Traditional owners have renewed their fight against a controversial gas extraction project at Leigh Creek in South Australia.
Dwayne Coulthard from the Adnyamathanya Traditional Lands Association (ATLA) said the site where Leigh Creek Energy Ltd has begun a three-month trial into underground coal gasification is a “very special place” for Adnyamathanya people.
“We want people to recognise that this is a culturally significant and very culturally strong area,” he said.
He joined a small group of protesters outside the company’s annual general meeting in Adelaide on Thursday.
“If we are going to allow projects like this to keep happening, it will only degrade and disintegrate our cultural heritage.”
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Last month, ATLA lost a bid in the Supreme Court of South Australia to have the trial stopped.
NITV: Court rules Leigh Creek coal gas trial can proceed
Craig Wilkins, Chief Executive of the Conservation Council of South Australia, said the extraction method had a poor safety record.
“This technology has been lambasted around the world for its poor safety standard,” he said.
“It has been banned in Queensland after causing the largest pollution event in that state’s history.”
Leigh Creek Energy Chairman Justyn Peters said there were “huge” differences between the trial underway at Leigh Creek and an underground coal gasification project run by Linc Energy in Queensland, which was fined $4.5 million earlier this year for causing serious environmental harm.
“The regulator here in South Australia has put huge monitoring requirements on us, huge supervisory requirements on us,” he said.
“We’re very comfortable that there’s a huge difference between the two.”
