{"id":10968,"date":"2013-10-31T08:19:26","date_gmt":"2013-10-30T21:19:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nofibs.com.au\/?p=10968"},"modified":"2019-04-14T00:01:43","modified_gmt":"2019-04-13T14:01:43","slug":"state-different-rules-penny-blatchford-asks-people-nsw-get-special-treatment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/state-different-rules-penny-blatchford-asks-people-nsw-get-special-treatment\/","title":{"rendered":"Same state, different rules: Penny Blatchford @NoCSGGurley asks why some people in NSW get special treatment?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"NSW

NSW Government media release – protecting some families, not others<\/p><\/div>\n

By Penny Blatchford<\/a><\/p>\n

Most Australians enjoy the freedom to make choices about their lives – whom we marry, if we will have children, where we live and where we work. It would seem for people like me who choose to marry a farmer, have a family, live on the farm and make that farm our primary business, our freedom to continue to choose our life is being taken away.<\/p>\n

Governments across Australia, without any sense of balance or democracy, are choosing to turn our countryside , including our wilderness and our farms into a nationwide industrial gasfield.<\/p>\n

On 3\u00a0October 2013, the NSW government continued to make choices on our behalf by protecting selected people within our communities<\/a> – and not others.\u00a0NSW Minister for Industry and Infrastructure, The Hon. Brad Hazzard, proudly announced this in his ‘peace of mind’\u00a0media release<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In NSW, communities offered this special status are those who choose to live in areas zoned residential, and those whose farms fall into two industry categories in a specific location: equine and viticulture in the Hunter Valley.<\/p>\n

Communities who do not hold this special status are those who live on farms outside residential zones and communities that have existing CSG activity already approved, such as the Gloucester Valley.<\/p>\n

The government estimates 95% of dwellings will be protected by exclusion zones<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, I am one of the families that falls within the 5% – and I think the logic of exclusion is upside down. As a result of our exclusion we are the ones who can be categorised as having \u2018no peace of mind\u2019.<\/p>\n

Whilst researching the 2013 Mining SEPP amendments and the NSW Government’s choice not to protect rural homes and residences from industrial gasfield production, I came across the draft regulations for wind farms<\/a>.<\/p>\n

On 19 January, 2012, The Land newspaper reported<\/a> Minister Hazzard as saying, in relation to the draft guidelines for wind farms, \u00a0that they had ‘struck a balance between encouraging investment and ensuring communities were protected from the impacts of wind farm developments’. Public comment on this draft closed 14 March, 2013.<\/p>\n

According to this report, Mr Hazzard said a\u00a0central feature of the draft guidelines was a rigorous gateway assessment for wind farms where proposed turbines were located within two kilometres of existing residences.<\/p>\n

Without written consent from every resident within two kilometres of a proposed wind turbine, the ‘gateway process’ would be triggered – meaning \u00a0the wind farm operator must lodge an application to a Joint Regional Planning Panel (JRPP) addressing concerns about noise, visual impact, any impact on land values, as well as other issues, Mr Hazzard said.<\/p>\n

On 23 December, 2011 Minister Hazzard issued a media release headlined:\u00a0NSW Government puts community consultation at centre of new wind farm guidelines.<\/a><\/p>\n

The Newcastle Herald<\/a> the same day quoted Minister Hazzard \u00a0as saying: “Today I am announcing that the NSW Coalition is putting out for public discussion some of the toughest wind-farm guidelines in the country, possibly the world.”<\/p>\n

And the Sydney Morning Herald, on the same day, carried the headline:\u00a0NSW gets worlds toughest wind farm rules<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The opening line in this story was ‘people living within two kilometres of proposed wind farms will have the right to veto them, under a NSW government proposal’.<\/p>\n

Compare this to coal seam gas \u2013 same planning department, same Minister Hazzard, huge public outcry and community concern for homes, families, farms, wilderness, noise, visual impact, impact on land\u00a0 values, health, water, soils, environment and so on.<\/p>\n

Same motherhood catch phrases as ‘tough new rules’ and ‘tough new measures’ according to a government media release<\/a> issued on 21 March, 2013.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have put in place the toughest CSG controls in Australia,\u201d said Minister Hazzard.<\/p>\n

\u201cCommunities will now have peace of mind with the two kilometre exclusion zone for new CSG activity around residential areas.\u201d<\/p>\n

The simple reply to Minister Hazzard is ‘no, not all communities’ and ‘no, not all families’ have ‘peace of mind\u2019.<\/p>\n

So if you have a wind farm proposal on your doorstep everyone within the radius of two kilometres must be happy according to Minister Hazzard’s draft guidelines. But if you have a proposal on a rural property for an industrial gas field 200 metres from your principal place of residence and 50 metres from your garden \u2013 these tough new measures do not apply.<\/p>\n

If you live in rural NSW, if you do not want CSG mining on your doorstep, you have to shut up and put up – or take matters into your own hands by ‘locking the gate’ to deny access\u00a0 to miners – and run the risk of being taken to forced arbitration, the Land and Environment Court or await the relevant Minister’s ruling.<\/p>\n

Sorry, the world’s toughest rules don\u2019t apply to you!<\/p>\n

Now, whether you like and support \u00a0wind turbines or not, agree with coal seam gas mining or not, surely there should be consistency within the planning department regarding how people are treated in NSW?<\/p>\n

Every family and every place of residence in NSW must be afforded \u00a0the same right to feel safe in their own homes – and be granted that 2000 metre exclusion zone, regardless of \u00a0where we live.<\/p>\n

If the toughest rules in the world can be proposed for residences near wind farms, then those same rules should be applied to the toughest rules for homes facing the threat of an industrial gasfield.<\/p>\n

The coal seam gas exclusion zones on residential land in NSW came into force on 4 October, 2013. Stage 2 CSG exclusion zones are on exhibition until 8 November, 2013.<\/p>\n

Submissions or feedback on the exclusion zones can be made here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Concerns include:<\/b><\/p>\n