A NEW lobby group of young farmers met with local independents yesterday to demand protection for their prime agricultural land on the Liverpool Plains.  

The controversial open cut Shenhua Watermark coal mine was last week put on ice by federal Environment Minister Greg Hunt to seek further evidence for the scientific committee on how the project would impact the region’s aquifers. 

But independent candidates for Tamworth and Barwon, Peter Draper and Rohan Boehm, joined with local young farmers from the “Liverpool Plains Youth” Facebook group in calling for the plains – including the ridges and not just the black soil – to be off limits to mining. 

Joe Norman, 21, of Yarrabrae in Breeza, said he held concerns once the rock is broken, the salinity would freely run onto his family’s land and make it unproductive. 

“The water coming down off those ridges goes straight through our property and any overburden that contains salt will go through,” Mr Norman said. 

“For dryland farmers that’s going to have a huge impact.”

Mr Draper said the rich agricultural land of the Liverpool Plains should not be mined until other areas have been exhausted and the potential threat to water was matched by fears coal dust could contaminate produce. 

“The government has valued short term gain from coal over long-term food security,” Mr Draper said. 

Mr Draper said he was “cynical” about the timing of the minister’s announcement, which came just a month ahead of the state election and would take the heat off The Nationals member for Tamworth, Kevin Anderson.

He said his cynicism was fuelled by Shenhua Watermark’s comments the process would be “done and dusted” by April. 

Mr Anderson accused Mr Draper of “flip-flopping” on the issue. 

“It’s easy for Mr Draper to come out and say this is a political stunt,” Mr Anderson said. 

“It’s a bit rich for Mr Draper to stand there and call for this mine to stop – how is he going to do that and why didn’t he do it previously?”

He said the initial exploration licence issued to Shenhua from the then Labor government for $300 million had occurred on Mr Draper’s watch and The Nationals are winding back on such licences. 

“We now have to let the science take its course,” he said. 

“That is something I have been calling for for a long time – the assurance the mine will not affect our water.”

His comments come a day after Nationals Senator for NSW John Williams accused Mr Draper of crying “crocodile tears” over the Liverpool Plains mine. 

Senator Williams said he was deeply concerned about the threat to water and the effects of coal dust on agricultural produce and praised Barnaby Joyce for bringing the environment minister to the area which led to a pause on the mine. 

Mr Draper said real tears were being shed by Aboriginal elders who feared their sacred sites would not be preserved for future generations and he feared for the breeding koala population in the area. 

Mr Draper said he was in power when the exploration licence was issued but he was opposed to the project from the start and viewed the $300 million as “a bribe”.