so where will the

Farmers, miners pan NSW lands plan
Monday, May 07, 2012 » 05:06am
Farmers have joined miners in criticising a NSW government plan to protect agricultural land.
Farmers have joined miners in criticising a NSW government plan to protect agricultural land.
The NSW Minerals Council has released a study estimating the state's draft strategic regional land use policy would cause NSW to lose $1 billion a year in mining royalties for the next two decades.
This also would result in 8000 lost jobs, with the decline most prevalent in the coal-rich Upper Hunter region.
Council chief executive Stephen Galilee said its research, by consultancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers and Monash University, showed the government's plan was 'skewed against mining in NSW'.
'Losing a billion dollars a year is a big budget cost that will hit hard,' he said.
NSW Farmers president Fiona Simson said the report showed the government's failure to provide certainty for both agriculture and mining.
She added the government needed to stop presenting mining as a 'binary choice' between coal seam gas extraction and agriculture.
'It is not a decision between the two - it is about striking a balance and delivering certainty for the future of rural businesses and communities,' Ms Simson said.
She said Treasury needed to release the details of its own modelling, and praised the Minerals Council for its work which she described as 'filling the void left by government on economic modelling'.