The iconic actor visited the North West Alliance stand at AgQuip yesterday, where he spoke about the dangers of coal seam gas and the potential impact on water quality. 

He said the issue became close to his heart having worked in the pumping and irrigation industry before he moved into acting, and after attending an “Our Land, Our Water, Our Future” forum.

“I think a lot of people aren’t aware of how important the Artesian Basin is to Australia’s pastoralists and graziers and not enough is understood about it either,” Mr Caton said.

“I watch what happened in Queensland and I’m appalled at the same thing that happened in NSW.”

Mr Caton said the effects of CSG in Queensland, like the drying up and fouling of bores and the need to sink deeper bores, is extremely concerning and that not enough is known about it.

He also criticised the process of having to sink trial bores to monitor water tables, claiming that should have been done before any approvals. 

CSG technology is another pressing issue.

“The technology fails. We know that,” Mr Caton said.

“That gas is not going anywhere. In 30-40 years time where there is no natural gas anywhere else, we might have the technology to get that out without buggering up the water table or without soiling the aquifer and soon, at some stage in the future, there will be chemicals presenting themselves in cattle and crops and then they’ll say ‘How could that have ever happened?’

“I’ll tell you why – because people are too short-sighted and too bloody greedy.”

Michael Caton mingled with concerned landholders at AgQuip as well as the Knitting Nannas – a group formed in 2012 in response to a growing awareness of CSG exploration and mining of prime agricultural land.