A NARRABRI farmer locked herself to a truck at Santos’ site in the Pilliga forest on Tuesday, in defiance of new laws passed last week cracking down on illegal coal seam gas protesters.
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Cotton farmer Kim Revell, 51, said instead of targeting protesters, the NSW government should focus on protecting the nation’s water resources.
“Mike Baird has brought in new laws to crack down on protestors like myself, but he is clearly missing the point,” Ms Revell said.
“We need laws to protect our water resources, not to protect the profits of gas companies that are risking our precious water.”
The NSW government recently passed laws that increase the fine for anyone caught trespassing on mining sites from $550 to $5500 fine.
The laws also extend the meaning of the word “mine” to include CSG sites, which means anyone locking themselves to mining or CSG equipment can face a maximum jail sentence of seven years.
Although the laws have passed, they are not yet enforceable. The laws will
come into effect after the bill has been proclaimed; however, there is no specific date for the proclamation.
Wee Waa farmer and People for the Plains spokeswoman Sarah Ciesiolka was at the protest to support Ms Revell.
“As a nation and the world’s driest continent, we should not be taking any unnecessary risks with our single most precious resource,” Ms Ciesiolka said.
“We simply cannot afford to risk our water – my own farm utterly relies on groundwater.
“Instead of hefty new penalties for farmers and everyday people standing up for water and land, we need sensible regulations to protect our precious natural resources against the risky practices of coal seam gas companies.”
Santos general manager of energy NSW Peter Mitchley said the protest had no impact on the company’s operations.
“Ironically, they were targeting a project that will allow us to treat the salty water we extract through our operations and beneficially reuse it for purposes like irrigation,” Mr Mitchley said.
“The water Santos will extract will be licensed and from much deeper zones than are used by farmers.
“The deeper salty water Santos will extract is not connected to the shallower fresh water.”