Apart from injecting large amounts of capital into these centres and attracting workers with their families to move here, it has also introduced a divisive factor as well. Radical conservationists are now arm-in-arm with once-considered conservative farmers protesting against the introduction of coal or coal-seam gas mining.

Pushing the “not in my backyard” (NIMBY) theme even further, like landholders on the edge of proposed wind farms, are those political strategists and activists.

Emerging in these mate-against-mate, neighbour-against-neighbour conflicts are feelings of deep emotion and conflict.

It is a worrying concern and makes one wonder what we want in our world and for the world our children will inherit. Make no mistake – mining resources generate huge wages and, after a period of training, provide jobs that are not matched, in employment fields such as agricultural labouring or mechanical engineering.

It is easy to imagine that someone who once worked as a plant operator on a farm who can double his pay packet would have some difficulty in accepting the argument of a professional environmental activist to accept the wages and conditions of a farm hand and decline an opportunity to make some real money. Regional parts of the state were also put on notice yesterday by NSW Greens MP and environment spokesperson Cate Faehrmann, who said protesters would resort to more and more extreme methods of getting media and public attention to get their message out. She was commenting on a protester who was arrested after climbing a 20-metre drilling rig, 30 kilometres south of Narrabri in state forest country.

She said the more governments continued to ignore community concerns, the more we’d see people going to extreme lengths to highlight the serious threats this industry was posing.

But who is right? Often arguments from environmentalists are flawed and inaccurate and do not take into account the concerns and feelings of the majority of the community.

It seems the squeaky wheel gets the most oil.