Save North-West NSW video

Lock the Gate's Video on why people do not want Santos drilling for CSG in North-West NSW is worth a look. Read in my blog about what has happened in Chinchilla in Queensland. More coming soon - it gets worse with air and noise pollution, and the human health impacts. Do we want this in NSW? Most people say NO! I recently visited the Santos site in The Pilliga, the recharge area of the Great Artesian Basin. I saw three areas devastated by spills and the project is not fully operational yet! Let's stop it before it is. Keep asking where are all the salts going.

Roads & Litter

CSG mining around Chinchilla has brought an enormous increase in traffic. Thousands of mine safe utes travel on the back roads and the Warrego Highway. Despite improvements to the highway, it now takes longer to travel to Dalby or Brisbane due in part to the speed limit being reduced from 110 kilometres an hour to 100.

‘The road toll went up by 25 percent in one year,’ said Chinchilla resident, Karen Auty. ‘Many others were injured. People are affected forever and that’s a huge unseen cost to the health system. People, unfamiliar with the area, drive after working very long hours, and go off the road. They are not used to kangaroos, emus and pigs jumping out in front of them. We have lots of 457s here. These overseas workers’ driving skills leave a lot to be desired.’

Chinchilla - Boom to Bust

'Beneficial water' from CSG runs into Chinchilla's water supply

The Chinchilla gas boom only lasted about four years, during the construction phase, which is the greatest employer of people. Major infrastructure, such as pipelines, dams, reverse osmosis plants and water and gas separation facilities were built.

House rental prices soared. Prior to the boom rents were stable. A three bedroom house with two bathrooms rented for $250 a week but this went up to $650-$700 a week. The most expensive, a five bedroom, five bathroom purpose built house cost $1,500 a week.

Chinchilla Before CSG

New well pad near Chinchilla

Karen Auty moved to the town of Chinchilla in Queensland’s Darling Downs in 2007. She was familiar with area as relatives lived there. It was a wealthy town surrounded by multimillion dollar cropping farms, watermelon farms and feed lots for beef cattle. The CSG industry was just starting but was not evident.

‘I moved to Chinchilla because house prices were affordable, the schools had a good name and it was a clean, tidy town with good people and clean country air. It had twelve churches and three pubs and a population of around 4,000. It’s the Bible belt, which is good and bad, but the good side is that you have neighbours you can trust. 

Help by Learning About CSG

Drilling rig near Miles, Queensland

I recently drove to Chinchilla in Queensland to find out about the effects of coal seam gas mining on a small country town since production began in 2006. I met Karen Auty, a resident of the town, who knows many people in the area who live on lifestyle blocks, productive farming land and in the town.

I interviewed Karen and am posting her comments along with my observations and research in a series of blogs on CSG education, before and after a gas boom, roads and litter, noise and air pollution, and health impacts, including mental health.

Hopeland Celebrates Gasfields Free Declaration Day

 Lock the Gate’s Drew Hutton, Shay Dougall & farmer Lee McNicholl

The Hopeland community in the Western Downs yesterday celebrated saying NO to coal seam gas (CSG) taking over their farmland, threatening their water supply and ruining their lifestyle.

About 30 locals gathered at a local property where Rev. Graham Slaughter of the Uniting Church accepted the declaration saying a massive 85 per cent of locals did not want the invasive gas.

Irrigation Ring Tank Bursts

Courtesy of John Reid-Carew

An irrigation ring tank has burst its banks, spilling treated water from Origin Energy's CSG mining onto a neighbouring property near Miles in Queensland. Joe Hill, a beef producer who has kept his property gas free (see blog How to Keep Miners Out 2/5/15), spoke to me last week about his concerns that the water his neighbour uses for irrigation may spill onto his property. Now it has.

Joe has just returned from Beef Australia, Australia’s national beef exposition held in Rockhampton where he was thrilled when his cow won Supreme Female of the Angus breed and was third in the Interbreed Champion of Champions. Joe has been breeding Bulliac Angus for over 25 years.