Council to remove CSG-free signage

LISMORE City Council will remove signs at the entrance to the city that declare it is nuclear and coal seam gas free, following a majority vote by councillors at its December meeting.

Councillor Big Rob raised the motion to remove the signs, saying the protest messages were negative and detracted from the new welcome signs on roads leading into the city.

“This is the entrance to our town. It should be welcoming, not protesting,” Cr Rob said.

Cr Adam Guise argued the signs demonstrated the community’s pride in blocking CSG exploration in the region in 2014.

“It’s something we should be proud of,” Cr Guise said. “It will really disappoint all those people who fought so long and hard to protect our land and water to see those signs removed. They’re not protest signs … they’re a sign of democracy in action.”

Cr Andrew Gordon acknowledged the historical significance of the win but suggested it was time to move on as he doubted governments would allow CSG exploration in the area again.

“We’ve moved on. I don’t like the messaging – saying no all the time,” Cr Gordon said.

The councillors resolved to remove the signs and replace them with place or welcome signs once budget allocation has been determined.

However, Crs Jasmine Knight-Smith, Adam Guise and Viginia Waters lodged a rescission motion against the decision, which will be heard in January.

Supporting the rescission motion, Cr Harper Dalton Earls said he believed the decision to remove the signs was a mistake.

“Lismore’s anti-CSG movement was a defining moment in our region’s history, with an overwhelming majority of residents voting against coal seam gas mining in a democratic referendum. The council voted to remove the signs, which I believe is a mistake.

“These signs represent more than a political stance – they are part of our shared history and reflect a time when the community worked together for a common goal. If the signs cannot remain at the entrances to Lismore, they should be preserved in a museum or placed in other strategic locations. They should not be discarded and simply sent to landfill.”