The celebrated songsmith was arrested and charged yesterday after launching a protest against Whitehaven Coal’s mining operations near Boggabri.

The 45-year-old, accompanied by his father Rick, 71, locked himself to a pump that the company uses to draw fresh water from the Namoi River to wash its coal.

The men spent about three hours at the site mounting their protest before police officers cut O’Shea free and whisked them away to Narrabri Police Station for processing.

The O’Shea family once owned the property where the pump is located and the Sing You Up singer said the protest was a deeply personal experience.

The song, from the album of the same name released last year, pays tribute to the men and women risking their liberty to protect the environment from mining.

“Knowing that a mining company was sucking water out of the Namoi River near where I grew up was very painful for me,” he said.

“That pump that we locked onto is allowed access to ... three billion litres of fresh water every year that is not allowed to go to established farmers.”

Last Saturday, O’Shea was the toast of the country music industry after winning Golden Guitars for Male Artist of the Year, Heritage Song of the Year and APRA Song of the Year.

He told The Leader the decision to use his high profile to raise awareness of the plight of farmers surrounded by massive open-cut coalmines was not one he had taken lightly.

“I’m a father of three, a school teacher and a musician – it’s not something that I’ve done before,” he said.

“But I would never have been able to look myself in the eye if I had not taken this action and finished off what I’d started when I wrote that song, Sing You Up.

“All these people are feeling helpless and hopeless because no one is heeding their cries for help.”

With its Maules Creek, Werris Creek, Tarrawonga, Rocglen and Narrabri North mines, Whitehaven Coal is the Gunnedah Basin’s biggest producer of coal.

Last financial year the company paid more than $100 million in wages and entitlements to its workers and $70 million in royalties to the NSW government.

O’Shea, from Sydney, was charged with entering an enclosed land, remaining on an enclosed land and hiding tools to unlawfully influence a person.

His father, also from Sydney, was charged with entering an enclosed land and remaining on an enclosed land.

Both men were granted bail to appear before Narrabri Local Court on Tuesday, February 24.