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Our Vision
We are
passionate about the natural beauty and rich history that surrounds us in the
Scenic Hills region on the South West outskirts of Sydney.
We want to
preserve and protect the Scenic Hills for the enjoyment of the entire community
against developments that may threaten or damage the uniqueness of these
environmentally protected lands.
Our aim is
to maintain the Scenic Hills as an Environmental Protection Area,
defending its heritage and bushland from further urban and industrial
encroachment.
We recognise the environmental, spiritual,
historical and cultural values embodied in these lands, which need to be upheld
and preserved for future generations.
We acknowledge the traditional owners of this
land.
We recognise that the iconic Scenic Hills
region gives us a sense of identity and sense of place as residents of Campbelltown
and as Australians.
We are not
aligned with any political party or group.
We
act
first and foremost for the protection of our Hills but our ethos is to
not endanger other communities or groups as a means of protecting our
own space.
Our Position
on Coal Seam Gas
[Note: As at February 2016, the following is out of date as AGL has cancelled its Northern Expansion of the Camden Gas Project and has announced it is closing the rest of the Camden Gas Project within six years. We will update this in due course...but the following makes interesting historic reading.]
AGL
Energy Limited wants to mine for coal seam gas (CSG) in the Scenic Hills and
adjoining suburbs of Campbelltown and Camden in the Sydney Metropolitan Area. It has made it clear to the
community that no land is ‘off-limits’. AGL exhibits a sense of entitlement in expecting that it can use the following land for its
coal seam gas mining operations in this area:
- environmental
protection land (even though the zoning prohibits extractive industries and mines),
- small rural holdings reserved for urban agriculture,
- sensitive
land use areas (owned and used by religious communities, schools, churches),
- residential
suburbs,
- a botanic garden (The Australian Botanic Garden at Mount Annan), and
- government land reserved for
critical public infrastructure (land managed by the Sydney Catchment Authority for the Upper Canal, an 1880s water channel carrying Sydney's back up water supply).
Our position:
SHA
believes that coal seam gas (CSG) mining has not been proved safe and should not be allowed to continue ANYWHERE
until truly independent scientific research can prove that:
Step 1: the industry provides a significant reduction in greenhouse
gas emissions relative to coal, and is necessary in facilitating the transition from coal to renewable
sources of energy (rather than drawing investment away from the latter),
Step 2: that it is safe and does not cause irreparable damage to other
sustainable land uses, to the environment (water, air, flora and fauna), to heritage, to the local economy and to human and animal health.
and
only then be allowed to continue if and when
Step 3: appropriate legislation and truly independent monitoring can
be put in place to guarantee the above.
However
we believe there are some areas where it is already evident that CSG cannot operate without significantly
compromising the existing land use...
This applies to the whole of the Camden Gas Project Stage 3 and parts of Stage 2 (Sydney Metropolitan Area). CSG should be prohibited in these areas NOW:
- AGL’s Camden
Gas Project Stage 3 should NOT be approved.
- The O’Farrell Government should
immediately cancel AGL’s Petroleum Exploration License No.2 (PEL2) which covers Western Sydney, and cancel its petroleum production leases in residential or rural-residential
areas of south west Sydney, specifically PPL5.
- If the EPA finds that AGL has significantly breached its Environment Protection Licence and planning conditions of consent over air monitoring at the Rosalind Park Gas Treatement Plant (currently under investigation) , then PPL 4 (stage 2) should be cancelled since this area is a future urban release area for Sydney.
- The government should cancel and not approve any other licences or leases in the Sydney
Metropolitan Area and similarly identified areas of planning conflict.
- A moratorium should be applied elsewhere until the future of coal seam gas can be determined.
See attached three maps: Camden Gas Project & PEL2 and PPL5 .
For more information see our Issues-CSG Mining page and our News & Events page.
Help us preserve the Scenic Hills by becoming a Friend of the Scenic Hills Association: Join Us
Want to do more?
- Email the NSW Liberal Party and tell them you won't support them if they don't change their policy on coal seam gas mining as above:chq@nsw.liberal.org.au
- Send an email marked "For the Attention of AGL's Chairman, Jeremy Maycock" and tell him you won't support AGL if it mines for coal seam gas in the Sydney Metropolitan Area (specifically Campbelltown and Camden) and other areas of planning conflict: northsydneyreception@agl.com.au
- Make a submission to the NSW Department of Planning. For more information see Issues-CSG Mining
- Email our flyer to your friends and colleagues:CSG_flyer4j.pdf
- Buy a sign ($10) and put it on your gate. Choose from the opposite examples & then email us at info@scenichills.org.au
Have you say on Facebook: Campbelltown says NO to CSG
If you want more information, contact us at: info@scenichills.org.au
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