OPPOSITION: Paul O'Toole of Broke speaks at a coal seam gas protest out the front of Pooles Rock Vineyard on Wollombi Road, Broke in October last year. Residents of Broke and surrounding regions gathered in protest of AGL's coal seam gas related activities in the region, including buying the vineyard where the protest was held. Picture MAX MASON-HUBERS
THE Land and Environment Court has rejected a challenge to AGL’s coal seam gas exploration licence in the Gloucester and Barrington Tops area, with a judge ruling that the licence was granted lawfully.
Justice Rachel Pepper said it was ‘‘common knowledge that the exploration for, and use of, coal seam gas is contentious’’, but she said her task was to judge the merits of the decision granting the licence in accordance with the law.
‘‘This judgment will, however, do little to quell the current anxiety surrounding the coal seam gas mining debate,’’ she said yesterday.
‘‘In this regard it must be understood that the merits, or otherwise, of the use of this resource are irrelevant to the issues raised for determination by these judicial review proceedings ...’’
The Barrington-Gloucester-Stroud Preservation Alliance challenged the NSW Planning Assessment Commission’s decision to grant a licence to AGL Upstream Infrastructure Investments to extract, process and transport coal seam gas from the Gloucester Basin, the court heard.
Newcastle Herald
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