A survey of Narrabri Shire residents conducted by CSIRO, as part of a study into the perceptions of community wellbeing and the gas industry in the shire, has shown overall acceptance of the coal seam gas development has increased.
The 2022 survey was conducted using the same format as one held in 2017.
The results of the newest survey were released by the agency this week.
In its report, CSIRO said 304 residents of the shire were randomly contacted between June and August 2022, asking them more than 200 questions relating to community wellbeing and perceptions of coal seam gas development.
The number of respondents with an attitude of rejecting gas development decreased from 30 per cent in 2017 to 23 per cent in 2022.
Other response categories included embrace it, 21 per cent in 2022 compared to 15 per cent in 2017, approve of it, now 20 per cent previously 14 per cent, be okay with it, now 16 per cent previously 13 per cent and tolerate it, now 20 per cent previously 28 per cent.
“There was a tendency for perceptions of perceived impacts, distributional fairness, trust in the company, and feelings toward the Narrabri gas project to be more favourable in 2022, though mainly for residents living in Narrabri and surrounds,” the CSIRO report noted.
“Residents in Narrabri and surrounds had positive views of CSG development, while residents in the rest of the shire had negative views on average.
“Housing affordability and rental prices were the number one concern about CSG development in 2022, followed closely by concerns about water contamination and depletion.
“In 2017, concerns about water contamination and depletion were higher.
“Regarding future possible issues, there was still concern that hydraulic fracturing may be introduced over time, as well as concerns about well integrity over time.
“The percentage of residents thinking their local community would resist or not cope decreased, while those thinking it would adapt to the changes or change into something better increased. The percentage thinking their community would only just cope remained relatively stable.
“There were no significant differences between farm owners and other residents in their attitudes to CSG development; unlike 2017 when the former had less favourable views of CSG development.
“Similarly, for those living in and out-of-town where there were not significant differences in 2022, unlike 2017.
“Nearly half of the residents in the shire (49 per cent) were interested or very interested in the CSG discussion.
“Approximately two-thirds of residents in the Narrabri Shire wanted to know at least some more about the local CSG industry, and nearly one in five wanted to know a lot more.”
The report also found overall community wellbeing was robust and stable in the shire between 2017 and 2022.
The latest survey saw 37 per cent of respondents strongly agree that the local area offers a good quality of life, down from 40 per cent in 2017.
Other agreement categories included agree, 44 per cent up from 42 per cent previously, neither agree or disagree, 16 per cent up from 15 per cent, disagree, two per cent down from three per cent, and strongly disagree recorded zero responses.
“The top three drivers of overall community wellbeing in both 2017 and 2022 were community spirit, community trust, and services and facilities.
“However, economic opportunities and community spirit increased in importance in 2022,” the CSIRO report read.
Satisfaction with roads saw the most significant decline, while the importance of and satisfaction with economic opportunities improved, particularly for men.
Satisfaction with some service and facilities improved (sports and leisure facilities, cultural facilities, and community support services).
Residents from Narrabri and surrounds tended to report greater satisfaction with overall community wellbeing than residents in the rest of the shire.
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