Local farmer against coal seam gas exploration, Penny Blatchford, said a lot of people, particularly west of Moree, thought the matter was not an issue that would affect them but according to online maps it is in fact quite the opposite.

Whether exploration is happening on someone’s property apparently does not mean that person won’t be affected either with flow-on effects to impact the entire wider community.

The public forum hosted in Moree on Tuesday was mainly in regard to PEL 470 of the Gurley and extended area but these adjacent maps show the entire area is at the core of these projects.

One person who attended the forum said there would be impacts to everything from not being able to book a seat on a flight except for months in advance, housing shortages and rental rises, competition with high paying jobs for mining, road repairs and more.

These companies also set up campsites on-farm with little compensation for landowners not to mention the infrastructure for the gas wells.

For more on local exploration visit

www.minerals.nsw.gov.au/tasmap /jsp/Viewer.jsp?cmd=login and www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/minerals/envir onment/nod/2011