Mr PETER DRAPER (Tamworth) [1.57 p.m.]: I am pleased to note that talks have commenced to try to achieve agreement between stakeholders in the Caroona coal project, which hopefully will lead to better outcomes for the environment, the farmers and the mining proponents. Picture yourself standing on the side of a hill looking out over kilometres of rolling plains, the rich black soils nurturing healthy crops of golden canola, wheat, barley, oats, with mobs of cattle fattening on lush pasture as far as the eye can see. A panoramic tapestry in one of Australia's finest food bowls unfolds before your eyes. This is the land of Dorothea Mackellar's My Country. Last week I was standing on Watermark hill with a local farmer, Paul Nixon, looking over the amazing patchwork of farming country that makes up the Caroona and Watermark coal exploration zones. Stretching out as far as the eye can see from Spring Ridge to Quirindi, you quickly realize that it would be criminal negligence if anything were allowed to destroy this amazingly productive agricultural land. Back to reality, and the words of an old John Prine song, Paradise, from 30 years ago come to mind:

Then the coal company came, with the world's largest shovel,
And they tortured the timber and stripped all the land.
Well, they dug for their coal till the land was forsaken.
Then they wrote it all down as the progress of man.

Before I am accused of being against development and not wanting jobs to be created in country communities, I emphasise that it is not the case. I welcome and acknowledge the investment and jobs that mining has brought to the region, and in particular to Werris Creek, Gunnedah and Boggabri. However, the outstanding agricultural country you see from Watermark hill, and the unknown impacts upon a fragile aquifer system at the head of an incredibly stressed Murray-Darling system, in my opinion demand much more attention. Pleas to State and Federal governments for an independent hydrological study of the Liverpool Plains before further coal exploration is approved either have been flatly refused or have been lost in a political roundabout of feeble excuses.

Ongoing peaceful protests in the Caroona district have generated much national sympathy for the landowners, and highlighted the risk to the environment. The Caroona protestors do not oppose mining, per se; they simply want an independent study to fully examine any possible impacts of longwall mining on this sensitive and productive country. I congratulate members and supporters of the Caroona Coal Action Group on their peaceful protest action that has galvanised broader public attention and attracted support in much the same way the Franklin and Daintree campaigns did in years gone by. Tim Duddy, whose family property has been at the centre of this protest, is passionate about protecting the environment and retaining this valuable agricultural country into the future. Tim said:

"Rossmar Park" is in the centre of one of the most agriculturally significant regions in the world. No one even mentions that the Mooki River feeds by way of the Namoi, the Barwon, the Darling, then right to the mouth of the Murray at Goolwa. At a time when everyone seems to be trying to save the Murray Darling system, it is conceivable that refuse dams from the washing of coal and power stations that are proposed here could go on to pollute the entire river system. My family's charter is simple: We plan to be farming at our beloved "Rossmar Park" into the next century, to still be growing the Prime Hard wheat that gives you your daily bread and provide for Australian exports without the threat of a mining project running like some time bomb waiting to destroy the region's precious water, next week, next month, next year or even next decade. The risks of this project are simply too great!

This is not merely a farmer trying to protect his land. Caroona has become the focus of national attention, as more and more people throw their support behind calls for an independent study. The Liverpool Plains Land Management Committee was to meet with former Minister Sartor to discuss planning and approval processes for mining across the Liverpool Plains. The committee has already invited the Minister for Planning, Ms Kristina Keneally, to visit and meet with its science panel consisting of Professor Ian Acworth; Gary Johnston, chair of Water Management at the University of New South Wales; Professor Peter Flood, Pro-vice Chancellor, Research, at the University of New England; Professor Chris Moran, Director of the Centre for Water in the Minerals Industry at the University of Queensland; Associate Professor Bryce Kelly of the University of New South Wales; and Dr John Williams, the Natural Resource Commissioner of New South Wales.

The science panel has designed a much-needed study to closely examine all facets of this issue. I urge the Minister to take the opportunity to meet with the panel. I also acknowledge that the Minister for Primary Industries, the Hon. Ian Macdonald, met yesterday with stakeholders and that some progress toward finding an acceptable formula for a study seems to have been achieved. This project has become an issue of national significance. It will not go away and it should be addressed in an open and transparent manner. To sum it up, in the words of songwriters Steve Charles and Wendy Wood in the Caroona Coal Action Group anthem Bring It On:

But out here on the black soil plains we're gonna make a stand,
Who are they to take away this vital fertile land?
Fight for what is right, for our farms and families,
If they think they can take it they'd better start rollin' up their sleeves so bring it on.