the past few months should be ringing alarm bells for residents, Mr Oxenford said.
The threats to the welfare of the environment are on both land and sea, with the first exploratory drill searching for coal seam gas having been dropped in Commonwealth waters 27kms off the coast of Port Stephens earlier this month, Mr Oxenford said.
"The Great Lakes Council last month resolved to have a report carried out to evaluate the threat to its aquatic environment from the off-shore coal seam gas exploration near Port Stephens," he said.
Greater Taree City Council may follow suit with Cr David Keegan, who is chair of the estuary and coastal management committee, saying last week that he would call for council's support for a report to investigate the issue of coal seam gas mining at the council's February meeting.
in February.
Mr Oxenford, who was the Greens candidate for Lyne at the last federal election, called on mid-north coast state politicians and candidates in the forthcoming State election to speak out and oppose the spread of coal seam gas mining into the mid-north coast.
He also called on residents to put pressure on MPs and local candidates to voice their opposition to the industry.
"While there is a state election in progress, it's a good time to make sure our politicians are listening," he said.
He said the Greens policy was for no new mines and no expansion of existing mines.
"The natural environment we have here on the mid-north coast is far too precious," he said.
"You've only got to look to the Hunter Valley, to our immediate south, to see that mining poses too great a risk of widespread and serious damage to our beautiful, natural landscapes and waterways," he said.
"Very little benefit will be delivered to the local area or local people from this kind of development and we could lost the potential we have for the development of other, more environmentally friendly industries, including tourism."
The mid-north coast should be positioning itself to build and develop a strong renewable energies industry, he said.
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