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The State Minister for Resources and Energy Anthony Roberts on Thursday condemned the intimidation of a farmer and his family by extremist groups in rural New South Wales (NSW).
Casino-based dairy farmer Peter Graham, who signed a land access agreement to allow a conventional gas well to be drilled on his property, has been subjected to a range of verbal threats, property damage and intimidating behavior.
A former local government councilor, Graham's gates have repeatedly been chained, padlocked and welded shut, while barriers made of concrete and metal spikes have been laid across his driveway.
The action came almost one month after firebrand Liberal senator Bill Heffernan urged NSW farmers to recognize the threat of coal seam gas (CSG) mining and lobby the government for more protection over their land.
The furor was building after an application for petroleum exploration encompassing the Griffith region and beyond.
The rural-focused Heffernan was typically declarative when he spoke out against the impact of CSG on rural communities.
"When I chaired the senate inquiry into coal seam gas, the CSIRO told me they didn't understand the risks of coal seam gas mining but they thought it could take several hundreds of years to rebalance the aquifers after 30 years of mining," Heffernan said.
"I have come to tell Griffith farmers there is very little they can do by way of protection, the only way to deal with this threat is to bind together as a community.
"One mistake farmers in Queensland made was to sign confidentiality agreements with the miners so they couldn't tell their neighbors what was going on and I don't want to see that repeated here."
Heffernan accused the NSW government of making a shocking mistake when it granted exploration licenses.
Typically defiant, the senator said, "A whole lot of the areas (covered by petroleum exploration licenses) are excluded from what the state government has defined as strategic agricultural land, which is just bureaucratic bullshit."
In a statement Thursday an equally strident Roberts said there is "no place in modern Australia for this type of behavior."
"The Government respects the right to protest peacefully, however we condemn bullying, harassment and intimidation from any quarter, whether it is by extremist groups, industry or others," he said.
"Anyone undertaking this kind of behavior is not contributing to a respectful and responsible debate, no matter what the issue. They are discrediting themselves, their organiszations and their cause."
NSW Farmers Association (NSWFA) President Fiona Simson said her members wholeheartedly support farmers having a say in what happens on their land.
"This means that we support a farmer's decision to say no to certain activities, and conversely, we also support a farmer's decision to say yes and welcome certain activities," Simson said.
She said, howver, that the NSWFA could not condone criminal behavior.
Roberts said the community needed to stand together in condemnation of extremists.
"When farmers allow access to their property, they are making a decision based on the facts and information before them, and other individuals, protest groups and businesses should respect that.
"I am calling on individuals, community groups and organizations to join the NSW Government in condemning this unacceptable behavior."
