May 2, 2012

Running Stream Joins Thousands at Rally


Association members joined with around 5 thousand people from both country and city regions who rallied outside Parliament House yesterday to demonstrate their opposition to the O'Farrell Government's Draft Regional Land Use Plan. Marching alongside members of the CWA, who were protesting for the first time in their 90 year history, the group backed the NSW Farmers Association call for a reassessment of the Draft Regional Land Use Plan.

Marching behind some whip cracking kids, the crowd chanted the rally cry; 'Save our water, save our land, country and city, united we stand'. And it was exciting for members to be part of this movement for the preservation of our precious resources.

Farmers Association President Fiona Simpson encouraged the assembled crowd to make a written submission in addition to the personal one that they were making by being present at the rally.
Information about submissions can be found on their website (http://www.nswfarmers.org.au/)

Submissions close on May 3 so if you care about you land and water, please take a minute to let your feelings known.

The Nature Conservation Council of NSW has also compiled the following points which you may use in your submission:


Submission Guide: Have your say on mining and coal seam gas expansion


Take action today to protect water, wildlife and local communities from the impacts of mining and coal seam gas development. 

In the lead up to the state election, the NSW Liberals and Nationals promised to protect ‘critical agricultural and environmental assets’ from the impacts of mining and gas development.

They promised to introduce strategic regional land use plans that would identify ‘sensitive areas’ that would be off limits to mining and coal seam gas.

They promised to protect strategic agricultural land and areas of high conservation value.

To date, they have comprehensively failed to deliver on that promise.

The draft land use plans recently released by the NSW Government do not place a single square inch of the state off limits to mining and coal seam gas.

The draft land use plans fail to provide certainty for local communities, and do not provide clear legal protection for water, wildlife and natural areas.

Please take ten minutes to write a personalised submission in response to the draft land use plans, setting out your concerns about the impacts of mining and gas, and calling on government to take real action to protect local communities and the environment.

Submissions are due by 5.00pm on Thursday, 3 May.  

You can send you submission by email to srlup@planning.nsw.gov.au.   

To download the draft regional land use plans and aquifer interference policy, visit: www.haveyoursay.nsw.gov.au/regionallanduse.

If possible, personalise your submission with information about you and your local community.

Points that you may wish to make in your submission:

·       I am deeply concerned about the impacts of rapidly expanding mining and coal seam gas development on our wildlife, water, farmland and local communities.

·       I strongly support the protection of sensitive natural areas and strategic agricultural land, and call on you to honour your election commitment to place these areas off limits to mining and gas development.

·       The draft land use plans for the Upper Hunter and New England North West do not reflect the balance between mining, agriculture and conservation promised in your election policy. I am concerned that these draft plans set a very poor precedent for other regions across the state.

·       The draft plans fail to deliver certainty for mine-affected communities, and do not provide meaningful protection for wildlife and natural areas.

·       I am deeply concerned about the lack of clear legal protection for areas of high conservation value. Mapping the most important natural areas in the state, only to allow them to be destroyed by mining, is totally unacceptable.

·       The mapping of high conservation value areas in the draft plans is overly conservative, and fails to identify many important terrestrial and aquatic habitats.

·       I urge you to withdraw the draft land use plans, and replace them with plans that:

o      clearly identify sensitive areas that are off limits to mining and gas, including important wildlife habitat, strategic farmland, drinking water catchments and urban areas.

o      provide a clear legal mechanism to guarantee protection of high conservation value lands, through regulations or an environmental planning instrument.

o      apply to exploration licence applications and renewals, recognising the very real impacts of exploration activities on land, water and wildlife.

o      protect public lands, including state conservation areas and state forests, from open cut mining and coal seam gas development.

o      establish a one kilometre buffer around rivers, national parks and nature reserves.

o      establish a five kilometre buffer around residential areas, schools and nursing homes, to protect local communities from health impacts and risk of industrial accidents.

o      properly manage cumulative impacts of mining and gas development on the environment, water and public health.

·       The draft aquifer interference policy is entirely inadequate, and must be strengthened substantially to provide real protection for our precious groundwater resources.

·       I strongly support a moratorium on CSG exploration and extraction, until such time as we have the science, strategic planning and regulatory framework to guarantee protection of water resources, public health and the environment.













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