NSW Farmers has welcomed changes to the opal mining framework which were progressed through parliament last week.
Key changes include a new regime for compensation amounts and a streamlined collection process.
Also new will be the ability for the minister to impose levies on opal miners for activities like rehabilitation of land.
As anybody who visits a property affected by opal mining in the Lightning Ridge district would be aware, there are a number of concerns held by the farming community when it comes to the ability of these industries to operate side by side.
While NSW Farmers' members are not opposed to the opal mining industry, they have called for urgent and significant reform of industry regulation as concerns for farm land in the area have only increased in recent times.
The government has announced it will set the compensation rate at $100 a year plus 10 cents a hectare for each claim.
Until now, there has been no clear guidance on compensation and while it has been required, an amount was not clearly known and there remained issues about the enforcement of compensation collection.
So this is positive news, although our members in the area have been at pains to highlight the fact that, in many ways, compensation is a secondary issue to the other concerns faced by them on a daily basis.
Dealing with abandoned mine shafts, mullock heaps, liability and concerns regarding the spread of pests and diseases remain an ongoing challenge.
In 2011 the NSW government commissioned an inquiry led by former Federal Court judge Murray Wilcox to investigate these issues further.
Unfortunately, the scope of issues covered in both the terms of reference for the Wilcox report and the government response did not cover the breadth of concerns our members have consistently raised.
Nevertheless, the Bill did progress through parliament and we recognise it as a positive step forward.
NSW Farmers will continue pushing for reform on outstanding issues which include terms of access, insurances, biosecurity and occupational health and safety concerns to ensure the ongoing viability of farming operations in the Lightning Ridge area.