Hi TreesFarmers were told that they must never talk to anyone...

Hi Trees

Farmers were told that they must never talk to anyone regarding the negotiations

Not their lawyers, friends, neighbors, politicians, anyone

Divide and conquer

The farmers have no one in their corner, certainly not the government

Hi poyndexter

It is not so much as leaving it in the ground as getting value from it if we do dig it up

One absolute truth in any investment or business decision is the old "what is in it for me" in this case what do the Australian people and the country get out of the deal

Obviously at the moment not enough. Same as the tree logging in Tasmania selling growth forest timber for peanuts and then waiting 200 years for it to grow back!

As to damage caused, as this type of mining becomes more widespread and we know that there are always greedy people who do not do things by the existing poor standard of laws who is to say there will not be a disaster, the Great Artesian Basin only has to be polluted once to be damaged for a lot more than our lifetime