Protesters against Hunter Gas Pipeline crash NSW Nationals annual general conference in Tamworth

Among a range of motions to be debated at the two-day annual general conference which kicked off on Friday, is a call for the approved route of the Hunter Gas Pipeline to be immediately reviewed to prioritise placement on Crown land instead of prime agricultural land.

Dorothy Wasson, who has a small farm in Hallsville, and those joining her to protest, are opposed to fracking for gas in the Liverpool Plains at all.

Putting in the pipeline will cause a lot of disruption to Crown land, she said, but more distressing to her is the relationship between the party and gas giant Santos.

In 2019, National Party membership voted to remove expired petroleum exploration licences, landholder affected by the pipeline Peter Wills said, but two years later the party renewed the licences across the Liverpool Plains.

"The National Party and their hierarchy do not listen to us as landholders directly impacted, and they don't even listen to their own membership," he said.

"Whatever they vote on here, Santos at the end of the day will dictate what their policy is.

"They're really wasting their time in debating this motion."

The NSW Nationals Party annual general conference at West Leagues Club in Tamworth will form the party's policy platform.

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