November 23, 2023
Toowoomba Regional Council is asking the State Government to engage in “ongoing and meaningful engagement” with landholders regarding Coal Seam Gas extraction and in the meantime has called for a moratorium on CSG projects.
Mayor Geoff McDonald said the TRC had adopted its position after listening to local landholders.
“At Council’s recent Cecil Plains Community Barbecue and Engagement event, those Councillors present received a briefing from a group of concerned landholders about the development of CSG projects in the area, particularly over priority agricultural land,” Mayor McDonald said.
“The group were invited to present as a deputation to Council.
“The motions passed at (this week’s) Ordinary Meeting are a direct response to the information presented at the deputation, and aligns with Council’s Corporate Plan 2024-2029, specifically … ‘We value our environments, our natural assets, and our rich agricultural land’,” Mayor McDonald said.
TRC passed two resolutions:
That Council:
Provide a submission in response to the Queensland Department of Resources “Consultation Paper – Coexistence institutions and CSG-induced subsidence management framework” that states:
Council values our environments, our natural assets, and our rich agricultural land.
Council expresses the following expectations in our Region:
i. That there will continue to be ongoing and meaningful engagement with landholders and consideration of their concerns.
ii. That priority agricultural land is not negatively affected as a result of CSG extraction.
iii. That research-based decisions are made in regard to the potential subsidence issues caused by CSG extraction.
iv. That concerns about the potential negative impact on the Condamine Alluvium will be considered and mitigated.
And:
That Council call for a moratorium on approving new CSG activities in Toowoomba Regional Council area to allow time for the critical consideration of Council’s submission to the Queensland Department of Resources “Consultation Paper – Coexistence institutions and CSG-induced subsidence management framework”.
“Council encourages the State Government to properly take into consideration submissions from landholders,” Mayor McDonald said.
“This includes landholder views of the impacts of CSG-subsidence to their livelihoods, the sustainability of farming practices on their lands, and their perception of suitable and appropriate remedies and regulatory mechanisms.”
