AGL has questioned a new poll of Gloucester and Taree residents which reveals more than three quarters of respondents are opposed to coal seam gas in the valley.
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ReachTEL conducted a phone poll of 701 residents living in the Gloucester and Greater Taree shires last Tuesday on behalf of anti-coal seam gas lobby group Groundswell Gloucester.
Survey participants were asked which political party they would be supporting at the March 28 State Election, as well as four other questions on coal seam gas.
According to ReachTEL, 75.6 per cent of participants were opposed to coal seam gas extraction in the Gloucester valley with only 14.8 per cent supporting the practice.
Nearly 90 per cent of all people polled were concerned about the risk fracking posed to water in the Manning River catchment.
“These poll results demonstrate that there is almost no local support for their destructive activities and AGL clearly has no social licence to continue damaging the environment and the Gloucester community,” Groundswell Gloucester’s John Watts said.
“The time has come for AGL to realise that they are not wanted and for them to pack up and leave.”
AGL has hit back saying the results of its own polling, which it has yet to release publically, showed support for coal seam gas in Gloucester had grown.
“AGL questions the validity of these survey results released prior to the NSW election,” a spokeswoman said.
“Over a number of weeks in December, consultants Jetty Research conducted a random yet thorough phone survey on behalf of AGL.
“According to this survey, 41 per cent of people polled in Gloucester supported coal seam gas, which rose from 14 per cent in the 2012 survey.”
