Unlikely Alliances in the Battle for Land and Water Security: Unconventional Gas and the Politics of Risk in NSW, Australia

Abstract

This chapter, drawing on empirical work in New South Wales, discusses the unlikely alliances forming between environmentalists and farmers against the State which seeks to prioritise extractive development over other alternate futures. In response to a rise in land use conflicts, the State government has recently sought to silence criticism by tightening the laws which for decades have allowed citizens to seek merit and judicial review of government decision-making around development and planning issues. This move, made in conjunction with amendments to the State Environmental Planning Policy (Mining, Petroleum Production and Extractive Industries) 2007, has been met with anger and dismay by farmers, environmentalists and concerned citizens alike. Many places that have traditionally been agricultural strongholds now face an uncertain future as strategic planning moves to increase its focus on enabling energy production. Adopting a qualitative case study approach, this chapter highlights the implications of such decision-making by focusing on one rural region where a vastly different discourse and vision of the future is emerging.

Coal seam gas: a space‐based perspective

“…Export opportunities coupled with the arrival of new technologies are making the extraction of unconventional gas an economic and technical possibility. To date, however, the relationship between unconventional gas providers and other rural stakeholder groups has often been transactional and adversarial (Bec et al ., ; Hales & Larkin, ; Sherval, ).…”

“…() have shown how, in Hunter Valley townships such as Gloucester, recent tourism growth has accompanied downturns in traditional forestry and agricultural activities and affected the ways in which environments are represented and interpreted. Over time, then, the ways in which people, place, and environment are represented change in response to industry diversification and associated shifts in government regulatory practices (Sherval, ). At the same time, people with varied political interests will seek to manage the growth of CSG initiatives using a range of instruments including New South Wales's much‐debated strategical regional land use plans (Sherval & Graham, ), brought in to ‘support growth, protect the environment and respond to competing land uses, while also preserving key regional values over the next 20 years’ (NSW Government Department of Planning and Infrastructure, , p.8).…”

“…Sherval (, p.1) has argued that the ‘unlikely alliances forming between environmentalists and farmers against the State [Government in New South Wales]’ over CSG development are temporal in nature and framed in terms of changing social relations with the material world. While one should not deny the longstanding connections of mining communities to the mining industry (Della Bosca & Gillespie, ; Winchester et al ., ), we cannot assume that such connections will not evolve on a case‐specific basis.…”

“Good Work, Decent Wages” – A case study of the 2009 Pay Equity Campaign in Queensland’s community services sector

“…A common thread in the literature on unlikely alliances is the existence of an issue, or threat that causes the unlikely alliance to form (Bergin 2005, Grossman 2005). These alliances could arise from a common purpose, or a common adversary, for example a major corporation or government agency (Grossman 2005, Smith 2008, Sherval 2018. This is not universally the case, as there are some examples of social justice focussed organisations forming alliances and coalitions with other organisations in solidarity (Bergin 2005, Kelliher 2018).…”

“…A key element in the success of the unlikely alliance is the framing of the key central issue that the alliance is organising around (Smith 2008). In these alliances, it is important that issues are framed as being of universal concern rather than concern to one alliance member or another (Smith 2008, Sherval 2018).…”