The group’s stall at AgQuip has been inundated with inquiries about the buy back and what it means for other large scale resource projects in the area, like the Shenhua mine at Breeza and Santos’ Narrabri Gas Project.

The group’s spokesperson Peter Small said he was pleased to see the government taking action to remove threat the resource industry posed to the region.

"It's fantastic news, it shows that if you keep fighting, you can eventually win," Mr Small said.

“We really hope this is the thin end of the wedge and we start to see more of this.

“The government could do a similar thing with CSG licences, but do it for free.

"Many of the coal seam gas licences are expired, so the government wouldn't need to buy them back, they could just cancel them.”

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