Farmers demand federal government resolve resource land use conflicts

The calls follow renewed conflict between Santos and Liverpool Plains farmers, who blockaded trucks over the weekend to prevent the gas giant from carrying out survey work, as it looks to expand its gas field into the NSW food bowl.

Farmers have been fighting the Santos Narrabri Gas Development for a decade, consistently raising concerns the project would eventually spill into the nation's best agricultural land.

Santos and the NSW government promised multiple times no mining would occur on the Liverpool Plains. Farmers say it's become clear they were lied to and have demanded Commonwealth intervention.

READ MORE: What China wants in return for dropping trade sanctions

National Farmers Federation president and Liverpool Plains farmer Fiona Simson said the resource sector and the state governments had consistently shown they couldn't be trusted

"The people of the Liverpool Plains were given strong promises that it was not going to be mined, that it would remain for agriculture and Santos was only interested in Narrabri.

"Now we've got state ministers going behind peoples' backs to quietly give developers approval to extend their footprint and threaten some of our most valuable areas."

Across the country, agriculture was cut out of the consultation equation between the developer and state government, Ms Simson said, pointing to similar gas tensions in the Queensland Bowen Basin and Tasmanian farmers simply trying to get high-voltage transmission lines buried.

Land use conflicts would only grow, she said, unless the federal government created a mandatory consultation code of conduct.

"The developers get carte blanche to get it done, while the rights of the community and landholders are trotted upon," she said.

Liverpool Plains farmer Peter Wills is campaigning against the Santos gasfield and its Hunter Gas Pipeline that runs through his property, and has raised concerns about the practises of coal mines in the region.

READ MORE: Labor to use EU trade as 'political cover' for tougher land clearing laws

After years of dealing with the resource industry, he said it was alarming how consistently the sector ignored or lied to landholders.

"Consultation should be a two-way street, but it seems to be a one-way street with these corporations, because they pretty much tell us what they're going to do," Mr Wills said.

"Landholders have simply got questions. But if any of these companies were to answer these questions to our satisfaction, they would be dead in the water, so they know not to answer the questions."

The fury of Liverpool Plains farmers bubbled over on the weekend, when word spread the gas giant was conducting seismic testing in the area. Several impromptu blockades were formed by more than 60 farmers, which ended in Santos calling the police.

NSW Farmers President Xavier Martin said this sort of conflict was likely to escalate if decision-makers remained "out of touch" with communities.

"There is a growing disconnect between the people making these poor decisions about regional communities and those who actually live there," Mr Martin said.

"An effective planning strategy balancing agricultural production with a growing list of other land uses will help prevent the conflict we saw at the weekend."

NFF's proposed code of conduct would also apply to high-voltage transmission lines and renewable energy projects, which are expected to boom in the regions as the nation aims to reach its net-zero ambitions.

The office of federal Energy Minister Chris Bowen confirmed work was underway on the issue, with the federal government developing a national approach to consultation and engagement with the state governments.

"The Commonwealth is working with the energy market bodies and states and territories to ensure genuine consultation for communities and not just a tick box exercise," a spokesperson for Mr Bowen said.