A call to ban coal seam gas mining in the Hunter Valley is set to be debated in the NSW Parliament after a petition was presented to the O'Farrell government this morning.
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Prominent winemaker Bruce Tyrrell presented a petition with 11,000 signatures from fellow residents of the Hunter Valley to the member for the Upper Hunter, George Souris, on the steps of Parliament House this morning.
Mr Tyrrell, of Tyrrell's Wines, called on the government to put a "ring fence" around the wine, farming and tourism region of the Hunter Valley and prevent the further exploration and development of mineral and coal seam gas mining.
Mr Tyrrell said the wine and tourism industries were at risk.
"The Hunter Valley is the No.1 tourism destination outside of Sydney in NSW," he said.
"Among our vineyards we have some of the oldest vines in the world, and, with the Barossa, the original repositories of original European grapevine material that don't exist in Europe any more. These are assets that cannot be put at risk."
Mr Souris said he shared some of the environmental concerns highlighted in the petition but could offer no assurances about the future of mining in the region.
"I'm proud to take this petition to the NSW Parliament and in doing so represent the views that are contained in it, particularly those views relating to environmental matters, hydrology especially, and the economic impacts associated with tourism," he said.
In a policy released before the election, the Coalition pledged there would be some "agricultural land and other sensitive areas ... in NSW where mining and coal seam gas extraction should not occur".
But the NSW Farmers Association has since raised concerns about how that policy will be implemented and whether a genuine balance between farming and mining will be achieved.
The government is still in the process of developing land use plans for regions such as the Hunter.
The petition, which calls on the government to remove certain areas in the Hunter from several petroleum exploration licences,was compiled by groups including the Hunter Valley Protection Alliance and Get Up!
Premier Barry O'Farrell pledged before the election that he would support parliamentary debates on issues where more than 10,000 signatures had been collected on a petition.
