THE future of farming across Moree is under threat from resources exploration, with farmers wanting a focus on long-term sustainability.
At a forum in Moree on Tuesday, farmers raised the need for the government and mining companies to consider the next 100 years.
The coal seam gas industry is focusing on a 25-year plan for extraction in the Moree area but farmers want to ensure the viability of farming for generations to come.
Dan and Rebecca Reardon, from Terry Hie Hie, pointed out their
concerns.
The couple runs the 2225-hectare family farm Lairdoo, a dryland cropping and sheep property. Mrs Reardon said farmers needed to understand their rights and hear from the gas companies.
She said while the meeting provided more information, work needed to be done regarding environmental issues and self-regulation of mining companies before mining went ahead.
“They’re steaming ahead, but we’re still working out legislation and regulation as well as environmental impacts,” Mrs Reardon said.
“We’ve got a lot to do before we can confidently go ahead with this industry, but the problem is they already have the exploration licenses in place.”
The Reardons are third-generation Lairdoo farmers. Their children will be the fourth.
“Most landholders will tell you they want their families farming there in 50 years’ time,” Mrs Reardon said.
“They want to know their farms are going to be productive and have water from the aquifers.
“For us it’s about being here long-term. We’re thinking about the next generation.”
She said exploration was “all happening too quickly”.
“We need our politicians to get in there and make sure that we can catch up with the mining companies, being ahead of them with regulation and environmental studies,” she said.
“It (gas mining) is going to come. The question is finding a balance and protecting good agricultural land.”
Gurley farmers Phil and Jane Rohde were at the meeting, but Mrs Rohde said it was “almost too little too late”.
“The land has already been purchased. They should have been letting landholders and community members know what’s happening before knocking on doors,” Mrs Rohde said.
Mrs Rohde’s parents are from nearby Biniguy and were recently approached to allow seismic surveys on their property.
“Their reaction was a surprise, particularly as the gas companies haven’t given us the courtesy of forward knowledge,” she said.
Mrs Rohde said the community had the right to be concerned.
“The protection of our agricultural land and produce, and the protection of our livelihoods as custodians of the land, is paramount in our future, and local farmers must stick together if we don’t want our democratic rights overridden,” she said.
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