After 153 submissions and numerous public hearings across the country, Chairman of the Senate Food Production Enquiry, Senator Bill Heffernan, tabled three interim reports from this Enquiry today.  The second report discusses concerns raised in relation to proposed coal and gas exploration and mining/drilling on the Liverpool Plains area of NSW and the potential for these developments to adversely impact on agricultural activities in the area.

In a balanced and perceptive review of all the submissions, the committee stated it “believes that prime agricultural land needs to be protected from mining developments.” Further, “preservation of these productive lands and finite water systems is clearly of national significance.”

The committee makes the following recommendation: “..that the NSW Government investigate the total prohibition of mining under the floodplains of the Liverpool Plains and other areas of the state where similar conditions prevail, especially where evidence indicates that there will be damage to the floodplain or aquifers and the agricultural productive capacity of the floodplain in question.“

We would like to thank all the Senators involved in this Enquiry for their support in maintaining our highly productive food bowl for the future of all Australians.