FARMERS and land owners in the Bellata, Terry Hie Hie and Gurley districts could be forced into a non-co-operation campaign after a formal notice, seeking access to properties by coal seam gas explorers Leichardt Resources and Planet Gas, was served.
Last Friday, letters were received from the two resources companies seeking access agreements to drill for coal seam gas on private land.
The last sentence in the letter stated: “If, after 28 days of submission of this initial notice, an agreement cannot be reached, an arbitrator will be appointed to resolve any issues relating to access after this period.”
Queensland activist and green campaigner Drew Hutton, who heads up the Lock the Gate Alliance, a group formed to fight coal seam gas exploration, said the NSW government had effectively abandoned farmers on the North West plains.
He said farmers in the region were in a “terrible position” where they were facing threats of legal action from coal seam gas companies.
He said the alliance would be advising farmers to lock their gates to Planet Gas.
“Because we know that once a gas company has access, there is no turning back. If the gas companies try to take Bellata farmers to arbitration and make them sign an access agreement against their will, then we will fight them all the way,” he said.
Member for Barwon Kevin Humphries was critical of the manner in which Planet Gas handled requests to sink a single 10cm exploration core hole, using a licence issued by the previous NSW government.
“We’ve always been coming from behind on this one,” Mr Humphries said.
He said the letter and approach by Planet Gas was “just ridiculous”, and that the NSW government’s moratorium on any new exploration by coal and coal seam gas companies had a life of about two weeks left.
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