RELATED COVERAGE: Farmers to have ear of minister

                                        EDITORIAL: A rare outburst by our farmers

Protesters chose the first day of the Chinese New Year to stage a march through Gunnedah, but Shenhua, which is a Chinese company, was closed for the Chinese New Year period.

The march attracted Aboriginal people, protesters from the Whitehaven Maules Creek site, activists and farmers.

Marchers staged the peaceful protest along Conadilly Street, chanting “Our culture, our land, our water”.

The protesters planned to cut up items including Chinese lanterns outside Shenhua’s Conadilly Street office.

Aboriginal speakers said the company needed to pay as much respect to Indigenous culture as they did to their own, or they could “piss off”.

Maules Creek farmer Roselyn Druce said people against the large mines needed to “come together as a family” to fight them.

Breeza farmers Tim and Peta Craig said before the march they had been devastated by the Planning Assessment Commission’s finding the Shenhua Watermark mine could be approved.

Mrs Craig said their expectations of the state government had been low, but still held out hope the federal government would put an end to Shenhua’s proposal.

“We are hopeful sanity will prevail,” she said.

Heather Ranclaud, a farmer from Willow Tree, said the family had a block close to the Shenhua land, but also had a Santos exploration licence on their Willow Tree property.

“There has to come a time when we are prepared to stand up and say no to the impact on agricultural production,” she said.

The protest arrived at the Shenhua office to find a “closed for Chinese New Year” sign on the door.

Speakers set up outside the office, with many calling on people to “join together as brothers and sisters” to fight the mine.

Elder Dick Talbott said the government had acted “disgracefully” over the mine proposal.

“It’s shameful,” he said.

“There should never be an approval to destroy the grinding grooves sites and the destruction of the entire area.”

Dolly Talbott said Gomeroi people would not support Chinese New Year celebrations this year.

“While Shenhua Watermark are preparing to pay respect to their ancestors they are in the backrooms planning the destruction of our culture and heritage and harm to our ancestors,” she said.

Del Jones said the proposal would turn the Liverpool Plains into a “dust bowl”.

The Planning Assessment Commission released its finding the mine could be approved earlier this year.

The ball is now in the federal government’s court in a process that Shenhua has said is expected to take a number of months.