In which NSW Nationals MP for Clarence Chris Gulaptis sets up his justification for voting against the interests of his electorate and for the interests of the gas industry

 Chris Gulaptis from Google Images files

The Coffs Coast Advocate 13 November 2014:

CSG not wanted in Clarence but ban doubtful

RETIRING Ballina MP Don Page may be a lone voice in the NSW Government in his push to keep his electorate completely free of CSG mining.

At the end to his political tenure and largely freed from the party-room shackles on speaking freely, he used his valedictory speech on Tuesday to call for the entire Ballina electorate to be declared a CSG no-go zone.

Clarence MP Chris Gulaptis said he understood the comments and his electorate shared many of Mr Page's concerns.

However, he suggested the financial needs of the state may trump those of his voters.

"I certainly agree that, given the community reaction to CSG over the last few years, that the industry is at odds with the community and therefore the character of the Northern Rivers," he said.

"It's very similar in the Clarence electorate.

"There are concerns about turning an agricultural area into an industrialised area - concerns shared by a lot of people, myself included.

"In saying that, we have a responsibility to everybody in NSW to deal with it in a logical way, not just to play politics as we see with these born-again activists.

"What Labor say they are going to do and what they actually did when they were in government are at opposite ends of the spectrum.

"They're as far away as Mars is from Venus."

The NSW Legislative Council Hansard does not record Chris Gulaptis as speaking to the somewhat misleading titled Petroleum (Onshore) Amendment (NSW Gas Plan) Bill 2014 on 13 November 2014, the day this very limited bill was both introduced and passed by the Lower House.