Cr Findley moved a strongly worded motion at last Tuesday night's ordinary council meeting but the motion eventually moved was considerably watered down.

She pointed the finger of blame at 'Liberal' councillors and accused them of failing to take a strong leadership stance on behalf of the local community.

Cr Findley wrote to the Times last week saying it had been brought to her attention that Planet Gas had been granted an exploration licence "in the general location of Currumbene".

She said local residents needed to 'lock the gate' and demand a stop the gas exploration "before our area is destroyed be methane mining".

Cr Findley said fellow councillors and members of senior staff "sat in stunned silence" when she informed them at last Tuesday night's meeting that Planet Gas was targeting the area.

She said it was 'embarrassing' that the Department of Primary Industries had issued an exploration licence without council's knowledge - particularly when the issue was so controversial.

Cr Findley's original motion included a call for a moratorium on gas exploration in NSW as well as a request for the NSW Minister for Primary Industries (Steve Whan) to make available to council all documentation relating to the issuing of licences.

She said her attempts to take a strong stance on the community's behalf had met with resistance from Liberal councillors who claimed not to know enough about coal seam gas - despite it receiving an "enormous" amount of media attention.

Instead council resolved to hold a briefing issue on the issue of coal seam gas extraction in the Shoalhaven and to write to the Department of Primary Industries requesting any information on exploration licences that have been granted in the Shoalhaven.

Cr Findley said the Shoalhaven had a lot to lose in the "race for gas wells" given its potential impact on the "very things we rely on for income" such as the Jervis Bay Marine Park.

She said Shoalhaven City Council had invested significantly over the years into building a sustainable tourism industry but this industry could be threatened by "poorly managed" coal seam gas exploration.

Cr Findley said it was unacceptable that council had been the 'last to know' about the Currumbene exploration or that an exploration licence had been granted without consulting council or the community.

She said the Shoalhaven needed to be protected from 'inappropriate' mining techniques that had been shown elsewhere in the state and in Queensland to be damaging to the environment.