The works in this exhibition are our collective reaction to the oil and gas mining and exploration companies which invade our landscape, disrupt our lives, and the lives of the communities they invade.

The multinational mining and exploration companies, whose royalties stack the government coffers, and against whom the land/landowner has no rights, can stake mining claims over any land in Australia, even freehold.

With very little compensation to the landowner for the subsequent huge devaluation of his asset and his lifestyle, these multinational companies can mine those claims to the detriment of the land, the detriment of the grazing and farming enterprise, and the depletion of below ground water. This valuable water is a by product of coal seam gas mining, and is left ponded as a waste product to evaporate, or when in excess, run away into the creeks and rivers, which then pollutes above ground fresh water. Even the construction of expensive ($20,000,000) reverse osmosis plants cannot deal with the “waste” water.

Oil, coal and coal seam gas are found in sedimentary formations, and sedimentary country is always the most productive (arable) and therefore the most valuable. Bear in mind that only 5% of the Australian land mass is arable.

Open cut coal mining destroys valuable food growing topsoil forever.