Governments told to pay up for damage to farmers land from mining

The vote came as the Coonamble branch of NSW Farmers pipeline failed to get a motion endorsed that would have downgraded the Pilliga pipeline as not being state significant.

Coonamble farmer Adrian Lyons said the Pilliga pipeline threatened the viability of farms with the dangers it posed to water supplies if extra coal seam extraction went ahead along the route of the pipeline.

“We want to stop it now. There is no guarantee that this type of mining is safe for water supplies. We need to have everything in place to protect us. 95 per cent of Coonamble is against this pipeline. We don’t think it should be state significant. Let’s put a stop to it.”

But although farmers voted to make governments liable for any damage to farms from such projects, and asked governments to set aside 10 per cent of income from Mining Exploration Lease Sales to be used to reimburse landholders impacted by exploration, the conference rejected a bid to downgrade the Pilliga pipeline as not being state significant.

Two speakers said the Coonamble farmers were acting “like Nimbies”. One farmer Peter Wilson said he had an electricity power line put through his property for users in western NSW and it was not his right to stop other people getting electricity.

Mr Lyons countered that the pipeline was a precursor to coal seam gas wells in western NSW and that most of the gas would end up being exported. The water table and great artesian basin faced potential pollution from fracking.

Andrew Martel said the Coonamble farmers were being “nimbies”. “This is one step too far,” he said referring to the motion that would seek that the  state significance of the pipeline be extinguished.

One farmer said he had a northern pipeline across his property and it caused no concern. The pipeline construction company, APA Group, has started planning out the route of the 450km pipeline with helicopter surveying. The pipeline would connect the Santos Pilliga gas project to the main Moomba pipeline. The Santos coal seam gas project is still under environmental review.