Community representatives attending a meeting with Federal Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane in Canberra on Tuesday will warn the minister that the industry will face a ‘world of pain’ if it attempts to impose itself upon the Northern Rivers.

The Environment Minister Greg Hunt has released notices confirming the application of the new federal “water trigger” to 27 coal mines and gas projects, but the Lock the Gate Alliance says some of the most damaging projects are still in limbo, and is calling for the Minister to end the anxiety of communities dependent on water resources that are threatened by mining.

Twenty coal mines and coal seam gas projects are yet to have the trigger applied, prompting fears that Minister will back down and fail to apply the law as he promised three weeks ago.

Lock the Gate Alliance has warned the Federal Government against back flipping on its commitment to undertake a water assessment of Clive Palmer’s China First mine, as the Guardian reports the company is lobbying to ensure the new “water trigger” is not applied to the project.

The China First project would be one of the first projects to be assessed under the ‘water trigger’, which gives the federal government responsibility to ensure the protection of water resources from large coal mines and CSG projects.

Mining conflicts are likely to escalate in Queensland if State and Federal Governments push ahead with plans to remove the rights and protections of communities, water resources, bushland and farmland under the guide of "cutting green and red tape."

Letter to the Editor

The phenomenal growth of the Lock the Gate Alliance with membership of 170 community groups and thousands of individual members is testament to the deep concerns the broad community has regarding land use conflict in NSW and beyond.

The Alliance welcomes recent state government land use policy changes that include residential exclusion zones from CSG and urges the government to protect all the residents of NSW no matter where they live.