About Lock the Gate

Who We Are

Lock the Gate is a national grassroots organisation made up of more than 240,000 supporters and around 140 local groups who are concerned about risky coal mining, coal seam gas and fracking.

These groups are located in all parts of Australia and include farmers, First Nations Peoples, conservationists and urban residents.

Our vision is of healthy, empowered communities which have fair, democratic processes available to them to protect their land and water and deliver sustainable solutions to food and energy needs.

The mission of Lock the Gate is to protect Australia’s natural, cultural and agricultural resources from inappropriate mining and to educate and empower all Australians to demand sustainable solutions to food and energy production.

Our History

The Lock the Gate Alliance was formed in 2010 following meetings in New South Wales and Queensland of landholders, organisations and communities concerned about the ongoing and rapid expansion of coal and coal seam gas development.

A declaration was made: farmers would lock their gates to these rapacious industries. Ten years on and the Alliance continues to gain momentum, with rural and urban communities all over Australia stepping up to defend our land, water, and future from the invasive coal and unconventional gas industries.

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Our Policy Objectives

1. The creation of 'no-go zones' on coal and unconventional gas mining to protect productive agricultural land, national tourism icons, residential dwellings, important water sources, cultural heritage sites and sensitive natural areas.

2. Comprehensive health impact assessments and the implementation and enforcement of strict, scientifically determined and measurable standards to curtail air, water and soil pollution from coal and unconventional gas mining.

Lock the Gate’s success is rooted in our diverse and committed movement.

Across the continent, rural and regional communities are working together towards a vision of secure water, intact landscapes and meaningful cultural and social relationships between people connected by place. Communities as far-flung as Barkly, Barwon, Broome and Baralaba are supported by city folks that understand that sustainable regions mean sustainable cities.

Since 2010, the Lock the Gate movement has grown into an historic coalition of Australians from all walks of life. We're saying that enough is enough. The impacts of resource extraction on our finite farmland and water resources have gone too far. And now it is time to put the future first, to protect what we have for generations to follow and to build a new democracy that has people rather than profits at its heart.

Find out how to get involved with Lock the Gate

These are challenging times in rural and regional Australia.

Drought, fires, floods and extreme weather events, exacerbated by a warming climate, are taking a terrible toll on the economic and social fabric of regional towns and cities. They're putting enormous strain on the physical, emotional and mental well being of communities. The Covid-19 pandemic compounded and added to these challenges, and further exposed the vulnerability of rural communities.

Despite this, our movement is keeping up the good fight. And we’ve even managed to ramp up our efforts as the threats from coal and gas escalated around us. Adapting quickly to working together at a distance, regional and urban communities have stepped up to the challenge of remote organising and collaborated more closely than ever before. What might have driven us apart, has brought us together.

Find a supporter group in your local area

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