CHAIRMAN of the Manning Alliance, Peter Epov, has praised the deal achieved by the federal members for Lyne, Robert Oakeshott and New England, Tony Windsor on coal seam gas mining as a result of their negotiations with the government over the Mining Resources Rent Tax Bill.

But he warns: “The battle is not over by any means” and “there is still a great deal to do to achieve proper controls over coal seam gas mining in New South Wales”.

Mr Epov said yesterday the alliance is delighted with the outcome achieved by Mr Oakeshott, announced on Monday (Page 1, yesterday’s MRT).

“This is a critical and perhaps the crucial and the single most important step in the fight to manage and control the introduction of coal seam gas mining in Australia,” Mr Epov said.

“We appreciate and applaud the efforts of Mr Oakeshott and Mr Windsor to use the Mining Resources Rent Tax( MRRT) to put some some sanity into the coal seam gas debate and to introduce better and proper limits over an industry that is currently out of control.

“Of course, the devil is still in the detail and we will be seeking a meeting with Mr Oakeshott as a matter of urgency to fully clarify a number of important elements of this announcement,” he said.

Mr Epov burned the midnight oil on Monday to review the letter from prime minister Julia Gillard to Mr Oakeshott and said afterwards: “There are a number of points, which we would like to clarify.”

In terms of the Manning Valley, Mr Epov said, “This is very good news; it is an outcome which will significantly strengthen our task to insulate the valley from coal seam gas activities.”

Specifically, the alliance welcomes:

o The introduction of an independent expert scientific committee

o Establishment of a national partnership agreement

o The fact that the Commonwealth government appears to want to expedite the process by establishing an interim board of the independent expert scientific committee immediately; seeking co-operation from the states to voluntarily impose higher standards ahead of legislative arrangements; seeking to secure the National Partnership Agreement at the next COAG meeting in February.

o The prime minister is recognising community concerns about coal seam gas and for the need for objective scientific evidence to inform the assessment and decision making processes by state governments for exploration and production licences

o The prime minister is recognising the need for local communities to be fully empowered by having accessible, reliable information

o That the purpose of this arrangement is to protect water

o That significant detailed scientific studies will be carried out to develop a much better and broader understanding of the implications and consequences of coal seam gas

* The commitment from the federal government that it will legislate if the states fail to join the National Partnership Agreement

Mr Epov said Manning Alliance had a number of concerns, including:

* That the process is not delayed through the bureaucracy

* That state governments do chose to co-operate, which has not always been the case

* That the independent expert scientific committee is indeed truly independent and not an arm of a government department. (“We would like to see this committee have its own stand-alone secretariat and not be serviced by bureaucrats from the Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities,” Mr Epov said.)

* That there is no mechanism in place for direct community contribution and oversight, so perhaps there needs to be a community board appointed which could contribute to the process.

“We will discuss this latter issue with Mr Oakeshott in detail,” Mr Epov said.

“What should also not be missed in this announcement is the introduction of the proposed working group on water, soil and food.

“This is also a very important key element which could also have significant impact over the rollout of coal seam gas. I know Mr Oakeshott has been the prime catalyst for this initiative.”

The proposed working group on water, soil and food will be tasked to develop an integrated forward work program on agricultural productivity, with particular focus on soil, water and food.

Ms Gillard has agreed to establish the group to be chaired by a senior minister and include other ministers as well as Mr Oakeshott and Mr Windsor.

“The battle is not over by any means but these are very encouraging and positive outcomes which need to be recognised and understood,” Mr Epov said.

“There is still a great deal to do to achieve proper controls over coal seam gas mining in this state.

“These controls not only include water, (as in the outcome achieved by Mr Oakeshott ), but also controls that span all the consequences, from human health to other environmental issues, to economic issues and social issues, as well as land rights.

“So people should not run off thinking the battle for proper total control over the coal seam gas industry is over... it’s not!”