Metgasco CEO Peter Henderson calls Lismore coal seam gas plebiscite "a fraudulent poll"

 

A region in northern NSW has overwhelmingly voted against coal seam gas mining.

[ABC Rural 10 September 2012]

Prior to the poll, the actual level of opposition to CSG could only be estimated.

It is now clear that the community is highly engaged in the discussion about CGS activity

and does not want it in our LGA.

[Lismore City Council Mayoral Minute 9 October 2012]
 

In the 8 September 2012 Lismore Local Government Area Election 30,197 people were eligible to vote, with 25,641 voting in the mayoral poll and 25,660 voting in the councillor poll, according to the NSW Electoral Commission.

At the same time Lismore voted in its mayor and councillors for the next term it also voted in a formal plebiscite on coal seam gas.

This was the plebiscite question presented at the ballot:

Question No. 1

Do you support coal seam gas (CSG) exploration and production in the Lismore City Council area?

This was the result of that vote recorded by the NSW Electoral Commission:

Question No. 1 was NOT PASSED on 15/09/2012

Voter Turnout: 84.38%
Informal Rate: 2.80%

 

Of those 25,595 voters who participated in this non-compulsory plebiscite 86.86% voted No.

Now if one looks at the number of voters who participated in these three polls, it is apparent that the polls all have a fairly similar participation level and one which is obviously accepted as legitimate by the state electoral commission.

However, this is not good enough for Metgasco Limited’s director, shareholder and CEO Peter Henderson who chose in an NBN News interview on 6 December 2012 to cast doubt on the legitimacy of the plebiscite, calling it:

A fraudulent poll.. in which.. a lot of people chose not to vote.

Such contempt for the democratic process is mind boggling.

UPDATE:

In his own misleading words.....

"a fraudulent poll" comment at 3min 58 secs

UPDATE

The Northern Star 10 December 2012:

Lismore Mayor Jenny Dowell said Mr Henderson's comments were "quite odd."

"To claim the poll is fraudulent seems quite odd and casts a judgment on the voters of Lismore LGA who have clearly expressed their view.

"My question would be that if the poll produced a better result for CSG proponents, would Mr Henderson claim it was fraudulent?" said the Mayor.

Cr Dowell said that the positive and negative cases were prepared by the proponents and opponents to CSG mining, and that both sides believed their opposite side's case was questionable and unproven, but "the council did not modify or provide any input into the cases."