Questions raised about Richmond Valley Council's treatment of anti-gas protest camp at Bentley
Gasfield Free Northern Rivers have raised serious concerns about the
motivations of Richmond Valley Council in their treatment of the
community camp set up on private land adjacent to Metgasco’s planned gas
drilling site at Bentley.
Richmond Valley Council has refused Gasfield
Free Northern Rivers’ (GFNR) latest application to continue and expand
the camp at Bungabee Road, which was made on behalf of community members
opposing Metgasco’s invasive drilling at Bentley.
"It
is very concerning that whilst Gasfield Free Northern Rivers is trying
to comply with all requests from Richmond Valley Council, we have been
denied procedural fairness by them,” said Gasfield Free Northern Rivers
representative, Ian Gaillard.
“It is standard practice
for Council to offer applicants an opportunity to address any perceived
failings in their development applications, but for some reason Council
is denying the community camp at Bentley this right.”
“This begs the questions whether Council is running a political agenda
in support of Metgasco or is under undue influence from a state
government intent on forcing this toxic industry on an unwilling
population in the Northern Rivers?”
"I know there are
hundreds of properties in Richmond Valley that are non-compliant under
the Environmental Planning & Assessment Act, yet it is only those
exercising their democratic right to protest that are being treated
unfairly", he said.
“Even more disturbingly, despite
making every effort to follow due process in our dealings with Council,
the occupants of the community camp have been subjected to repeated
spurious allegations and vilifying innuendo in public statements and
media comments by Council representatives.”
"Nonetheless, we will continue with our efforts to pursue an ongoing
permit for the camp and have submitted notification to Richmond Valley
Council that we will be lodging an application for redetermination of
our development application under s82A," Mr Gaillard said.
“We will be pursuing all available legal avenues to maintain the
existing camp so we can support people’s right to peacefully protest
Metgasco’s invasive gas mining.”
“The irony of the whole
situation is that, as RVC well knows, maintaining the Bungabee Road
camp is the best way of ensuring public safety and an orderly and
organised camp,” concluded Mr Gaillard.
Gasfield Free Northern NSW
