Wollongbar against CSG mining

THE people of the Plateau have said they want Wollongbar to be coal seam gas mining-free.

The Wollongbar Progress Association last Sunday held a survey on the issue, asking locals to respond to the yes/no question.

Secretary of the association, Marilyn Perkins, said 98.4% of the respondents said they wanted the village to be CSG mining-free.

With a population of nearly 2500 in Wollongbar, the respondents represent 2.52% of the total population.

"So it seems that those who have taken out mining exploration licences over this area might face some challenges to transform the licence into physical activity on the ground," Ms Perkins said.

There will be a meeting of the progress association on September 8 at the Wollongbar hall to discuss further action, and the group wants to hear the views of more people.

The Ballina Environment Society, which on Tuesday night in partnership with the Ballina Climate Action Network held an information session about CSG at the Ballina RSL Club, reports that the exploration licence for Ballina Shire is held by Arrow Energy, an international consortium responsible for much of the exploration in south-east Queensland.