Gilgandra made a statement about its intent to stay clear of coal seam gas with hundreds of residents turning out to an event to declare the town gasfield free on Sunday.
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It backed up research conducted in the town by the community that found 98 per cent of residents opposed CSG extraction.
Despite wet and cold weather, and some localised flooding around the town, the community turned out to back the declaration.
The event was more of a celebration than a protest, with a sausage sizzle, face painting, a colouring-in competition, a raffle and hay auction.
Organiser Danielle Bonnington said she was amazed by Gilgandra’s dedication to the cause.
“We were really pleased with the turnout on the day considering the weather, as we know the heavy rain kept so many people away, and many just couldn't get through flooded creeks and slippery unsealed roads to be there,” she said.
“It turned out to be the worst possible day to have an outdoor party.
“We had many so messages of support from residents who were there in spirit with us.”
Gilgandra resident Dave Peart said the message was pretty clear that companies hoping to extract coal seam gas from the region would not be welcome.
“When Santos were issued a coal seam gas exploration licence and started exploring in the northern end of Gilgandra Shire three years ago, we did our homework and decided this industry was not compatible with Gilgandra,” he said.
“We’ve taken pains to ask people across the shire, including in town, if they want to keep their roads and lands gasfield free and an astounding 98% across the 483,600 hectares of our shire said they did. That is a big paddock.”
Gilgandra Mayor Doug Batten accepted the declarations from the community representatives.
“This symbolic declaration will form the basis of a very strong message to both State and Federal Governments regarding the desire of the residents of Gilgandra Shire not to proceed with the development of the coal seam gas industry,” he said.
Ms Bonnington said community representatives would meet with Parkes MP Mark Coulton on Saturday.
Meanwhile in Dubbo, the Knitting Nannas presented their people in the street survey to Mr Coulton, which included 270 signatures of those who said no to CSG in Dubbo.
Nannas member Margaret McDonald said they have been “occupying the streets of downtown Dubbo to peacefully protest the existence of the Coal Seam Gas industry” since 2014.