If prime agricultural land is at risk, Australia is at risk

The Independent senator for the ACT spent the week on a listening tour to hear concerns from farmers and traditional owners about the impact these and proposed projects are having on Australia's prime agricultural land in northern NSW and southern Queensland.

Santos' controversial Narrabri gas line project is on the minds of many.

On Thursday, August 24, the Senator heard concerns from traditional Gomeroi owners at Coonabarabran about how the pipeline will impact the land and their connection to country and says he's concerned by Santos' actions to try to overturn the Gomeroi's traditional rights.

The next day the Senator met with Liverpool Plains and Namoi Valley farmers during a meeting at Harparary, north of Boggabri, to hear farmers tell of their concerns about the impact of the gas pipeline on underground water resources.

"The Liverpool Plains feeds Australia - I've been trying to protect this land for more than a decade now," the Senator said.

Gunnedah mixed cropping and cattle farmer Doug Frend said he relied on a single bore for his whole farm and two houses.

"Water is everything to us. If we don't have water, we can't run our business or our homes - we'll be stuffed without water," he said.

"The supply fluctuates as it is, with the conditions, so we don't need any more threats to our groundwater. Santos extracting coal seam gas in the area will potentially pull the plug from under us and we'll be left with nothing."

Mullaley Gas and Pipeline Accord spokesperson and cattle farmer Margaret Fleck said farmers were trying to protect their land and water from Santos.

"This is a fossil fuel development that has lingered well past its use by date," Ms Fleck said.

"Santos' petroleum exploration licences that cover roughly half of the high quality agricultural soils of the Liverpool Plains risk contaminating or depressuring the good quality water farmers rely on with the filthy water in the coal seams.

"The community here has a long history of battling against coal seam gas, and we have no plans to stop now," she said.

Mrs Fleck said high pressure gas pipelines Santos wanted to build and its Narrabri Gas Project would threaten Gomeroi cultural heritage and the biodiversity of the Pilliga State Forest, koala habitat, and high-value agricultural soils that are prone to erosion.

"These pipelines and gasfields, should they be built, impact a broad range of farmers in terms of loss of water, land, property value, and there are a host of insurance difficulties once coal seam gas infrastructure is built on a farm," she said.

READ ALSO:

Described by many as one of the greatest rugby players of all time, the former Wallaby is no stranger to the farmers' plight, having joined the Leard Blockade in 2014, where he infamously chained himself in protest to a super digger at the Maules Creek Coal Mine in the Leard State Forest with fifth-generation farmer, Rick Laird.

Long-time friends Rick and Tracey Laird were among the farmers Senator Pocock met with during his listening tour, and told him what it was like trying to live and farm next door to the Whitehaven mine, hearing of "stolen water" and dust issues.

Senator Pocock continued his trip to the Darling Downs on Saturday, August 26, where met with farmers who are also concerned about the impact of coal seam gas on their ability to produce the food and fibre on which Australians rely.

Senator Pocock said his trip was a great opportunity to hear from those directly impacted by an expanding fossil fuel industry.

"We know approving new and expanded fossil fuel projects is against the advice of climate scientists, the IPCC [Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change] and the International Energy Agency," he said.

Senator Pocock said all Australia "will pay the price" if mining issues were not dealt with.

"We often forget climate change is not the only cost we suffer when new projects are approved. In the Liverpool Plains and the Darling Downs we are risking prime agricultural land," he said.

The Senator said it made no sense to sacrifice "some of our most precious and productive land" to a dying industry that will only harm our climate and fail to provide sustainable economic development.

"Fossil fuels are a dying energy source. People will always need food and fibre to survive. We should prioritise what matters," he said.

The Senator's tour also provided an opportunity to discuss the impact of the roll out of renewable energy infrastructure, following the start of the Community Engagement Review which is currently consulting with communities and is due to report later this year.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: