MEDIA RELEASE - 7 July 2014

The Greens NSW mining spokesperson Jeremy Buckingham today said that Santos had broken its commitment under the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed with the NSW Government relating to the Narrabri coal seam gas project. Under the terms of the MOU, Santos were required to lodge their Environmental Impact Statement by 30 June 2014, however, this has not occurred.

“Santos appear to have broken their commitment under the MOU, by failing to lodge their detailed plans within the set time-frame. There has been no statement on this issue to the Australian Stock Exchange yet,” said Greens MP Jeremy Buckingham.
“The fast-tracked assessment process was meant to start on 30 June 2014 to determine an outcome on 23 January 2015. If Santos fail to lodge, then the time frame must be extended as well.

“The decision will now be so close to the next State Election in March 2015 that it should be delayed until after the election has occurred and voters have had their say. This project is too big and controversial to be signed off by a government in caretaker mode.

“The response to an FOI application makes it clear that Santos sought the MOU to try to provide a greater degree of certainty for an unnamed potential investor. However, the MOU does nothing to earn the project a social licence from a community who are very concerned about the risks of coal seam gas to their land, water and health ,” he said.
Contact: Max Phillips - 9230 2202 or 0419 444 916