Lock the Gate Alliance and impacted farmers say a recent NSW Government-led review into Santos’ activities and behaviour towards landholders along the planned Hunter Gas Pipeline route failed to investigate the core complaints levelled at the company.
Lock the Gate made a complaint through its lawyers on behalf of locals along the Hunter Gas Pipeline route, about the approach that Santos was taking to landholders, and the pressure that landholders were feeling.
The terms of reference for the investigation limited it to looking at whether Santos had breached the Authority to Survey for the pipeline - but because the powers of the Authority had not yet been formally invoked, the investigation concluded it had not been breached.
Direct communications between Santos and landholders were only partially addressed in the investigation and a number of complaints were not considered.
Carmel Flint, Lock the Gate Alliance National Coordinator said “The NSW Government investigation did not deal with the substance of the original complaint, but reduced it to a question about whether the authority had been breached even though it hadn’t come into effect yet. The investigation was doomed to fail right from the start.”
Mullaley Gas and Pipeline Accord spokesperson, Margaret Fleck, said “Landholders are feeling pressured. Many landholders along the planned Hunter Gas Pipeline feel that Santos has not engaged in good faith and the terms of reference of this review were inadequate to address that.
“Many landholders are elderly and living in remote areas, and are unsure of what to do in negotiations with a giant gas company. This is creating enormous extra stress for them.
“Some landholders are reporting up to ten text messages and calls in a single week from Santos. Farmers need to be left to farm, they shouldn't be spending all their time on the phone to a gas company.
“This pipeline will pose a major risk to the black soil of the Liverpool Plains, and our local communities have made it clear we don’t want coal seam gas spreading across this vital foodbowl.”
ENDS
Background:
Santos is trying to build its Hunter Gas Pipeline in order to connect its yet to be built Narrabri Gas Project and coal seam gas tenements on the Liverpool Plains to near Newcastle.