THE gas industry remains on the nose in the Limestone Coast, with Wattle Range Council residents overwhelmingly supporting a halt to unconventional gas and mining projects in the region.
More than 100 people gathered at Lake Leake, between Kalangadoo and Glencoe, last weekend for the third Gasfield Free Declaration Ceremony organised by the Limestone Coast Protection Alliance.
It follows similar ceremonies held in the Robe and Grant District Councils in the past six months.
From more than 700 respondents surveyed through a doorknock poll in the eight communities of the Wattle Range Council - Kalangadoo, Glencoe, Maaoupe, Short, Wattle Range, Wattle Range East, Krongart and Monbulla - 96.4 per cent were opposed to gas or mining projects in the future.
One hundred and nineteen scrolls representing each of the roads surveyed and "locked up" under the Lock the Gate campaign were presented to Wattle Range Council deputy mayor Robert Dycer.
Mr Dycer said he would present the scrolls to the council's June meeting.
"It is a touchy subject with people on both sides having a view but that is a debate," he said. "As the council I would hope we would have that sort of robust discussion and debate and have all the information on which to base our decision.
"We know the water down here is paramount - it is part of my business and a lot of other businesses. If that is not right - clean, green, fresh and available - we don't have clean, green food, so it is so important."
Wattle Range councillor and Glencoe farmer Dale Price said the council was aware of the community concerns and would keep raising them.
He congratulated those at the ceremony on their willingness to come out and show support for the long-term environmental protection of the area and said without communities standing up decision-makers proceed unabated.
"One of the issues which is a key concern in the SE is our water is not on the surface, it is underground," Mr Price said.
"If you go to Qld where they have had issues (with contamination) you can smell, touch, see and potentially do something about that surface water in terms of remediation.
"In the SE, our water runs underground and, as we know from experience from cheese factories of the past, that polluted water remains in that underground reservoir for decades."
Emcee for the day David Smith said the ceremony sent a very clear message to council and government that unconventional gas production was not welcome in the region and that residents were quite prepared to resist any such activity in the Limestone Coast by mining companies.
"The main concern of the general public started off as the two precious aquifers that the SE relies on for livestock, irrigation and town supply. However, as more research is done and more information comes to hand, human health is certainly becoming a major issue," Mr Smith said.
