FRIDAY JULY 10 2015 NEWS 07

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A NEW community centre, in-spired by the inclusiveness oflibraries, has opened up behindAdelaide House on Todd Mall.

The Meeting Place is a pro-ject of four volunteers, whohave worked to transform theold Uniting Church op shop which moved premises re-cently into a drop-in com-munity space.

Facilitator Ryan Castle saidhe had been working towardsthe project for a year and tookthe opportunity to use theempty hall when it was offeredby his friend Steve Bevis fromthe Uniting Church.

Its inspired by the library not targeted to one group butaccessible to everyone, he saidof the facility.

Camel Cup crew lope in for race

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

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MR Hawke is now advising the govern-ment on additional safeguards.

Mr Tollner said he expected to re-ceive a new set of recommendationswithin a couple of months.

He said a successful onshore gas in-dustry in the Territory would lead tolower fuel prices and create jobs, butthe government recognised the needto take the community with us.

There are currently no hydraulicfracturing applications in the NT, MrTollner said.

Fracking has occurred safely inCentral Australia for more than 40years without any incident.

To put a moratorium in place whentheres no activity planned is unnecess-ary.

It also sends a message to resourcecompanies that is not a good one;theyll look elsewhere and well losejobs, investment and royalties.

Mr Tollner said there had been a lotof misinformation about the danger toaquifers.

Central Australian Frack Free Al-liance spokesman Tanya Hall said theHawke report was contradictory andthe terms of reference were too narrow.

From our perspective its negligentnot to put a moratorium in place untilthe regulatory framework in the NThas been greatly improved, she said.

The alliance considers that a mora-

torium should be put in place on theissuing of exploration licences for shalegas and the process of fracking until itcan be proven to be safe for the envi-ronment and society, both now and forgenerations to come.

The peak industry body, AustralianPetroleum Production and ExplorationAssociation, said calls for a moratoriumwere not supported by science or prac-tical experience.

There is a vast worldwide body ofcredible, peer-reviewed science that has

determined fracking can be done safe-ly, chief operating officer StedmanEllis said.

This is confirmed by decades of ex-perience across Australia, where thou-sands of wells have already beenfracked without incident.

Shale and tight gas has the poten-tial to become a new industry for theTerritory, creating jobs and economicopportunities for local communities,revenues for government and a safe,clean and abundant new energy source

Battle over frackingfor the domestic and export markets.

Arid Lands Environment Centre di-rector Jimmy Cocking supports amoratorium, but said a robust regulat-ory system in the Northern Territorywould minimise the impact of all re-source-intensive industries.

Mr Cocking called for bipartisanpolicy reform.

The NT Government will find itselfon the wrong side of history with frack-ing, he said.

We are at least 20 years behind theUnited States, and although they mayhave reduced their oil imports, they arestill dependent on fossil fuels more thanever and dealing with the numeroushealth and environmental issues re-lated to shale gas fracking.

The issue is shaping as a politicalbattleground for the Territory electionin August 2016.

Labors mining and energy spokes-man Ken Vowles said people dont trustthe CLP to make important decisionsaround fracking.

Labor supports a moratorium onhydraulic fracturing in the NorthernTerritory so the work can be done toknow where, if anywhere, is suitable forfracking and if we can, the appropriateenvironmental oversights be put inplace, he said.

We need to build trust and cer-tainty with industry and the local com-munity so the right decisions can bemade about our country.

NT mining minister Dave Tollners (left) views on the need for a fracking moratorium are at odds with opposition member Ken Vowles (right).

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Drop-in centre draws on library vibesMr Castle said the library

environment was a uniquespace that was enjoyed by peo-ple of all ages, ethnicities andbackgrounds.

Currently open on Wednes-days, they would work towardsbeing open three or four nightsa week, hosting film nights, of-fering tea, coffee, food andbook and computer services.

Facilitator Else Kennedysaid they were seeking dona-tions of childrens toys, booksand magazines.

The hall will also be used forFood Not Bombs and a youthdrop-in night.

The Meeting Place is be-hind Adelaide House on ToddMall and is open Wednesdays4pm to 9pm.

For more information call8952 1856.

Toyah Shakespeare

THE heroes of the AliceSprings Camel Cup are hoof-ing their way into town for the46th running of the annualevent tomorrow.

With the Apex Club of AliceSprings taking the reins asorganisers for 2015, punterscan look forward to a range ofeccentric activities includingrickshaw races, an ironmanchallenge, a bucking bull, theMr and Mrs Camel Cup com-petition, races for kids andmuch more.

Nine nine camel races willbe the centrepiece.

Each year Stuarts Wellcamel farmer and formerCamel Cup winner NeilWaters loyally trucks hiscamels in for the Cup.

I just do me usual: bringthe camels in, do the day andcome home, Mr Waters said.

Although he speaks of theevent quite casually, MrWaters and his camels arepivotal to the Camel Cup asthey are used in races through-out the day.

We come in to support it,because we get so much out ofthe tourism industry, he said.

The gates to BlatherskitePark open for the event at10.30am, with the first racejumping at noon.

More event details andfeature from P18 >>

Police fear for missing manTHERE are grave concerns forthe welfare of a 71-year-oldman who went missing in AliceSprings on Wednesday.

Watch Commander DaveHamlyn, said the missing man,Ray Ken, was last seen walkingon Elliot Street toward theNorthside Shops sometimeafter 10am.

Mr Ken is described as indi-genous, between 170cm and180cm tall, skinny with short,white shaved hair.

Ray walks with a limp andmay also be carrying a walkingstick, Supt Hamlyn said.

Anyone with informationring Police on 131444 or CrimeStoppers on 1800 333 000.