At the Country Women’s Association (CWA) annual state conference last week, the Maules Creek branch put forward a motion for the state body to support a ban on unconventional gas exploration, extraction and production.

The group maintains hosting unconventional gas on farms causes properties to be devalued, mortgages refused, insurance covers rejected, communities divided, aquifers drained, and turns land into dead zones.

The motion follows state government documents revealing last June Santos has plans for up to four wells in the region.

However, the company said at the time it was focussing solely on its Narrabri Gas Project, and that “the licence obligations are consistent with those carried over from 2009”.

Documents obtained under the Government Information (Public Access) Act show Santos plans to spend $3.87 million over three years to “explore and appraise two possible CSG targets identified in the Gunnedah Basin”. 

“The question is, as an association, do we find it acceptable with all the impacts?” a spokeswoman for the Maules Creek CWA asked.

“Overwhelmingly, the women of NSW said no. This is a win for common sense.”

Delegates at the state conference voted in favour of the motion, formalising the stance into policy. 

“By passing the motion, we are making a public statement,” the spokeswoman said.

It’s not the first time the CWA has made a stand against mining. In 2012, the organisation joined a rally in Sydney to call for tighter regulation on CSG mining.

“This is country women standing side by side with members of the community,” the spokeswoman said.

“Food security is where our future is.”

The branch also put forward a policy for the CWA of NSW to support the continued public ownership and management of Crown Land for the health and benefit of the environment and people of NSW.