The Land Water Future campaign sparked a whirlwind of activity across New South Wales (NSW) which saw communities standing up to halt the rampant and unchecked expansion of coal and coal seam gas mining and exploration across the state.
In 2014, 80% of NSW was under threat from coal and gas mining, with licences and leases covering most of the state and threatening water, farmland and regional towns. From the Australia’s food bowl in the Liverpool plains, to the small townships of Gloucester, Wollar and Bulga, and stretching down to the Southern Highlands, mining companies were running roughshod over communities, country and endangered species.
The Land Water Future campaign rallied together with communities across the state and:
- Ran one of the biggest door knocks in Australian political history in the NSW Premier’s own electorate.
- Made sure tens of thousands of people headed to the cinema to see the documentary Frackman to understand the dangers of fracking.
- Spread the word about how Shenhua had plans to turn the koala capital of Australia into a giant coal mine on the Liverpool plains.
- Stood with residents of Gloucester to oppose plans to frack their farmland and worked beside them until they won.
Together, we stopped coal mine expansions in the Hunter Valley and had more than 20 coal seam gas licences cancelled across the state. Since the Land Water Future campaign, the NSW Government has bought back half of Shenhua’s mining licence from the Liverpool Plains and the community of Gloucester has had to band together again to oppose the Rocky Hill coal mine expansion.
Communities around NSW continue the fight but the strong groups, networks and friendships forged during the Land Water Future campaign have built community resilience and hope that people power and communities can triumph over the political influence of mining companies.