It appears the McGowan Government has broken a commitment to restrict fracking to existing petroleum leases, according to Lock the Gate Alliance.

The WA Government has announced the release of four large petroleum exploration lots making up over 14,000km2 located in the Pilbara, Gascoyne, Mid West, and Wheatbelt.

THURSDAY, MARCH 4, 2017: The community of Stirling Estate in the Shire of Capel will declare itself Gasfield Free at a celebration in Mallokup Road at 9.30am this Saturday (March 4).

The event hosted by Stirling Estate Gasfield Free and the Capel Country Women’s Association group comes just one week before the state election and is designed to show voters and political candidates how local residents feel about the development of gasfields in their district.

The Estate is part of an extensive area being sought by Sydney based Bunbury Energy, formerly known as Unconventional Resources Pty Ltd, to explore and mine for gas.

Spokesperson for Stirling Estate Gasfield Free Lisa Simpson said the declaration followed weeks of going house to house, road by road asking residents if they wanted to declare the area Gasfield Free.

“The survey showed that residents were overwhelmingly in favour of declaring the estate Gasfield Free,” Ms Simpson said.

The final tally of results will be revealed at the event on Saturday.

“We are farmers and lifestylers and we want to protect our land, our water, the health of our children and the value of our properties,” Ms Simpson said.

“We want to keep our community gasfield free and this declaration says to the government, the Department of Mines and Petroleum and the gas company that they are not welcome to come into our area to explore or drill for gas.

“We want to retain our way of life and we do not want to put our water resources at risk. Clean water is far more valuable to us now and in the future than any gas that might be mined from beneath our farmlands and our homes.

“Our declaration means that gas companies do not have a social licence to operate in this district.”

The declaration will include catering by the CWA and is open to the public.

“We have had a lot of interest from other communities keen to do a similar survey in their area and we plan to give them as much help as we can.”

Stirling Estate will become the third community in the Shire of Capel to declare themselves Gasfield Free and the fifth community in the south west. They follow Quedjinup in the City of Busselton that declared last weekend.

Stirling Estate will join nearly 440 other communities nationwide who have been declared Gasfield Free.

The event will take place at 579 Mallokup Road Stirling Estate at 9.30am Saturday March 4.

Further information: Jane Hammond 0403 926 467

OCTOBER 30, 2016: Landholders across Western Australia have welcomed a decision by the National Party to support their right of veto over oil and gas companies wanting access to private land.

The WA National Party voted unanimously to support the right of veto for farmers and other landholders at their National Conference in Geraldton at the weekend.

MARCH 17, 2106: The Lock the Gate Alliance has labeled the state government’s response to a parliamentary inquiry into fracking in WA as “an attempt to water down already inadequate and weak recommendations.”

Western Australian coordinator for Lock the Gate Boudicca Cerese said the government had only given its full support to half of the 12 recommendations of the inquiry.

November 12, 2015: The Frack Free Mid West Gascoyne Alliance has called for an immediate halt on all fracking exploration and mining in WA while a senate inquiry examines the health, social and economic impact of the unconventional gas industry. 

Spokesperson the FFMWGA Irene Ghannage said today’s announcement that the senate would investigate both the coal seam gas and shale mining industries was welcome news and should be the trigger to put the brakes on the industry.

“People in the Mid West, on the frontline of this invasive industry, have been treated as collateral damage in the rush to extract unconventional gas and their concerns have until now been swept under the carpet,” Ms Ghannage said.