‘Varied and dynamic community – we are all in this together’

In response to the opinion put forward by a real estate agent, I would ask … Is Narrabri made up of just the businesses in Maitland Street?

Our community is a varied and dynamic place, in fact, the more varied and dynamic it is, the more likely it is to survive.

Narrabri’s survival relies not only on main street businesses, but also on nurses and farmers and vets and mechanics.

We are ‘all in this together’, especially in terms of the project’s contribution to climate change, and we should all be allowed to have a say.

The author apparently considers himself more local than farmers like me who live much closer to the proposed industrialised landscape Santos is proposing.
Farmers like me who have their water supplies at genuine risk … and who live down wind of gas flaring in the fire prone Pilliga … and farmers like me who can’t understand why so many independent scientists and independent experts are not being listened to.

I respectfully object to being called an ‘outside activist’.

I am a fourth generation resident and I have lived and worked in the Narrabri shire for over 40 years, as have many other ‘outside activists’.

Does the author know of any hydro geological experts that live in Narrabri, or any former chief scientists of Australia that live close by?

If so then we shouldn’t need to call on the expertise of these specialists?

Let’s have industries that last indefinitely, for more than 25 years.

Let’s have industries that don’t devour the water that other people and businesses rely on, and let’s have industries that don’t produce thousands of tonnes of toxic salts with no definite plan for their safe disposal.

Can you imagine the opportunities that could be available to our Narrabri shire community if Santos spent over three billion dollars on a renewable energy project … it’s not too late.

Mal Donaldson, Narrabri Shire resident