Tintenbar and Newrybar fall through the CSG cracks

Staff at the Ballina Shire Council say the villages of Tintenbar and Newrybar won’t be protected from coal seam gas development under guidelines proposed by the State Government.

A two-kilometre buffer zone is planned around all residential areas.

But the council’s Steve Barnier says a zoning anomaly leaves those villages exposed.

He says staff have recommended the council write to the government about the situation.

“They aren’t zoned for villages, even though they are acknowledged as being villages, they’re zoned for rural purposes and if these amendments that the government is now talking about went through they wouldn’t get the protection as other villages might so we’re saying to the council that we think it is prudent to make a submission about that particular matter and seek that clarification and consistency,” Mr Barnier said.

Staff are also recommending the exclusion of more agricultural areas.

“There’s certainly areas in the northern parts of our shire that did not get categorised under the state government policy as state significant farmland but we know has been mapped as regionally significant and subject to agricultural production on a fairly intensive scale and we’re suggesting that’s very very important to protect that,” Mr Barnier said.