General News
19 December, 2024
“Our work here is done”: No CSG Gilgandra group closes
No Coal Seam Gas Gilgandra District Inc. committee has recently resolved to voluntarily cancel the group, following significant policy changes and the quashing of petroleum exploration licences (PELs) in Gilgandra shire.
The group has fulfilled their objectives, which was to ‘raise awareness about coal seam gas activity in the Gilgandra region’.
“It is very rare that a community group closes because it achieves its objectives. It is more often due to declining interest or funds, and that is definitely not the case with this group,” explained Jan Robertson, the group’s long-time chair. “We’re so very, very proud that we have achieved what we set out to do, and that the incorporation and formal group is no longer necessary. This is something that our entire community should also be very proud of,” she added.
Formation of No CSG Gilgandra District Inc
A public meeting was held in Gilgandra in June 2013 with close to 300 attending, concerned about coal seam gas. In the lead-up to that meeting, and an earlier one at Curban, Santos had been undertaking seismic testing in the Tooraweenah district, for the potential purposes of exploring and extracting coal seam gas.
At the time, PELs covered most of Gilgandra shire. It was apparent to those at the meetings that the community needed to gain knowledge about this unconventional mining industry to assess its future impacts on the people, businesses and the environment of the Gilgandra district.
Concerns raised at the meetings centred largely on the potential for irreparable damage to our underground water, a concern shared across rural and town residents. No CSG Gilgandra District Inc was formed in July 2013 as a result.
Survey process
Once the group was established, the next three years were spent researching, educating and then surveying the whole Gilgandra shire. During this time, the group had a financial membership of almost 250, an incredible indication of the importance the community placed on the issue.
“With the help of countless other concerned residents, from December 2013 to May 2016 the group surveyed residents district-by-district in Gilgandra shire, asking the simple question ‘Do you want your roads and lands gasfield free?”’ explained Colleen Fraser, who coordinated the majority of the surveys. “A total of 2937 residents over the age of 16 were surveyed. An overwhelming 98.09 per cent of people responded with ‘yes’.
“As a result, our communities very proudly declared ‘Gilgandra Shire Gasfield Free’ in June 2016,” Mrs Fraser added.
“We were so proud of the overwhelming interest of our community to be involved in the survey process. And it is so great to have a continuing reminder of these results on the signage you see on the highways when you drive into Gilgandra,” said Mrs Fraser.
“With these overwhelming survey results to support us we attended meetings and gatherings all over NSW to express our collective voice; created and supported petitions about the consequences of CSG; lobbied Gilgandra Shire Council, politicians and bureaucrats via many avenues; and presented at regulatory hearings. With the community’s aid, we and many like-minded groups across NSW, successfully advocated their wishes for the future of the shire and the state. The CSG industry in NSW stalled,” Mrs Robertson explained.
Closing the group
A special resolution was passed on August 7, 2024, at Gilgandra Services Club, to ‘Voluntarily Cancel No CSG Gilgandra District Incorporated Association’. NSW Fair Trading subsequently advised that the incorporated association was finalised on October 25, 2024. This was a decision made and enacted not due to failure but of success.
On closing, the committee members resolved to keep the residue of funds within the district. The funds were raised locally through membership and fundraising activities over the last 11 years.
“We see that the funds held by No CSG Gilgandra District Inc belong to our community. We have supported our local shows through sponsorship, and we’d like that to continue,” explained long-time committee member David Peart. “Our remaining funds have been split equally between Gilgandra Show Society and Tooraweenah P,A&H for show sponsorships in the future. These two organisations have supported and welcomed our participation from our inception 11-years-ago, so we would like to give back,” he added.
The future...
“Although we still believe strongly in a no CSG future for our district, we feel that after the quashing of the PELs in Gilgandra shire and some surrounding areas in 2021, the reality is, that we have fulfilled the objects of this group being ‘to raise awareness about coal seam gas activity in Gilgandra district’,” explained Mrs Robertson.
“While the PELs in Gilgandra shire have been quashed, and the risk to our own district has been reduced, it is important to acknowledge that the Narrabri Gas Project still has approval to proceed. There are other communities, including those in the Liverpool Plains, Queensland, and in the Northern Territory who are still dealing with CSG and the associated infrastructure in their backyards.”
“We’ll continue to keep an eye on activities around the Narrabri Gas Project and its associated infrastructure, and to keep our community informed, when necessary, but with the closure of this group, there will be no ongoing fees or expenses for the running of a formal group. From all of the outgoing committee, we thank previous committee members and all of our community for their ongoing support, interest and participation”, concluded Mrs Robertson.
