NEWS 07

FRIDAY JULY 10 2015

Camel Cup
crew lope
in for race

Battle over fracking

FROM PAGE 1

FROM PAGE 1

THE heroes of the Alice

Springs Camel Cup are hoofing their way into town for the
46th running of the annual
event tomorrow.
With the Apex Club of Alice
Springs taking the reins as
organisers for 2015, punters
can look forward to a range of
eccentric activities including
rickshaw races, an ironman
challenge, a bucking bull, the
Mr and Mrs Camel Cup competition, races for kids and
much more.
Nine nine camel races will
be the centrepiece.
Each year Stuarts Well
camel farmer and former
Camel Cup winner Neil
Waters loyally trucks his
camels in for the Cup.
I just do me usual: bring
the camels in, do the day and
come home, Mr Waters said.
Although he speaks of the
event quite casually, Mr
Waters and his camels are
pivotal to the Camel Cup as
they are used in races throughout the day.
We come in to support it,
because we get so much out of
the tourism industry, he said.
The gates to Blatherskite
Park open for the event at
10.30am, with the first race
jumping at noon.
More event details and
feature from P18 >>

MR Hawke is now advising the government on additional safeguards.

Mr Tollner said he expected to receive a new set of recommendations
within a couple of months.
He said a successful onshore gas industry in the Territory would lead to
lower fuel prices and create jobs, but
the government recognised the need
to take the community with us.
There are currently no hydraulic
fracturing applications in the NT, Mr
Tollner said.
Fracking has occurred safely in
Central Australia for more than 40
years without any incident.
To put a moratorium in place when
theres no activity planned is unnecessary.
It also sends a message to resource NT mining minister Dave Tollners (left) views on the need for a fracking
companies that is not a good one; moratorium are at odds with opposition member Ken Vowles (right).
theyll look elsewhere and well lose
jobs, investment and royalties.
torium should be put in place on the determined fracking can be done safeMr Tollner said there had been a lot issuing of exploration licences for shale ly, chief operating officer Stedman
of misinformation about the danger to gas and the process of fracking until it Ellis said.
aquifers.
can be proven to be safe for the enviThis is confirmed by decades of exCentral Australian Frack Free Al- ronment and society, both now and for perience across Australia, where thouliance spokesman Tanya Hall said the generations to come.
sands of wells have already been
Hawke report was contradictory and
The peak industry body, Australian fracked without incident.
the terms of reference were too narrow. Petroleum Production and Exploration
Shale and tight gas has the potenFrom our perspective its negligent Association, said calls for a moratorium tial to become a new industry for the
not to put a moratorium in place until were not supported by science or prac- Territory, creating jobs and economic
the regulatory framework in the NT tical experience.
opportunities for local communities,
has been greatly improved, she said.
There is a vast worldwide body of revenues for government and a safe,
The alliance considers that a mora- credible, peer-reviewed science that has clean and abundant new energy source

Drop-in centre draws on library vibes

Police fear for

missing man
THERE are grave concerns for
the welfare of a 71-year-old
man who went missing in Alice
Springs on Wednesday.
Watch Commander Dave
Hamlyn, said the missing man,
Ray Ken, was last seen walking
on Elliot Street toward the
Northside Shops sometime
after 10am.
Mr Ken is described as indigenous, between 170cm and
180cm tall, skinny with short,
white shaved hair.
Ray walks with a limp and
may also be carrying a walking
stick, Supt Hamlyn said.
Anyone with information
ring Police on 131444 or Crime
Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

V1 - CAVE01Z01MA

for the domestic and export markets.

Arid Lands Environment Centre director Jimmy Cocking supports a
moratorium, but said a robust regulatory system in the Northern Territory
would minimise the impact of all resource-intensive industries.
Mr Cocking called for bipartisan
policy reform.
The NT Government will find itself
on the wrong side of history with fracking, he said.
We are at least 20 years behind the
United States, and although they may
have reduced their oil imports, they are
still dependent on fossil fuels more than
ever and dealing with the numerous
health and environmental issues related to shale gas fracking.
The issue is shaping as a political
battleground for the Territory election
in August 2016.
Labors mining and energy spokesman Ken Vowles said people dont trust
the CLP to make important decisions
around fracking.
Labor supports a moratorium on
hydraulic fracturing in the Northern
Territory so the work can be done to
know where, if anywhere, is suitable for
fracking and if we can, the appropriate
environmental oversights be put in
place, he said.
We need to build trust and certainty with industry and the local community so the right decisions can be
made about our country.

Toyah Shakespeare

Volunteers Else Kennedy, Pathi Raj, Steve Bevis and Ryan Castle have opened a new community
centre called the Meeting Place at the old Uniting Church Op Shop.
Picture: REX NICHOLSON

A NEW community centre, inspired by the inclusiveness of

libraries, has opened up behind
Adelaide House on Todd Mall.
The Meeting Place is a project of four volunteers, who
have worked to transform the
old Uniting Church op shop
which moved premises recently into a drop-in community space.
Facilitator Ryan Castle said
he had been working towards
the project for a year and took
the opportunity to use the
empty hall when it was offered
by his friend Steve Bevis from
the Uniting Church.
Its inspired by the library
not targeted to one group but
accessible to everyone, he said
of the facility.

Mr Castle said the library

environment was a unique
space that was enjoyed by people of all ages, ethnicities and
backgrounds.
Currently open on Wednesdays, they would work towards
being open three or four nights
a week, hosting film nights, offering tea, coffee, food and
book and computer services.
Facilitator Else Kennedy
said they were seeking donations of childrens toys, books
and magazines.
The hall will also be used for
Food Not Bombs and a youth
drop-in night.
The Meeting Place is behind Adelaide House on Todd
Mall and is open Wednesdays
4pm to 9pm.
For more information call
8952 1856.