The latest boom industry in Australia is coal seam gas (CSG), and like others before it, CSG is throwing up a cloud of questions, concerns and challenges.
Money has been poured into regional areas with new jobs created, however some farmers fear the loss of water resources and productivity from their land, while landowners and the general community have concerns about the impact of CSG on water quality and the environment.
It is a complex issue with varied perspectives, and the farmers’ viewpoint can inform how a more harmonious relationship can exist between the natural gas sector and the community.
Farmers’ perspective
In the rural areas of the Surat Basin in south-west Queensland, CSG development – with its network of wells, pipelines, access tracks and warning signs – is being undertaken on farms that function as both the family business and the family home.
Not much is known about co-existence between farmers and the CSG industry in this shared space, but the intrusion of a conspicuous large development on quiet country lifestyles has been the source of much conflict. CSIRO has conducted a study to explore farmers’ perceptions of some of the issues arising from large scale land use change.
Workshops were conducted with farmers from Roma, Dalby and Chinchilla in Queensland to explore the importance of place identity and landscape aesthetics for farmers, farmers’ acceptance and ability to cope with change, and possible benefits from off-farm income. These regions have a long and rich farming history including wheat, sheep, cattle and irrigation on deep rich clay soils.
This study revealed that farmers believed that place identity was not well understood by CSG staff from non-rural backgrounds and that farmers struggled to explain concerns they had because of the different ways in which they interpreted their landscape.
These differences were the cause of much frustration and farmers felt that this had led to impacts on their mental health and wellbeing. The study also identified a range of issues farmers experienced as a result of this impact on their welfare, the increased traffic volumes as well as the loss of place identity and water resources.
Farmers felt that a change in culture within the CSG companies was required to improve engagement and suggested that employing local people to be involved in the communications between CSG companies and farmers would also help.
A key finding that emerged from the study was for farms and CSG to co-exist, the relationship between the gas company and the farmer/landowner/community needs to be based on genuine consultation, mutual respect, trust and open dialogue.
The agricultural land management research program undertaken by CSIRO is funded by the Gas Industry Social and Environmental Research Alliance (GISERA), a collaborative vehicle that undertakes publicly-reported, independent research that addresses the socio-economic and environmental impacts of Australia’s natural gas industries. Members of GISERA include CSIRO, Australia Pacific LNG and QGC who have invested more than $15 million in research. More information can be found at gisera.org.au.
For farms and the CSG industry to co-exist, CSIRO has found that the natural gas sector needs to focus on building a collaborative relationship with farmers/landowners and the community in which the industry operates in. This relationship needs to be based on understanding emerging issues, open discussions on developing solutions, and mutual respect.