President of the Lock the Gate Alliance, Drew Hutton, will appear in the Dalby Magistrates Court next Wednesday charged with obstructing a coal seam gas company.

The court case is set down for the 7th and 8th December in the Dalby Magistrates Court, corner Drayton and Cunningham Streets. Media are invited to attend for the midday press conference and rally on Wednesday 7th.

Today's release of the Senate MDBC committee into coal seam gas vindicates the stance taken by the Lock the Gate Alliance over the past twelve months.

The report calls for such measures as a moratorium on all further approvals of CSG projects in the Murray Darling Basin until all necessary scientific studies have been completed, although it does not call for a moratorium on all projects as the Alliance has demanded.

Lock the Gate Alliance president, Drew Hutton, said he was particularly pleased the committee pointed to the inconsistency between 'adaptive management', as implemented by the Queensland government, and the precautionary principle.

Today's decision by the NSW Land and Environment Court meeting in Singleton to issue a court order granting coal mining company NuCoal access to the property of Jerrys Plains farmer Ian Moore shows how skewed the law is in relation to the rights of landholders.

Lock the Gate Alliance president, Drew Hutton, who was in court today, said that, if Ian and Robyn Moore wished to continue their fight to protect their land, his organisation would stand behind them.

"What we saw here today was the sheer injustice of the land access provisions in New South Wales," Mr Hutton said.

Representatives from various groups in the Hunter Valley will gather at the Land and Environment Court at Singleton tomorrow (Tuesday) in support of blind farmer, Ian Moore, who is attempting to stop a coal mining company, NuCoal, from entering his property at Jerrys Plains.

When: 10.30 a.m., Tuesday 29th November 2011

Where: Land and Environment Court, Elisabeth Street, Singleton

Mr Moore has taken the company to the Court after the state's arbitration process ruled in favour of NuCoal.

The Lock the Gate Alliance today praised the ABC for the quality of its information on coal seam gas presented on its web site (www.abc.net.au/coalseamgas)

Lock the Gate president Drew Hutton said the ABC deserved the highest praise for cutting through much of the hype surrounding the issue and presenting the costs and benefits in an objective and interesting manner.

Mr Hutton said he was particularly impressed by the site's mapping that shows the positions of many of the coal seam gas wells in Queensland and New South Wales with back-up information on issues like impacts on underground water, fracking and the economic benefits and costs.