Farmers Unite to Protect Agricultural Lands from Coal Seam Gas Expansion
In a significant move to combat the expansion of the coal seam gas (CSG) industry, the Save Our Darling Downs (SODD) group has inaugurated a volunteer-run community outreach center on the main street of Dalby. This new center is strategically located just three doors down from the office of Arrow Energy, a joint venture between Royal Dutch Shell and PetroChina, highlighting the community’s commitment to protecting their lands.
Arrow Energy is currently contemplating its final investment decision for the next phase of its Surat Gas Project, which entails the drilling of hundreds of new coal seam gas wells in the Cecil Plains and Nangwee districts, extending east of the Condamine River for the first time. This proposed expansion has galvanized local farmers and environmentalists to take action.
Liza Balmain, a farmer from Nangwee, expressed the urgency and necessity of the new outreach center, stating, “This community outreach center will be a resource hub where people can access support for dealing with the threat of coal-seam gas. It will also provide information about the importance of the agricultural sector in this area.” She emphasized the significance of the Darling Downs, describing it as a “world-renowned food bowl,” and criticized the Queensland Government for sacrificing the region’s precious water resources to polluting multinational corporations.
The agricultural landscape of the Darling Downs is diverse and productive, with crops such as cotton, sorghum, chickpeas, wheat, and other grains and legumes thriving due to the fertile Condamine Alluvium. However, this crucial water resource is currently under threat from the CSG industry’s extensive extraction activities, which not only deplete groundwater but also cause subsidence of fertile cropping land.
Melinda Commens, a spokesperson for Save Our Darling Downs and a farmer from Cecil Plains, underscored the incompatibility of coal seam gas operations with farming. “What’s happening on the Darling Downs is a real nightmare for a lot of people, and we’re desperately trying to stop this industry before it expands any further on to the Condamine floodplains,” she said. Commens highlighted the vital role of the Condamine Alluvium in sustaining the region’s agriculture and warned against risking this invaluable water resource.
In a show of solidarity, dozens of farming families across the Darling Downs have declared their properties gasfield free, covering more than 30,000 hectares in total. These declarations have proven effective in other parts of Australia in deterring gas companies from encroaching on communities.
The Save Our Darling Downs community outreach center aims to serve as a bastion of support and information, helping farmers and residents safeguard their land and water from the encroaching coal seam gas industry. The center represents a beacon of hope and resistance in the ongoing struggle to protect one of Australia’s most fertile agricultural regions.
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