Kirsty Ruddock, the principal solicitor of the NSW EDO, spoke at the Food Security Forum, held in Gunnedah on Wednesday, October 12, to the crowd of 600 people who had shown up to hear from a panel of specialists and activists about the damage further mining would have on their prime agricultural land.

Ms Ruddock was approached by the Caroona Coal Action Group in 2007 to act on members' behalf in regard to various issues, but her recent role has involved empowering the community to campaign against further mining and coal seam gas (CSG) projects.

She told the crowd at the forum how other communites just like theirs had used the law to fight CSG and mining projects in their areas.

She explained the EDO's law-reform role to campaign for stronger environmental laws, which would invariably protect community interests.

"I outlined the power imbalance in the law between the community and environmental interests to fight for clean water, food and health," Ms Ruddock said.

She said the exploration licence for coal seam gas on the Liverpool Plains would be challenged with her help, because it had significantly increased in the past few years and posed serious risks of groundwater pollution, which had already been proven in a case in Gloucester. Ms Ruddock was incorrectly identified as a member of the NSW Farmers' Association on Thursday, October 13 in a story in The Leader.