“This is a war4water”

THAT was the opening statement at a mass gathering at Coonamble Bowling Club on Saturday 10 February that attracted close to five hundred people.
Many said they will “do whatever it takes” to prevent the development of the Santos Pilliga Coal Seam Gas project and the APA Western Slopes Pipeline.
“Why would the driest inhabited continent on earth jeopardise it’s single greatest water reservoir?” says David Chadwick from the Great Artesian Basin Protection Group.
“That is why this is not just a Coonamble issue. The Great Artesian Basin covers 22% of Australia. This is a national issue.”
The meeting opened with a minute’s silence for “a great stalwart of Coonamble” Tom Cullen who passed away on 9 February.
While it would have taken a brave soul to voice a dissenting view in the packed auditorium, among the crowd were local business owners, Aboriginal community members and townspeople who had come to get some background on the issue.
“I’m just trying to get my head around it,” one resident said. “It’s our water too.”
Speakers from within the region included Sally Hunter from Narrabri, Melinda Mills from Tottenham, along with Theresa Stanford from the local Aboriginal community and Coonamble landowner Adam Macrae.
The GABPG had also invited Joe Hill from Miles/Chinchilla in Queensland, Peter Martin from the Southern Highlands and former Mayor of Gloucestor, Julie Lyford.
Among the crowd were others from Walgett, Quirindi, Condobolin, Warren, Narromine, Coonabarabran and beyond, including North Sydney.
Noticeably absent were the region’s state and federal political representatives.
In the crowd was former federal politician Tony Windsor who speculated that the true bounty for Santos was not the coal seam gas within the Pilliga Forest but in the areas to both the east and west.
“The Pilliga is the centre of a very large circle,” he told the meeting. “To the east is the Liverpool Plains with the state’s largest groundwater reserves and to the west is the most unique water system in the world, the Great Artesian Basin.”
“Why would you risk these systems for a blink in history?” Mr Windsor said.
“The [federal government’s] scientific committee needs to examine whether the impact of the activity can extend beyond the site and they must do their own independent work.”
Mrs Lyford referred to the ‘lack of social licence’ for the coal seam gas fields and associated pipeline and the potential “culpability” of both the companies involved and the bureaucrats and politicians who look set to approve the projects.
Citing her own experience, Mrs Lyford urged those present to “stick to the facts”, document their experiences with the companies involved and seek out rigorous, independent and fully referenced information.
“Don’t sit back and say ‘that’s the company or the government and they know better than us,” she said.
Sally Hunter from Narrabri told the crowd, “It has divided our community.”
“We’re the silent majority,” she said. “We live there and we know what people think and there’s no social licence.”
The tone of the meeting was one of defiance, with speakers detailing the potential destruction to invaluable “groundwater assets” and calling for a united stand to delay the projects and ultimately ‘win’.
“The city is starting to be aware,” speaker Peter Martin, a former Senior Executive for offshore oil and gas companies told the Coonamble Times.
“There’s no doubt this project can get a high profile because it is a war.”
“If there’s going to be direct action,” said Tony Windsor. “Count me in.”