The Running Stream Water Users Association joined forces with the Capertee Valley Alliance to present their case to Federal MPs Mark Coulton and John Cobb in Orange last week.
Both groups are seriously concerned about the impact of coal mining on their interconnected water resource. Spring water in the Running Steam/ Mount Vincent area flows east and west off the Great Dividing Range feeding both the Cudgegong and Colo rivers. The water flowing east runs into the Capertee Valley then onto the Colo River eventually finding its way to the Sydney Basin.
Coal mining not only disrupts and in some cases destroys these delicate hydrological systems but it also uses vast amounts of water in the extraction process. Both groups insist that this crucial resource, which has supported farming in the area for generations, must not be jeopardised for short term gain.
Member for Parkes Mark Coulton is the Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Water Resources and Conservation and both he and Member for Calare John Cobb listened with interest for nearly two hours to the groups’ concerns. Mr Cobb even made personal enquires about land prices with an eye to potentially buying in to this unique area. The groups are now drafting questions to be table by the two politicians in Parliament.
Chair of the Capertee Valley Alliance Donna Upton described the meeting as “productive and realistic”. “We live in a World Heritage area and need to ensure that the surrounding natural areas are not lost or irreversibly affected by loss of natural watercourses and wilderness” she said. Secretary of the Running Stream Water Users Association Jolieske Lips agreed that the meeting was very useful. “It’s always important to put a human face on these issues,” she said; “We look forward to welcoming both MPs to our area in the near future so they can see with their own eyes jus how magnificent an asset it is.”
An invitation was extended to both politicians to visit the Running Stream/Capertee area with local helicopter pilot Mark Lilley offering to fly them over the valley, the world’s second largest naturally eroded river valley after the Grand Canyon. “The Capertee Valley, as it currently exists, is a valuable and priceless asset to be protected,” said Mrs Upton; “In the long term, it will be our saviour as far as an ecotourism destination, a bird watching nirvana and pristine wilderness.” The Capertee Valley is currently home to a staggering 10% of Australia’s biodiversity and the region holds great potential for future tourism operations.
The recent historic rejection of the Bickham Coal Mine in the Hunter Valley signals a positive shift in State government policy towards destructive mining practices and gives both groups hope for their own plight. As Ms Lips stated; “We don’t want to be another Hunter Valley!”
MEDIA ENQUIRES: Nell Schofield nell@themovies.com.au /0413746909/63794043
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