MINING company AJ Lucas Group’s plans to explore for coal seam gas in the Tenterfield shire could be dead in the water after the Nationals promised to buy them out.
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Lismore MP Thomas George was joined by Deputy Premier and Nationals leader Troy Grant and NSW Minister for Roads and Freight Duncan Gay in Lismore on Friday to announce the move to buy back PEL 445.
AJ Lucas announced to the ASX earlier this month that it had bought petroleum exploration licence (PEL) 445 in the Northern Rivers from Dart Energy.
This prompted the Greens to slam NSW premier Mike Baird and the Nationals party for failing the Lismore electorate.
“AJ Lucas would not be making an investment decision like this unless they were confident they could develop coal seam gas after the election with the support of Mike Baird and the Nationals,” Greens Member of the NSW Legislative Council Jeremy Buckingham said.
PEL 445 covers 80 per cent of the Lismore electorate including Urbenville and surrounding areas in the Tenterfield shire Mr George said.
Today it was announced that a re-elected Baird Government will extend its buy-back of CSG licences until June 30, 2015 and will not approve the transfer of any titles until all potential buy-back negotiations with the existing and/ or proposed titleholder have been exhausted.
“This extension is welcome, but clearly it does not go far enough. The PEL 445 exploration licence covers the majority of the Lismore electorate and the community wants it gone for good,” Mr George said.
"The people of the Lismore electorate have continually made it clear to me that they do not want CSG here. When I became aware this PEL 445 was being transferred, I was shocked and disappointed.
“The first thing I did was contact the Resources Minister and the Deputy Premier and demand the government immediately block the sale of PEL 445 and buy back this licence.
"The former Labor Government issued every single one of the seven CSG exploration licences on the North Coast, with no protections in place for our water, land and environment.”
Deputy Premier and Nationals Leader Troy Grant said Thomas George has delivered the message from his community loud and clear.
“The Lismore community does not want CSG.
“I’m here (in Lismore) because Thomas George is listening to the concerns of his community and the government is listening to Thomas George.
“The owners of PEL 445 now need to come to the table and give us the opportunity to buy it back,” Mr Grant said.
Greens candidate for the seat of Lismore Adam Guise has questioned the Nationals timing.
"If Thomas George was really representing his electorate he would have called for the cancellation of these licenses years ago, not a con 'buyback' eight days from polling day.
"The only public record of Thomas George commenting on coal seam gas in parliament was of him welcoming Metgasco to the Northern Rivers. This sham announcement simply won’t wash with our community," Mr Guise said.
