2016 Annual Report
Wallumbilla
The Wallumbilla CSG development story: Introduction
Wallumbilla is a small agricultural service town to the east of Roma. Interviewees said that Wallumbilla was a “close-knit”, friendly town with a strong economic base in agricultural (mainly beef) production. Once a “vibrant” community, Wallumbilla, like many small western towns, has experienced a decline in population and services over the last decade.
What we did and why
The Wallumbilla CSG development story has been created to understand the impacts on Wallumbilla from coal seam gas (CSG) development. This has been done with the help of key members of the Wallumbilla and district community, including:
- Local business operators
- Community volunteers
- Long-term residents
- Police
- Local government staff
These people were presented with statistical data on ‘indicators’ of social and economic impact. The ‘indicators’ are:
- Population
- Unemployment
- Income & Wages
- Business income
- Housing
- Selected offences recorded by police
- Rainfall
- Petrol prices
Working with our researchers, the people interviewed in Wallumbilla discussed the accuracy of the statistical data from a local perspective. That was done in research interviews. More information about the interviews is available here.
Through the interviews, a local perspective on the Wallumbilla CSG development story was created. From working with the Wallumbilla community, here is what we found.