Farmers in southern Queensland, Australia are willing to be jailed as part of their protest campaign against planned coal and gas mining in the region.
Fearful of short term mining activities destroying underground aquifers and degrading the land forever farmers have joined forces with Friends of the Earth to launch a protest campaign.
The ‘Lock The Gate’ campaign as it is being called has hundreds of farmers in south east Queensland vowing to keep coal and gas explorers at bay in the region. Some farmers said that mining activities in the region would make it difficult for farmers to get certifications for organic farming.
Drew Hutton the organizer from Friends of the Earth said that the whole weight of environmental legislation, of impact assessment, environmental approvals and land access laws were completely in favour of the mining industry and against the farmers.
Graham Clapham from the ‘Save Our Darling Downs’ group said that land holders were angry and confused about the CSG industry. They could not understand why the government was so keen on granting unlimited rights to foreign mining companies which are not available to Queensland citizens.