Australia’s Sydney Morning Herald has broken a story about the suspension of coal seam gas drilling in New South Wales due to a failure of the company, Metgasco, to consult suffiently with the community. Protesters had been blockading the camp for several weeks.

Sean Nicholls May 15, 2014

Resources company Metgasco’s plans to drill for coal seam gas at Bentley on the NSW north coast are in disarray after state energy minister Anthony Roberts referred the project to the Independent Commission Against Corruption and announced its licence would be suspended due to insufficient community consultation.

Mr Roberts announced the decision on Thursday morning, just days before police were due to be called in to break up a long-standing protest on the site at Bentley, near Lismore.
Up to 800 police were due to enter the protest camp as early as Monday to disperse thousands of people who have been blockading the site for several weeks.

Mr Roberts said the Office of Coal Seam Gas (OCSG) had told Metgasco the licence would be suspended because the company “did not fulfil a condition of its exploration licence, namely to undertake genuine and effective consultation with the community as required.”

“OCSG is conducting an ongoing audit of all Petroleum Exploration Licences across NSW and is focused on ensuring company compliance with title conditions,” Mr Roberts said.

“I have been advised by OCSG that fundamental concerns have been expressed by members of the affected community about the way in which Metgasco has characterised its activities.” ‘

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