A few days ago we saw the national peak body representing coal seam gas companies, APPEA (‘The Voice of Australia’s Oil and Gas Industry’) launch an advertising campaign to tell Australians that they want coal seam gas (CSG).
Slamming the widespread community opposition to the industry as ‘alarmist’, APPEA Chief Operating Officer for Eastern Australia Rick Wilkinson said the ‘We want CSG’ campaign was about disseminating facts. But the problem is that when it comes to CSG, there is a lot that we don’t know yet, especially about the long-term impacts.
People have been organising packed town hall meetings, driving hundreds of kilometres, so that others can hear from experts and other people whose lives have already been impacted by the industry. They’ve formed an alliance support each other to Lock the Gate to the industry, signed petitions and lobbied their local politicians. The coal seam gas industry can’t compete with a grass roots movement on the ground so they’ve launched an advertising blitz. (source)
This is why communities are calling for a moratorium on CSG mining until there can be a full independent study completed to make sure that this type of gas mining is not going to cause irreversible damage to underground water, prime agricultural land, the environment, and the health of communities.
Watch this response from just a few of the people that are already experiencing the impacts of coal seam gas on their once thriving regional communities:
The ‘We want CSG’ campaign is backed by Australia’s largest gas companies and major foreign investors too, so we’re up against big money. Help get this advertisement on television so that the big gas companies are not the only voice being shared with millions of Australians. Click here to donate to the community’s campaign.
