So who really owns coal seam gas exploration tenement PEL 445 recently renewed by the NSW Baird Government in the face of regional opposition?

Dart Energy (Bruxner) Pty Ltd registered in Brisbane, Queensland, in February 2013 has successfully applied to have its coal seam gas exploration licence PEL 445 renewed for a further six years by the NSW Coalition Government.

On 4 December 2014 the Minister for Resources and Energy Anthony Roberts cited the company’s financial and technical capacity, good record of environmental management and rehabilitation as reasons underpinning this renewal.

According to the minister; Dart Energy is only permitted to undertake low impact exploration activities including data review, mapping and technical evaluation. Any other activities require further approvals and are subject to the Government’s strict new conditions and regulations.

As required by legislation the company had to relinquish 25 per cent of its original tenement (choosing sections which contained no identified commercially viable gas deposits) when applying for the licence renewal and this is the amended 5,868 sq km exploration lease:

The Dart Energy group was spun off from Arrow Energy Pty Ltd in 2010, when that company was taken over by Royal Dutch Shell and PetroChina. Most of Dart Energy’s current management team was originally with Arrow Energy.

Dart Energy acquired PEL 445 then covering approximately 7,100 sq km centred about 39 km WNW of Lismore (containing 15 wells) from Arrow Energy in 2013.

On 12 May 2014 The Sydney Morning Herald reported:

Dart Energy has abandoned hopes of emerging as a global player in non-conventional gas, agreeing to a scrip merger from a UK operator that will see it dump all its non-UK assets.

Dart has agreed to merge with IGas Energy, which is listed on London's secondary AIM market, via a scheme of arrangement.

Dart shareholders will receive 0.08117 IGas shares for each Dart share held, which values Dart shares at just 18.98¢ and the entire company at $211.5 million.

Dart shares last traded at 12.5¢, a far cry from their levels above $1 three and four years ago.

Agreeing to the merger will see longstanding Dart shareholders lose out following a series of changes of strategy as the group has floundered in recent years.

Its most recent raising of $20.7 million at 9¢ will see shareholders who took up that offer last September come out in front, although its 2011 raising of $100 million at 75¢ a share has left shareholders with bruising losses.

Soul Pattinson's New Hope Corp has a 16.3 per cent stake in Dart and has backed the merger proposal in the absence of a rival offer emerging, as have shareholders with a further 14 per cent of Dart's capital.

Dart has sought to undertake a series of changes over the past few years to put its operations on a viable footing, which included listing offshore assets in Singapore and, after that failed, seeking a listing in London, which now has been abandoned.

Dart was spun out from Arrow Energy in 2010, when Arrow was bought by Shell. Dart took the offshore assets of Arrow, which it bolstered by acquiring Apollo Gas, giving it a suite of domestic assets. But the company has struggled, making limited progress in developing its extensive asset portfolio despite high gas prices.

It recently booked $43.5 million of impairment charges, mostly relating to the writing down of assets in NSW and the UK. It also has sold some offshore assets, such as in India.

In October 2014 IGas Energy announced:

As part of the October 2014 acquisition of Dart Energy, the Group holds a number of Coal Bed Methane (CBM) exploration licences across Australia, Indonesia, India and Germany.

IGas will continue to progress Dart’s previously announced divestment plan. IGas will Operate non UK assets where it is contractually obliged to do so…..

In Australia we hold our licences under a care and maintenance basis.

We currently hold seven petroleum exploration licences all located in the state of New South Wales.

PEL 445 is one of those exploration licences.

IGas Energy Plc is a leading British oil and gas explorer and developer, producing approximately 3,000 barrels of oil and gas a day from over 100 sites across the U.K. IGas assets are predominantly 100% owned and operated by this corporation

The only reasonable conclusion to be drawn from the NSW Baird Government’s renewal of the exploration title PEL 445, is that the application made through IGas subsidiary Dart Energy (Bruxner) Pty Ltd sought to increase the value of this asset ahead of any sell-on of the title.

Therefore, the assurances given by the NSW Minister for Resources and Energy as to the character of the nominal owner of PEL 445 are as ephemeral as a burning sheet of paper.

Gasfield Free Northern Rivers has echoed the sentiments of many communities across the Northern Rivers, from the NSW-QLD border down to the Clarence Valley:

Gasfield Free Northern Rivers has welcomed Dart’s surrender of twenty five per cent of PEL 445, which it says ‘covers the Ballina electorate’.

But it describes the move as, ‘only a small step in protecting our area from the practice of invasive and dangerous unconventional gas extraction’.

‘This is only a part relinquishment and a very large area of PEL445 and the rest of the Northern Rivers remains open to unconventional gas exploration and fracking,’ said Gasfield Free spokesperson Dean Draper

‘It’s crucial our region’s water supplies and our agriculture and tourism industries are protected. Our community is calling for a full cancellation of the entire PEL 445 and all of the petroleum Exploration Licenses in the northern rivers.’

‘We need to have certainty in protection, until all of the licenses are cancelled the future of our regions clean and green image remains at risk.’ he said

‘It seems this announcement by minister Roberts is motivated by the fact that the Ballina electorate is considered a vulnerable seat by the NSW government in the lead-up to the NSW election.

‘However, the impacts of invasive gasfields stretch across electorate boundaries, and our community will not rest until the entire northern rivers receives the protection it deserves.’ Mr Draper said.

Someone's not happy with the NSW Baird Government or their local National Party MP Chris Gulaptis

Letter to the Editor in The Daily Examiner 29 November 2014:

Lost faith in MP

I thank Chris Gulaptis for starting and then presenting the flying fox/fruit bat petition to Parliament.

Unfortunately, as soon as I read that Chris was surprised the Coalition had enacted policy so quickly, a red flag went up. It would seem Chris was not involved in this policy that he was responsible for and would surely be a knowledgeable contributor.

The second red flag went up when I read it was being passed over to the council to act upon. That was the death knell for something to happen at Maclean soon and possibly will never happen, especially after reading CVC would not try anything if it was going to cost CVC money.

Chris has made a big stand here and, as his predecessors have done, has failed abysmally.

I don't consider the fruit bat failure to be enough to change my vote but Mr Baird stated last night that if the Coalition won in 2015 it had a mandate to "sell" the poles and wires of our publicly owned electricity companies. That is a politically fatal statement. There was nothing said about leasing 49%, he said "a mandate to sell".

That, combined with the Coalition's pathetic Ammunition Bill and their lack of action to stop fracking for CSG near productive farmland and water aquifers, I find myself looking for an alternative to Chris in 2015.

C Gosling

Coutts Crossing

In which Labor's Walt Secord and The Greens' Jeremy Buckingham nail NSW Nationals' hypocrisy in relation to coal seam and other unconventional gas exploration and mining in the state

The NSW Legislative Council Hansard recorded a seconding reading debate on the Petroleum (Onshore) Amendment (NSW Gas Plan) Bill 2014 which began at 12.50am and ended just before 2am on 19 November 2014.

Here are excerpts from that debate:

The Hon. WALT SECORD  [1.24 a.m.]: As the shadow Minister for the North Coast I speak on the Petroleum (Onshore) Amendment (NSW Gas Plan) Bill 2014. My observations on the bill will centre on North Coast issues. On Thursday 13 November at 10.05 a.m., without warning, the Liberal-Nationals Government introduced this bill in the Legislative Assembly. For a start, the title of the bill is a complete and absolute deception. The bill does not abolish current coal seam gas [CSG] and unconventional gas production licences currently in operation and it does not protect the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales. Furthermore, the Liberal-Nationals Government has put on the table the possibility of reopening the special area of the Sydney water catchment for CSG operations. 

If the purpose of the bill's title is to convey the Government's intention at law, then the bill should have been called the "Unlock the gate and roll out the red carpet for Metgasco on the North Coast after March 2015 bill". That is because that is the intention of this bill. It will allow CSG and unconventional gas exploration to return on steroids on the North Coast after the March 2015 State election. The bill provides no guarantee to the communities of New South Wales, particularly those on the Northern Rivers, that have made their views abundantly clear. But that is no surprise. The Liberal-Nationals Government has already flagged that it will back big corporations over the people of New South Wales every time.

That is why Labor will be moving a number of amendments to the bill to bring it into line with Labor's policy, announced by Opposition leader John Robertson on 29 October. Our amendments will ban coal seam gas from the special areas of Sydney water catchment and from the Northern Rivers, encompassing the local government areas of Ballina shire, Byron shire, Kyogle shire, Lismore city, Tweed shire, Richmond Valley and Clarence Valley……

If the Liberals and The Nationals were interested in responding to community concerns they would have proceeded with a second reading speech by the Minister and then adjourned the bill, allowing the Opposition and crossbenchers to consider it. But their motivation is simple. If the North Coast community had time to consider the bill they would find it lacking in any detail and teeth, and they would see that it was an attempt to dupe them. But what is even more shameful is that not a single member of The Nationals spoke on the bill. I say that again: not a single Nationals member of Parliament spoke on the bill. That is a big betrayal of their electorates—not a word from the member for Tweed, not a word from the member for Ballina, not a word from the member for Lismore, and not a word from the member for Clarence. And out of left field, on 14 November the member for Tamworth popped up in his local media and said he wants to protect the Liverpool Plains. After months of absolute silence, he enters the fray. It was like a scene out of Muriel's Wedding: "Deidre Chambers, what are you doing here? What a coincidence!" It is no wonder that the local community have dubbed The Nationals "Team Metgasco"……        

Mr JEREMY BUCKINGHAM [1.03 a.m.]: I contribute to debate on the Petroleum (Onshore) Amendment (NSW Gas Plan) Bill 2014. What a long and winding road it has been to get to this wafer-thin bill. After nearly five years of policy development, promises, posturing and touting their wares across the countryside the Government came up with a Petroleum (Onshore) Amendment (NSW Gas Plan) Bill that is nothing of the sort. There is no gas plan in this bill; there is no response to the Chief Scientist in this bill. This bill is a thin veneer of the Government's plan to sneak coal seam gas through the next election and launch it onto the countryside. This is more spin, more carpet-bagging, from a government that the people of New South Wales do not trust. 

The Hon. Duncan Gay: Take your koala suit off.

Mr JEREMY BUCKINGHAM: It did not take long to get a rise out of you. The Strategic Regional Land Use plan failed, the Aquifer Interference Policy failed, and the people of New South Wales do not believe a single word those opposite say on this issue. Not even the Government's backbenchers, parliamentary Secretaries or Ministers believe a single word Minister Gay says.

The Hon. Matthew Mason-Cox: Point of order: The member should direct his comments through the Chair and should stop pointing at people across the table. He should take a moment to take a deep breath, relax and be calm.

DEPUTY-PRESIDENT (The Hon. Natasha Maclaren-Jones): Order! The Minister was referring to relevancy. There is no point of order.

Mr JEREMY BUCKINGHAM: We are debating the Petroleum (Onshore) Amendment (NSW Gas Plan) Bill. Where did this bill start? It started with the Hon. Chris Hartcher introducing an onshore petroleum bill back in May 2013. Do members remember him introducing that bill and saying ad nauseam, "These are the toughest rules in Australia"? He went on to say, "These are the toughest rules in the world". What a joke that is! We heard announcement after announcement after announcement and that bill, which passed the Legislative Assembly on 28 May 2013, then disappeared; it was pulled off the Notice Paper on 10 September this year. It died an inglorious death; slowly and quietly culled—euthanased—because it was an absolutely pathetic bill that did nothing to placate the people of New South Wales who have concerns about coal seam gas.

The Hon. Steve Whan said this bill is not very broad. I have seen needles with more breadth and depth than this bill. Talk about pinpoint legislation—it is pathetic. The Government is expunging a handful of titles—and it very nearly could not bring itself to do that—when the people of New South Wales wanted substantive action in this area. They wanted, as the Government promised, areas ruled out of coal seam gas activity. We got some very sensible recommendations from the Chief Scientist that should be applied to extractive industries across the State.

The Hon. Duncan Gay: We're going to do the whole lot.

Mr JEREMY BUCKINGHAM: No you're not. There were dozens of pages in the Chief Scientist's report—I read them—and the Bret Walker report, but did their recommendations turn up in the gas plan? No they did not. Some key things are missing from the gas plan. One of the most important things missing is the recommendations of Bret Walker, SC: The rights of farmers, the rights of communities, to be empowered in arbitration and land access. It says in the Government's response to the review in the most Yes Minister type language I have ever seen:

On 15 April 2014, the NSW Government commissioned Mr Bret Walker SC to undertake an independent review of the land access arbitration processes relating to exploration under the Mining Act 1992 and the Petroleum (Onshore) Act 1991.

The Walker Report … made 31 recommendations to improve the arbitration land access framework. The NSW government has endorsed all the recommendations in the Walker Report relating to the current arbitration framework and committed to a process of implementation commencing immediately where possible."

The Government is committed to a process of implementation commencing immediately, where possible. What an absolute joke! This Government is a farce. No-one trusts this Government and no-one believes this Government. The gas plan is an absolute joke. It is just a blueprint to turn a beautiful State into a toxic gas field. No-one believes this Government.

Do Government members know who does not believe this Government, in particular? The Minister for Mental Health, and the Assistant Minister for Health and member for Wollondilly, Jai Rowell, Gareth Ward, Lee Evans, Mark Speakman, Mark Coure, Stuart Ayres, Chris Patterson, Brian Doyle, Russell Matheson, Rosa Sage, Barry O'Farrell, Don Page, Kevin Anderson, Thomas George, Chris Gulaptis and whoever the Coalition has running as a candidate in Ballina. They all rushed out within 24 to 48 hours of the announcement to state on the public record, "We're banning it. We're banning it." They knew what the community's interpretation of the NSW Gas Plan was. 

It is a carpetbagging exercise by snake oil salesmen who have come into New South Wales communities to sell them a story that New South Wales is running out of gas and this State must have coal seam gas. How many Holdens does New South Wales produce and how many mangoes? Are we completely self-sufficient concerning mangoes? Do we have to have a mangoes industry? We are a federation, a commonwealth, and this issue should be dealt with at the Council of Australian Governments [COAG], not through some carpetbagging exercise by the New South Wales Government. In the context of the most outrageous, erroneous and egregious untruths, I will refer to the Minister's second reading speech, which states:

For example, we appointed a New South Wales Land and Water Commissioner to provide independent advice to the community about exploration activities.

When referring to the framework for community engagement, the Minister stated:

We have also established the Gloucester Dialogue, chaired by the Land and Water Commissioner. The Gloucester Dialogue brings together community, industry and local and State governments to explore issues surrounding the exploration and extraction of coal seam gas in the Gloucester Basin.

This is this the first time in New South Wales this type of dialogue has occurred. Through the dialogue there is regular contact between senior departmental officers and Gloucester Shire Council. Any topic is up for discussion. A community liaison officer from my department operates out of the council chambers two to three days a week. The tenth dialogue meeting was held last Thursday. I commend the Gloucester Shire Council, particularly the mayor, Councillor John Rosenbaum …

Through the dialogue the community has access to all materials relevant to licensing decisions and approvals about AGL's Gloucester gas project.

That is unadulterated rubbish from the Minister because in that very week the man who had the idea for the Gloucester Dialogue, Aled Hoggett—a former councillor of the Gloucester Shire Council—resigned from the Gloucester Dialogue. He did that in the very week when the Minister was spruiking it as the way forward for engagement and the way to sell the Government's gas plan. Aled Hoggett stated in his letter of resignation, "The dialogue was initiated at my suggestion in February this year."…..

Mr JEREMY BUCKINGHAM: Thank you, Madam Deputy-President. "The dialogue was initiated at my suggestion in February this year", Mr Aled Hoggett stated in his letter of resignation from the Gloucester Dialogue to which the Minister referred in his second reading speech. "I hope that Mr Roberts' current assertions would become reality, that we could find a new path to coexistence between coal and gas projects in local communities. Instead I resigned my position on the dialogue early this month. In my opinion, the dialogue has failed and has become an overbearing monologue directed at our tiny and underresourced council. It is being managed to satisfy the requirements for consultation while delivering no such thing. More fundamentally, the dialogue cannot address three major problems in the New South Wales planning system that undermine coexistence between rural communities and the coal and gas industries. The first problem is that the New South Wales planning system disempowers local communities."

Mr Hoggett went on. He resigned from the committee that was his idea and that the Government enshrined in the heart of the Government's NSW Gas Plan because it is a farce—like the rest of the Government's plan. The gas plan is based on a false assumption around economics and on a belief that the Government can say just anything to the community and get away with it. I will read onto the record what Mr Jai Rowell declared in the Wollondilly Advertiser to his community in relation to the announcement of the gas plan: "'It ain't happening, it's over, we won', Wollondilly MP Jai Rowell declared last week", after the gas plan was released. Yet the gas plan refers to the very fact that the AGL gas development in Camden will remain an integral part, in the Government's opinion, of gas delivery in New South Wales. That completely contradicts what Mr Jai Rowell said—"It ain't happening, it's over, we won"; there will be no coal seam gas in Wollondilly. The community is not stupid.

The Hon. Matthew Mason-Cox: It is in Camden. It is not in Wollondilly, mate.

Mr JEREMY BUCKINGHAM: I acknowledge the interjection. The expansion plans of AGL are clearly into the Camden electorate. The member for Camden knows it. The community knows it and they are not being sold a pup on that one. Another very important element of the recommendations made by the Chief Scientist and Engineer that did not make it into the Government's NSW Gas Plan. It should serve as a warning to all people in New South Wales that the Chief Scientist and Engineer concluded her report with these words:

There are no guarantees
· All industries have risks and, like any other, it is inevitable that the CSG industry will have some unintended consequences, including as the result of accidents, human error, and natural disasters. Industry, Government and the community need to work together to plan adequately to mitigate such risks, and be prepared to respond to problems if they occur.

They are wise words by any measure in regard to risk management. How did the Chief Scientist and Engineer suggest that those risks be managed? By Recommendation 9, which states:

Recommendation 9
That Government consider a robust and comprehensive policy of appropriate insurance and environmental risk coverage of the CSG industry to ensure financial protection short and long term. Government should examine the potential adoption of a three-layered policy of security deposits, enhanced insurance coverage, and an environmental rehabilitation fund.
That is a very sensible recommendation. It is something that I would recommend in relation to any extractive industry, in all industries and most undertakings…..

Mr JEREMY BUCKINGHAM: Clearly, there is enormous concern in the community. Does the recommendation to which I have referred turn up in the gas plan bill? No. What we have from this Government is a suggestion that all this will be done after the election—just like after the 2011 State election the Government had strategic regional land use plans that covered the State and protected areas, such as water catchments—"no ifs, no buts, a guarantee". Where did that go? It went the way of the premiership of the Hon. Barry O'Farrell. Those promises were not kept and people will hold this Government to account on its word. People do not believe for one instant that this promise from the Government will be kept. That is clear from the words of Mr Kevin Anderson who, straightaway after the announcement of the gas plan, rushed out to say that he wants the Liverpool Plains to be protected. Other members on the North Coast have said that they want those areas protected. I join them in saying that those areas should be protected. This coal seam gas industry is unnecessary. As the Chief Scientist said, it has major issues in terms of risk.

The Government may argue that it did not have time to do this. Why has it not implemented the recommendations of the Bret Walker review? I would like to hear from the Minister in his reply why the recommendations have not been implemented. There is a massive configuration in the community about land access and arbitration. The Government commissioned one of the best legal minds in the nation to deal with the issue, and he made fantastic recommendations about how to deal with it. The recommendations are widely supported by the environment movement, people in social justice, the legal fraternity and all sides of politics. Yet the Government has not moved. That shows that the Government is not serious and cannot be trusted on the recommendations of the Chief Scientist; otherwise some of the low-hanging fruit in the recommendations would have turned up in this wafer-thin petroleum bill. All the bill does is set out to cancel or expunge—

Mr Scot MacDonald: Finally we can talk about the bill.

Mr JEREMY BUCKINGHAM: I will cover the whole bill in my remaining two minutes. The Government will expunge a number of petroleum title applications, which simply could have been rejected. Will the Government cancel the petroleum exploration licences [PELS] that are up for renewal? As promised, will it protect areas such as water catchments? No, it will not. With this bill, the Government thinks it can erect a thin veil and hide behind it and sneak through to the next election. However, the electors of Lismore, Ballina, Tamworth and Barwon do not want to be guinea pigs in the Government's toxic coal seam gas experiment. They understand that we are a country rich in natural resources. Former Federal Labor and Coalition governments have signed up to a massive export of LNG without proper socio-economic analysis. 

There is a parliamentary inquiry into gas supply and demand. I look forward to that inquiry. We have seen some of the submissions to the lower House inquiry from companies such as Jemena, which say there is no gas supply crisis, there is lots of gas in Bass Strait from conventional sources and all it needs to do is build a pipeline. There are other suggestions for pipelines, et cetera. The Greens are not opposed to fossil fuels…..

NSW North Coast Nationals issue a misleading media release on the future of the gas industry in the region

Australia’s oil and gas industry welcomes the NSW Government’s recognition that the state is facing an avoidable energy security problem and that policy must change to encourage supply. [Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration Association, media release,13 November 2014]

NSW National Party MPs Thomas George, Don Page, Chris Gulaptis and Geoff Provest issued this media release on 13 November 2014, misleadingly titled NEW POLICY PROVIDES FRAMEWORK FOR A GASFIELD FREE NORTHERN RIVERS.

New Policy Provides Framework for a Gasfield Free Northern Rivers

Unfortunately the Baird Coalition Government’s policy does not guarantee any such framework; almost all of the Northern Rivers is still vulnerable and parts of the region could still become designated gasfields and existing exploration and/or production licences could still be progressed by mining companies currently operating on the state's north coast.

This NSW Dept. of Energy and Resources map gives the lie to the George, Gulaptis, Provest and Page claim that we are on a Coalition road to a Gasfield Free Northern Rivers:

Petroleum (coal seam gas) exploration licences remain from the NSW-Qld border down into the Clarence Valley.

Of the 16 petroleum title applications which are being expunged by the Baird Government, only two are on the North Coast.

Application Identifier, Application Number, and Application Date:

PELA 130 16 December 2009 (1 block about 51 km SW of Lismore held by Metgasco Limited)

PELA 135 31 March 2011

PELA 137 12 March 2012

PELA 144 28 November 2012

PELA 146 22 February 2013

PELA 147 22 February 2013

PELA 148 27 February 2013

PELA 150 11 November 2013

PELA 151 11 November 2013

PELA 152 11 November 2013

PSPAPP 48 15 December 2009 (1 block about 41 km SW of Lismore held by Clarence Moreton Resources Pty Limited)

PSPAPP 54 21 November 2011

PSPAPP 56 22 February 2012

PSPAPP 57 22 February 2012

PSPAPP 62 21 June 2013

PSPAPP 63 6 December 2013

The Northern Star 14 November 2014:

Gasfield Free Northern Rivers co-ordinator Elly Bird said the announcement provided no protection for the Northern Rivers and did not acknowledge the community opposition to the industry.

"It's also very misleading of the NSW Government to say they have accepted all 16 recommendations of the Chief Scientist, when they've done no such thing," Ms Bird said.

Bentley farmer Meg Nielson said the community would stand up and protect their land until the licences were cancelled.

"Our community wholeheartedly rejects the industrialisation of our landscapes, and landholders across the Northern Rivers remain united in their complete rejection of unconventional gas extraction. We are bitterly disappointed that the government is still not listening to us," she said.

I suggest that Northern Rivers residents take the time to read the actual Liberal-Nationals policy document here and, ask questions of Resources Minister Anthony Roberts before casting their vote in the March 2015 state election.

The Clarence Valley has been down this track before with dissembling state governments and naive mayors

The Daily Examiner 6 November 2014:

A "JOINT organisation" will pool the resources and bargaining power of Clarence Valley Regional Council with three surrounding local governments.

Mayor Richie Williamson was adamant the new structure was not an amalgamation and said Clarence Valley, Coffs Harbour, Bellingen and Nambucca councils would continue to exist as separate entities.

"In fact, it is the exact opposite. This is not about amalgamation in any form," he said.

"It's about a group of councils working in a regional framework."

A $5 million funding pool has been allocated to forming 15 "joint organisations" across New South Wales as part of the State Government's "Fit for the Future" local government reforms.

There have been suggestions the new organisations were a ploy to eventually replace "left-leaning" Regional Development Australia bodies in New South Wales.

Cr Williamson said he had not been told anything to that effect.

"We actually don't know much of substance about it yet. The make-up and its role are up for some strong discussion," he said.

"We need to ensure it's not simply adding another layer of bureaucracy….

In the 1990s local government councils in the Clarence Valley began cooperative management in areas of mutual interest through the Clarence Valley Local Government Committee, then a limited voluntary merger occurred in 2000 before the then NSW Labor Government forced wider amalgamation into the current Clarence Valley Council in 2004 with consequential diminution of good governance and transparency.

It is foolish to suppose that in the eyes of the current NSW Coalition Government the creation of a so called ‘joint organisation’ is not broadly comparable with the former Clarence Valley Local Government Committee (used to ‘soften’ local government opposition to merger proposals) and, therefore a possible precursor to the creation of a super council centred in one of the two largest population clusters, Coffs Harbour City or Tweed Shire.

It is equally foolish to believe that the $300,000 which this organisation would receive from the Baird Government would mitigate increased costs to Clarence Valley, Coffs Harbour, Bellingen and Nambucca councils flowing from the so-called ‘joint organisation' containing four local government areas with few historical or contemporary common interests.

The Baird Government makes it clear that once the $300,000 is spent no more state funding will be forthcoming. Direct and ongoing costs to be covered by member councils of a joint organisation include employment of an Executive Officer as well as accommodation and administrative costs, where not provided ‘in house’ by a member council.

Make no mistake, the joint organisation covering the four local government areas mentioned by Richie Williamson is highly likely to be just a pilot program for the final larger joint organisation which would start in the southern Great Lakes region and end at the NSW-Qld border – covering roughly half of the NSW coastline by 2016.

At its most basic the entire process is yet another scheme aimed at continuing cost shifting by the state government and, this map gives some indication of how rural and regional super council boundaries might look if the Liberal-Nationals Coalition gets its as yet unspoken wish:

Map in Fit for the Future: Joint Organisations, September 2014

The NSW Minister for Local Government and Nationals MLA for Bathurst who is progressing this scheme is the well-named Paul Toole.

Background

NSW Government, Office of Local Government, Fit for the Future: Joint Organisations, September 2014

Twenty-four years on and three Aboriginal children still have no justice

Between September 1990 and January 1991, Colleen Walker-Craig, aged 16, Evelyn Greenup, aged 4, and Clinton Speedy-Duroux, aged 16, went missing from the same street in the small township of Bowraville. In early 1991, the bodies of Evelyn Greenup and Clinton Speedy-Duroux were found in bushland along the Congarinni Road on the outskirts of the town. Clothing belonging to Colleen Walker-Craig was also found in the Nambucca River running through the same area of bushland, however Colleen’s body has never been found. [NSWLC Standing Committee on Law and Justice, November 2014, The family response to the murders in Bowraville report]

No-one has ever been convicted of these crimes. In 2013 the media reported that the person the indigenous community has long suspected of the murders was now employed by an agency dealing with disadvantaged and troubled youth.

In 2014 the NSW Legislative Council Standing Committee on Law and Justice conducted an inquiry into the handling of the murders of these three NSW Mid-North Coast Aboriginal children and handed down its first report on 6 November, The family response to the murders in Bowraville, with a second report detailing the Government response due by 6 May 2015.

The report (together with transcripts of evidence, tabled documents, submissions, correspondence and answers to questions taken on notice) was tabled in the Legislative Council at 9.43am on 6 November 2014. Members and officers stood as a mark of respect.

Relatives of the murdered children were present in the parliament.

This first report can be found here.

There are fifteen recommendations it contains:

NSW PARLIAMENT STANDING COMMITTEE ON LAW AND JUSTICE, Report: The family response to the murders in Bowravi...

Deputy-Premier Troy Grant introduces himself to the NSW North Coast in exactly the wrong way

If there was an issue so big that it is recognised by both government and industry as being close to the hearts of a great many residents and electors living on the NSW North Coast, it is community opposition to coal seam and tight gas exploration and potential production.

So what did the Nationals do on one of Troy Grant’s early visits as Nationals leader and deputy premier of the state – they start a donnybrook that will have people shaking their heads and saying; Told you the Nats were for all for 1,000 well strong gasfields in our paddocks.

Grant needs to keep better control of his troops if he wants the Nationals to hold regional seats in the March 2015 state election and, he needs to recognise that commercial gasfields will ruin the North Coast's clean green image which underpins local economies.

Echo Netdaily 27 October 2014:

Tweed mayor Gary Bagnall has launched a scathing attack on state MP Geoff Provest and deputy premier Troy Grant, accusing the two National Party politicians of trying to gag him over his stand against coal-seam gas (CSG) mining.

The defiant dummy-spit came on the eve of a media event organised by the two MPs yesterday at which they announced funding for a new tourism sign on the highway at the Queensland border.

Despite being snubbed for what he wanted to say, the Tweed mayor went along to the highway-edge announcement.

The row erupted on Friday when Mr Provest emailed council general manager Troy Green to tell him to trash a draft press release on the funding announcement because the mayor had made comments he didn’t like.

Cr Bagnall, who was elected mayor just last month, said his comments for the draft release had welcomed the funding for the sign, adding that Tweed council had taken the initiative to promote tourism by installing new signs ‘explaining the indigenous meaning of some village names, and that the shire also had plans for Gasfield Free signs’.

But Mr Provest saw red when he read the draft and fired off an email to council to say he found the mayor’s comments ‘totally inappropriate’.

‘Commenting about the gas field free signs just shows a lack of integrity and professionalism,’ Mr Provest said, accusing Cr Bagnall of taking an ‘opportunity to have little digs at the state government’.

The Tweed MP then told council it would ‘not be required to make any official comment’.

Cr Bagnall told Echonetdaily he was furious at being ‘snubbed and told to shut up’, saying new deputy premier Mr Grant was a staunch supporter of CSG and would not have liked ‘any mention of CSG”.

‘But I won’t be silenced,’ the mayor said….

Cr Bagnall said Mr Grant was on the record as describing those opposing CSG exploration as ‘scaremongering’.

He said he would always stand up for Tweed residents’ opposition to CSG and unconventional gas exploration.

“The deputy premier is the second most powerful elected NSW politician, but he does not have a right to tell me what to think or say,’ Cr Bagnall said.

‘I stand with our community and oppose harmful coal seam gas mining and I will never be silenced by CSG supporters like the Nationals’ deputy premier or Geoff Provest,’ the mayor said….

Troy Who? Potted profile of the new Deputy-Premier of New South Wales

Last week Andrew Stoner resigned as Leader of the NSW National Party and Deputy-Premier.

He was replaced by Troy Grant who has been in parliament for less than four years.

This is Mr. Grant, seen here with NSW Premier Mike Baird in the background:

So who is this new Deputy-Premier?

Based on his NSW Parliament member's disclosure form, own website and media reports, here is a potted profile.......

Troy Wayne Grant

* Age: Early 40s

* Married with two children.

* Resides at 10L Toorale Rd, Dubbo NSW.

* Home owner on a rural residential lot, with a $330,000 mortgage and a personal loan.

* Sole income appears to be parliamentary salary.

* Former NSW Police officer. Resigned from force in March 2011 after 22 years with rank of police inspector.

* Elected to NSW Parliament in March 2011 as the National Party Member for Dubbo.

* Appeared as a witness at the Special Commission of Inquiry concerning the investigation of certain child sexual abuse allegations in the Hunter region in 2013.

* Reportedly referred the Planning Assessment Commission's (PAC) approval of the Orange City Council's Macquarie River pipeline, to the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) in 2013.

* Became Minister for Gaming, Racing and Hospitality and Minister for the Arts in April 2014.

* Became Leader of the NSW National Party and Deputy-Premier in October 2014 – as well as Minister for Trade and Investments, Minister for Regional Infrastructure and Services and Minister for Tourism and Major Events.

* He is recorded in the NSW Legislative Council Hansard as opening his mouth to speak a total of 200 times up to 16 October 2014 (including interjections).

* Like many politicians he indulges in gratuitous insults, such as I was happy to answer the first question because it would have been interesting to answer a question about muppets and puppets from a clown and go and get f — ed.

* Likes to blow his own trumpet, loudly and often.

Not Happy, Richie!

If this  account is factual then it seems there is no good deed that Clarence Valley Council is not prepared to punish.....

Clarence Valley Rate Payers, Residents & Business Owners 18 October 2014:

UPDATE 

Clarence Valley Council issued this statement on 20 October 2014 but did not send it to North Coast Voices until after publication:

Clarence Valley Council environment, planning and community director, Des Schroder, said fining people was always a last resort and it was disappointing they needed to be issued on this occasion. He said council rangers and staff from State Government agencies had been called to the site a number of times and at all hours. “We have an obligation to take action to stop stock getting onto roadways – particularly highways – where they can pose a serious risk to the travelling public,” he said. He said council staff had spoken with the stock owner this morning and advised him that if he wanted to contest the fines he could do that through the State Debt Recovery Office and the courts.

Metgasco Limited v Minister for Resources and Energy: Managing Director gives evidence

Metgasco Managing Director Peter Henderson gave evidence in Metgasco Limited v Minister for Resources and Energy (Case # 201400165970) before the NSW Supreme Court on 20 October 2014.

ABC News reported on the same day:

Managing Director Peter Henderson told the Supreme Court drilling at the Rosella well was not in order to find coal seam gas but rather "conventional" gas.

But he agreed there was community concern the extraction could involve fracking.

Mr Henderson could not recall police at one stage telling him there may have been more than 2,000 protesters at the Rosella site.

He said Metgasco had been in the Northern Rivers area for about a decade and had previously drilled 50 wells there.

When questioned about community opposition to another well in the area, the Kingfisher Well, he said: "I can't remember any newspaper or public discussion."

BRIEF BACKGROUND

On 14 May 2014 the Office of Coal Seam Gas OCSG put a hold on Metgasco's approval to drill an exploration well at Bentley, near Casino in the Northern Rivers, on the basis that the company was not in compliance with its community consultation obligations under Petroleum Exploration Licence 16 (PEL 16).

Excerpt from Council acts on CSG tip off in the Northern Rivers Echo, 10 November 2011:

Lismore City Council has withdrawn support for seismic testing by Metgasco on Council-owned land in the Rock Valley area after discovering staff had approved an application without the councillors' knowledge.

On September 1 a Council staffer sent a letter to Metgasco approving the testing, but it wasn't until after Tuesday night's Council meeting that councillors became aware of the approval.

Having learnt of an application by Metgasco, Mayor Jenny Dowell moved an 'urgency motion' during the meeting that all requests for CSG and mineral testing or exploration on Council owned or administered land be brought before the Council for consideration. However it wasn't until after the motion had been passed and the meeting concluded that Mayor Dowell became aware that approval had already been granted following a discussion with Rock Valley resident Wanda Halden, who had been liaising with Council staff. Mayor Dowell took swift action and by Wednesday lunchtime Metgasco had been advised that Council's permission had been rescinded….

Greens fear rash of CSG wells, ABC Regional News, 13 December 2011:

The Greens fear that 500 or more coal seam gas (CSG) wells are planned for the New South Wales north coast.

Mining spokesman Jeremy Buckingham says Metgasco has reluctantly revealed its future plans for the region during hearings of the NSW Parliamentary Inquiry into Coal Seam Gas.

Mr Buckingham says such developments will ruin the north coast's environment.

"We believe that if they are to go ahead with their plans for the power station and also a pipeline up the Lyons Way that they would need somewhere between 500 and 1,500 [wells]," he said.

"But the scale of the industry is beginning to emerge and the question is now where do Metgasco plan to put these 500 wells?"

Meanwhile, Metgaco says it has never tried to deceive the public about its fracking operations on the north coast.

Kyogle's Group Against Gas says the company used fracking in the Kingfisher well a year ago.

Metgasco's managing director, Peter Henderson, says that information was made public and he thinks claims that the company tried to hide the fact are unfair.

"No I don't think it's fair. We try to be open and transparent," he said.

"I'd have to say though in a climate like this where there's a lot of misinformation going about and a lot of accusations that are simply uninformed, we probably do need to be careful about the words we use simply to make sure that people respond to the right information.

"But we do our best to be open and transparent. There are no secrets."

Excerpt from Metgasco says it needs 1000 wells, ABC North Coast NSW, 28 May 2012:

Metgasco says it will need about 1000 wells operating in the Casino area to make its economic forecasts come true.

Excerpt from Being fair to all is tough editorial in The Daily Examiner, 9 January 2013, page 10:

A quick glance at our web stats shows more than 300 stories on the CSG issue over the past year.

Excerpts from Metgasco chief issues statement on Kingfisher incident* in The Northern Star, 3 October updated 4 October 2013:

* NIMBIN Environment Centre has accused coal seam gas company Metgasco of initially understating the seriousness of a dangerous incident at its Kingfisher well in July.

And Environment Centre secretary Alan Roberts has said the degraded state of pipes shot from the well, which is on the outskirts of Casino, in the incident meant it was likely toxins associated with coal seam gas drilling had migrated into the water table.

The incident has been the subject of an investigation by the NSW Government's Mine Safety Investigation Unit, as reported last week by The Northern Star, which found some workers at the site "were put at serious risk of harm from falling pipes".

No-one was injured in the incident but it caused "significant" equipment damage, the government report says.

However, in a statement released by the Nimbin Environment Centre, Mr Roberts says Metgasco downplayed the incident.

* METGASCO has rejected claims it understated the seriousness of the incident at its Kingfisher well in July and that toxins were able to pass into groundwater. The company has said it plans to release a statement tomorrow responding to the claims by the Nimbin Environment Centre…..

* METGASCO chief executive and managing director Peter Henderson has issued the following statement regarding the dangerous incident at the Kingfisher well, on the outskirts of Casino, in July….

* Fifteen online reader comments were listed below this article.

Excerpt from The Battle of Bentley* in the Northern Rivers Echo, 7 January 2014:

Metgasco has announced it will be targeting tight gas in upcoming drilling activities.

The company states that the Rosella exploration well at Bentley is targeting tight gas in the Gatton Sandstone formation and looking to the "confirm tight gas potential in the broader exploration area".

 * A tight gas reservoir is one that cannot be produced at economic flow rates or recover economic volumes of gas unless the well is stimulated by a large hydraulic fracture treatment and/or produced using horizontal wellbores.[Oil & Gas Journal, digital magazine]

Excerpt from Protesters resume waiting game as Metgasco drilling on hold in The Northern Star, 2 April 2014:

But Metgasco CEO Peter Henderson refuted claims Monday morning's 2000-strong turnout had derailed the company's plans, saying activities were "influenced by weather and availability of the drilling rig, neither of which we control".

Excerpts from Up to their necks in it, farmers lead coal seam gas protests by example in The Sydney Morning Herald, 12 April 2014:

* Near Lismore late last month, about 2000 people gathered on a rural property to prevent mining company Metgasco from starting exploratory gas drilling in the area….

* Metgasco chief executive Peter Henderson claims opposition to gas mining is driven by a core group of "professional protesters".

"They're the people who tend to be the mainstays, quite often the troublemakers ... they are basically anarchists," he said. "When the television cameras come they tend to get to the back and they push a local farmer to the front."

But Environmental Defenders Office principal solicitor Sue Higginson said local opposition to mining projects, including from farmers, was genuine.

"We are seeing 75-year-old blokes standing locked on to machinery for nine hours after getting up at 3am to make a difference, to try to be heard by a system they believe is not listening," she said.

Excerpts from Police should have stepped in at Bentley sooner: Metgasco* in The Northern Star, 14 August 2014:

* POLICE should have intervened at Bentley before the situation escalated to a crisis point where 800 officers were needed, Metgasco CEO Peter Henderson said.

Mr Henderson was commenting on government documents released last week describing the unprecedented tactics used by activists and the "high to extreme" risk to the public and police of any confrontation.

In hindsight, he said the best time for police to act was when protesters had first established a presence outside the proposed drilling site in January….

* The company had asked police to "go in early" and arrest protesters breaking the law, given Metgasco's past experience at previous blockades at Doubtful Creek and Glenugie…

* Seventeen online reader comments under this article

NSW Government Trade & Investment PEL 16 map showing the number and location of Metgasco exploration wells: