Region. Call for coal seam gas inquiry

Apollo Gas, via a subsidiary, Macquarie Energy, was granted petroleum exploration licence 463 in October 2008, allowing it to prospect for coal seam gas across the region. The licence covers 3285 square kilometres - most of greater Sydney - from Kurnell to Gosford and west to Eastern Creek. But the terms of the licence say Apollo must not drill or prospect within 200 metres of inhabited houses or within 50 metres of gardens or orchards, without written consent from the owners, the Department of Industry and Investment said. This means any drilling will probably be confined to less populated areas. The director of the Total Environment Centre, Jeff Angel, said a public inquiry into coal seam gas extraction was needed. ''The gas companies and their coal mining allies have very ambitious plans in and around Sydney about which they have not told the public,'' he said.

Region. Western Sydney 'grinding to a halt'

If the NSW government had borrowed to fund the total cost of all the tollways built since the Sydney Harbour Tunnel, the state would be $4.6 billion better off. This is the conclusion of a report commissioned by the Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils, to look at ways of solving the infrastructure crisis now facing the area. WSROC president, Clr Alison McLaren, said the findings showed that the government could no longer claim it could not afford to build or operate new transport and community infrastructure. “Western Sydney, like many other parts of Australia, is grinding to a halt because we don’t have the transport and other infrastructure is not in place to support a dynamic and growing population.”

Parramatta. Tourism awards for Rosehill

Lord Mayor of Parramatta, John Chedid, said the holding of the NSW Tourism Awards, at Rosehill Gardens Racecourse, on November 19, was a clear sign of the city’s growing stature as a destination for high-profile events. “Hosting the awards is a major endorsement of Parramatta’s reputation as a premier destination for major events,” he said.