From: transition byron shire
To:
Received: Monday 4 April 2011 1:32 PM
Dear Friends in Transition
If it is happening in Tweed we are next – important to get this information out to all… Love Liane
————————————————-
Hello all
A terrible disaster has happened in the Tweed.
Coal Seam gas exploration licences have now been granted for the Tweed Valley west of Murwillumbah from Limpinwood to Crystal Creek from Wadeville to Doon Doon and Rowlands Creek. No areas are exempt not even the farms bordering
National Parks or rivers. Further areas including Stokers Siding and Burringbar are now under application.
If any of you have seen the 4 Corners documentary you will know what a disaster this means to our valley.
Complete ruination of the most beautiful valley in Australia for the sake of a Chinese owned energy company.
Not only will there be above ground pipelines running everywhere through our beautiful farmlands creating an incredibly ugly industrial environment – but effectively you lose the land use rights over your own property.
That is right the mining companies under new laws have more rights over the land you own than you do.
You can’t do anything about it they are protected by law and can even have you removed from your own property if you hinder the mining company.
They can build as many wells on your property as they like and these can be as close as 50 metres from your house.
The wells make massive amounts of noise so forget any peace and serenity you might once have enjoyed.
They can fence off your roads and dams making access to your own farm impossible or very expensive.
Plus there will be massive numbers of heavy trucks and machinery on our roads for many years to come.
EVEN WORSE THAN THIS…..
they pump massive amounts of some of the most toxic chemicals known to man into your land under pressure.
These chemicals are used to fracture the rock beds underground (‘fraccing”) to allow the gas to escape.
These toxic chemicals enter the water table under your land and can NEVER be removed.
They also pump out highly saline water into holding dams they build on YOUR PROPERTY which are also contaminated by the highly toxic fraccing chemicals.
When it rains these chemicals and salts will overflow the holding ponds across your land and into the creeks and ultimately the Tweed River.
It is likely they will completely kill the Tweed River and its subsidiaries for hundreds or thousands of years.
It is certain they will poison the water table for thousands of years.
If your land is contaminated by these chemicals it is unlikely you will ever be allowed (or want) to grow food crops or graze animals such as cattle or sheep on your land again.
You can imagine what this will do to the value of your land – it will become worthless.
( The NSW Labor Party were promising to ban these chemicals if they were returned to power – hah.)
IF THIS SOUNDS DRASTIC IT IS ALREADY HAPPENING IN SE QUEENSLAND AND THE GLOUCESTER AREA OF NSW
AND AREAS AS CLOSE AS KEERRONG NEAR LISMORE.
– THE LOCAL FARMERS ARE TRYING TO FIGHT THE MINING COMPANIES TODAY.
SEE ARTICLES BELOW FROM LOCK THE GATE.
SO WHAT IS THE SOLUTION???
Once the mining companies have made inroads into our valley nothing will stop them.
They use the police against local landholders and arrest and fine any protesters.
Fines of up to $50000 apply for hindering their operations.
As soon as they have major infrastructure expenditure in the Tweed they will be forced by their shareholders
to keep growing their involvement here to make the infrastructure pay for itself.
Once that first pipeline or depot is built they will steamroller on to a farm near you.
We must prevent them from even starting operations here.
ONCE YOU HAVE LET THE MINING COMPANY ONTO YOUR LAND TO LOOK AROUND
AND PERHAPS DO SOME TESTS YOU HAVE WAIVED ANY RIGHTS YOU HAVE TO STOP
THEM ENTERING YOUR LAND AGAIN. THEY CAN THEN DO AS THEY PLEASE.
BAD LUCK THERE IS NO TURNING BACK NOW.
THE NEXT THING YOU WILL KNOW IS HUGE TRUCKS TURNING UP WITH DRILLING RIGS
AND CYCLONE FENCING TO KEEP YOU OFF SECTIONS OF YOUR OWN LAND.
So this is the most important first step – locking your gate to prevent this initial access to your land.
Hence the Lock The Gate movement.
The mining company will use any number of excuses to gain access to your property
preying on the gullible farmer looking for an easy dollar.
” we are not even looking to mine in this area we just want to see where the creek runs”
” we are not planning to do anything here for at least 30 years we just want to look around ”
” you will earn in excess of $50000 a year for the gas mining rights a lot more than you can earn from cattle”
as examples they have used on poor unsuspecting landowners.
They do offer payment for the drilling usually around 1-2 cents per dollar earned by the energy company –
to destroy your land for perhaps eternity and render it worth a fraction of its previous value as farming land.
Basically once you have let them on you have waived your rights to ownership of your own land.
No longer can you as you please on your own land. The mining company can come and go as they please
and do whatever they like on your land.
Sadly this is dividing townships in Queensland already old friends and neighbours have become enemies
due to some of them allowing the mining companies to come onto their land.
SO WE NEED TO MAKE SURE EVERY LANDOWNER IN THE TWEED IS AWARE
OF WHAT IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN AND MAKE SURE EVERY ONE OF US
LOCKS THEM OFF OUR OWN PROPERTIES.
If they can’t get a foothold here in the Tweed they won’t spend the money on building expensive infrastructure
such as pipelines and depots. We need to make it not worthwhile for their efforts and costs.
Hopefully they will then concentrate their efforts somewhere else like in China perhaps.
If the farmers in your area give them access to their properties then expect above ground pipelines to be snaking along your road past your gate soon. Its only a matter of time if we don’t act now.
The exploration company is a Chinese owned energy company.
They are going to destroy one of the most beautiful valleys in Australia
and wreck our farming land forever with all the profits going offshore to China.
Doesn’t seem right some how. Why aren’t the local politicians doing anything about it?
Please don’t expect Thomas George or Geoff Provest to act
the managing director of the exploration company is the ex Deputy Prime Minister and leader of the National Party Mark Vaile. Enough said.
NOTHING HAS EVER BEEN MORE THREATENING TO OUR EXISTENCE THAN THIS MINING COMPANY.
Tony Snellgrove
Midginbil Hill