We are very angry about the fact that Santos has come into our valley to do exploration drilling for coal seam gas.

The fact that they have been given permission to drill on the property owned by the deputy mayor of our shire is even more disturbing.

We feel as our representatives the council and he should have informed us of this event.

During the period, since we learned of this happening, there has been extensive research done by a large group of rate payers on the industry of coal seam gas extraction, and the industry is both flawed and ruthless.

The record of accidents and disasters is extremely disturbing.

We as rate payers in this shire intend to continue living, farming and grazing for generations to come and if these companies are allowed to contaminate our waterways, air and soil then that will not be possible.

As our representatives, we would have thought that the council’s loyalties would lie with the rate payers, but it appears that the councillors have more loyalty to the multinational companies that are proposing to infiltrate and ruin our land, water and air.

We implore the councillors to reconsider their perceived ideas on this matter as they are supposed to represent rate payers not these people who seem to want to take over our land by stealth.