Tebbutt, Tyler MIA for energy forum

St Peters Town Hall was packed full on March 14, as local community organisation Climate Action Newtown (CAN) and Facebook group Sydney Residents Against Coal Seam Gas held a community forum on the future of energy in the area.

Predictably enough, the proposed extraction of coal seam gas in St Peters was an issue which featured strongly at the forum, which was attended by Greens candidate for Marrickville, Fiona Byrne, along with Pip Hinman of the Socialist Alliance. Labor member for Marrickville Carmel Tebbutt was unable to do so, as was Liberal nominee Rosana Tyler.

Candidates were asked three questions relating to the future of energy in the seat, and both candidates present had similar views on the issues raised. Each pledged to try and stop the building of more gas- or coal-fired power stations in NSW, to introduce rigorous coal seam gas extraction regulations and standards, and support the re-introduction of the feed-in tariff and creation of incentives for investment in solar power, should they win office.

Cr Byrne said the Greens were “committed to vibrant solar energy”, while Ms Hinman said she was heartened by the “unprecedented rise in community activism” which had taken shape in the form of organisations like CAN.

One of the founding members of CAN, Moira Williams, hosted the evening and revealed the amount of effort being employed to pressure both federal and state governments to act on climate change.

“A lot of effort, blood, sweat and tears has been met with pretty much no climate policy from our government,” she said. “Sometimes it feels like we’re going backwards.”

CAN revealed the results of 270 individual surveys conducted in Newtown, Enmore, St Peters, and Marrickville between January and March.

According to the surveys, some 94 per cent of area residents support greater investment in renewable energy in NSW, and some 58 per cent had heard of the plans to mine coal seam gas in St Peters. Seventy-seven per cent said the state government should place a ban on exploration of coal seam gas until proper environmental assessments had been completed, while 74 per cent disagreed with the government’s decision to scale back the solar bonus scheme. A similar proportion said new energy in NSW should come from clean energy sources like wind and solar.

The night was planned over several months, with organisers contacting all candidates for the seat of Marrickville, providing some four months notice. The organisers expressed their dissatisfaction with Ms Tebbutt and Ms Tyler for not attending the event. CAN said they first contacted Ms Tebbutt on November 17, and followed up with numerous emails and phone calls.

NSW Labor’s ‘roadmap’ in the event of re-election was released the day after the forum, incorporating mining exclusion zones, bans on exploration in waterways located near national parks, and a prohibition on the use of some chemicals used in ‘fracking’ – although the chemicals named in the policy are not currently used in NSW.

Premier Kristina Keneally said it was “not a finalised policy”, as it needed to be implemented “in consultation with a number of stakeholder groups.”

The plan was derided by Opposition Primary Industries spokesperson Duncan Gay, who described it as, “a cynical five-to-midnight attempt to muster a few votes,” while Greens MP Cate Faehrmann said it failed to address the main concern of fracking – the release of methane during the process itself.