Labor Party Accused of Being “Green” On Narrabri Natural Gas Project

When it comes to resources and mining, the policies of New South Wales’ opposition Labor party are teetering dangerously close to that of the Greens, according to the country’s peak gas and petroleum body.

Chief Executive of the APPEA, Paul Fennelly said the Labor party’s announcement yesterday that they would not support Santos’ proposed Narrabri Natural Gas Project if they come to power, would cost the state 1400 jobs and, “…significant income for farmers…”

“Plagiarising the policies of the NSW Greens will not deliver an affordable natural gas supply for 1.3 million commercial and domestic gas users,” Mr Fennelly said.

“The continued politicisation of the state’s gas supply by the ALP sends a very loud message to anyone wanting to invest in NSW and an even louder message to the people of regional NSW wanting to grow their economies and support small businesses.

The leader of the NSW opposition, Luke Foley, told the ABC yesterday that the project posed too much risk to the environment and if his party wins the state election on March 28 his government would reasses the project’s development application.

“There’s some parts of the state that must be off limits to coal seam gas permanently, and the recharge zone for the Great Artesian Basin has to be one of them,”Mr Foley said.

However Mr Fennelly said the continual opposition towards gas projects in NSW would come at the cost of the economy.

“It’s time for political leaders to focus on the looming threats to the NSW economy from a transitioning eastern Australian gas market,” Mr Fennelly said.

“The ALP must recognise the fact NSW imports 95 per cent of its gas from interstate without the need to do so.”

The Narrabri Natural Gas Project is earmarked for a 1000 hectare lease in the Pilliga state forest, west of Tamworth, an area environmentalists claim has important ecological and environmental values that should not be put under threat.

However according to Santos, “The part of the Pilliga in which our Narrabri Gas Project is located, was set aside by the NSW Government for forestry and extractive industries following a thorough ecological assessment.  Our Project area is largely dry scrub land in the State Forest and is outside of the part of the Pilliga protected under the National Parks and Wildlife Act.”