Who would have thought that Narrabri would face water insecurity due to PFAS contamination of town bores?
By comparison, the Narrabri gas project is a known risk to the Great Artesian Basin (GAB). The project will drill 850 wells through the Pilliga Forest, passing through the recharge zone of the GAB. It will depressurise the Gunnedah Oxley Basin as recognised by the government, producing up to 4 megalitres of wastewater every day, bringing up 80 kilograms of toxic salts per minute, which there still seems to be no plan for.
For more than 11 years, People for the Plains has represented Narrabri Shire residents who are concerned about the Narrabri gas project. Given the project is now seeking approval for its Narrabri Lateral Pipeline, we feel it is important that the public understands the serious risks this development still poses to our region.
It is extraordinary that Santos has acknowledged they cannot guarantee that contamination from the gasfield will not occur. Our community cannot afford this risk; fixing a contaminated GAB won’t be as simple as installing a new filtration plant.
It is now 14 years since Santos purchased the Narrabri gas project and despite trying to sell off the company a few times, a final investment decision to proceed with the project has still not been made. Even Santos’ CEO was reported in The Courier on August 29, 2024 saying that he would “never want to be the person predicting when Narrabri is going to take the final investment decision.”
Farmers in NSW do not have the legal right to say no to coal seam gas or gas pipelines on their own land. This loss of basic property rights leaves landholders at an immediate disadvantage when approached by a major corporation.
People have long suspected that the real target is the gas under the Liverpool Plains, some of the best agricultural land in the country. If true, this would pose a major threat to Australia’s food security, which may be why we are seeing NSW Farmers opposing the Narrabri gas project too.
More than 96 per cent of farmers surveyed oppose the spread of coal seam gas. Safer and cheaper alternatives exist, including well developed plans to import gas to NSW through Port Kembla, without threatening farms, water or the Pilliga.
Stuart Murray, president,
People for the Plains
