Australia: Cotton farmers save land from drilling companies
Cotton Australia, New South Wales Farmers and the Irrigators Council have signed an agreement to secure landholder rights with gas companies AGL and Santos.
Under the agreement, AGL and Santos must respect a NSW landholder's right to say yes or no to conduct goal seam gas (CSG) drilling operations on their land. The companies have agreed not to take farmers to arbitration in order to gain access to properties.
Cotton Australia CEO, Adam Kay, said the agreement is an historic win for the state's cotton growers.
"This is great news for cotton growers in NSW because it protects their property rights and gives farmers certainty over the future of their land and how they use it," said Mr Kay.
"I would like to congratulate the Santos and AGL executive teams on their leadership and hope that their example will be one that other mining and CSG companies will follow."
Mr Kay added the three agricultural partners in the agreement will continue to advocate for landholder rights, including the establishment of baseline soil and water monitoring to measure the impact of mining and CSG operations over time.
Cotton Australia is the representative body for Australia’s cotton growing industry.
Image: Cotton Australia policy officer Leah Ross and Minister for Resources and Energy Anthony Roberts sign the agreement
