The fact that people are still trying to belittle the extent of the opposition staggers me. The 2012 Lismore Council run poll returned an overwhelming 87% no vote to the question “Do you support coal seam gas exploration and production in the Lismore City Council area?”.
This was no small poll, it was run in conjunction with the Lismore Council elections under the auspices of the AEC. The Council spent 4 weeks putting out the arguments for and against in the local media. The pro CSG side was put forth by the Australian Petroleum Producers and Explorers Association. 25,595 people voted and 87% said no.
The opposition is not just a few blow in ferals, it really is 87% of the community. Add a furious Alan Jones to the mix and it doesn't look good.
People seem preoccupied that some of the protesters aren't local and that somehow diminishes the strength of the protest. To my mind the fact that people are willing to travel long distances to join the thousands of locals would not be much of a reassurance.
"Know thine enemy". Do some research, dig a bit deeper than just reading a few Hotcopper postings erroneously claiming "Its only a few ferals". The opponents of this project are highly organized and it would seem that they are also very effective. There have been two mayors climb the tripod in solidarity, the knitting nannas, ministers, lawyers, uni lecturers, doctors, farmers, a huge cross section of good hearted and very determined people. To try and brush them all of as just a few ferals is potentially a very expensive mistake to make IMO.
It is encouraging to see that some on here admit that drilling into the ground is inherently dangerous and that even a water bore can endanger the water table. It puzzles me though that these same people cant see that just letting water flow out of the ground is perhaps a little less dangerous than pumping huge volumes of toxins into the ground.
Source of Lismore Poll information: http://epubs.scu.edu.au/jesp/vol15/iss3/6/
MEL Price at posting:
4.9¢ Sentiment: LT Sell Disclosure: Not Held
