Farmers and conservationists from across Australia have disrupted a coal seam gas conference, accusing mining companies of threatening the environment and rural livelihoods.
Police formed a line to keep protesters away from the mining bosses' annual CSG conference in Brisbane on Tuesday morning.
Up to 100 protesters blocked the driveway to the Sofitel Hotel where the conference was under way.
One protester was arrested and taken to a Brisbane watchhouse for trying to break through the police barricade, but he was later released without charge.
The protest trapped Queensland Environment Minister Kate Jones inside the hotel amid security concerns they would climb on her car if she attempted to leave the conference.
She left without incident later in the morning when the rally dispersed, though the protesters returned in smaller numbers about midday.
The protesters, who included farmers from NSW and Western Australia, want the government to impose a moratorium on CSG.
They're concerned about chemicals used in the extraction process, groundwater contamination, dealing with contaminated wastewater and the degradation of farm lands.
But the government and the CSG sector say the gas is a cleaner energy alternative to coal and will provide a massive economic boost for Queensland.
Ms Jones told the conference the state government was committed to the industry, but she wanted to get the balance right between the economy and the environment.
Crop farmer Graham Moule drove from Byron Bay in northern NSW to join the protest.
He fears CSG mining will poison farmlands and accused the government of adopting a double standard in the regulation of chemical use by the CSG industry and farmers.
"For me to use a chemical I have to go through three regulatory bodies and I have to test after the fact to make sure there's no residue," he told AAP.
"But the CSG (industry) are chemical users, but they don't have to abide by any regulation at all."
The Queensland government's coal seam gas operations general manager Andrew Brier says the protesters were not well informed or rational.
He said CSG companies went through a rigorous environmental impact assessment before they could use chemicals in hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking, to extract gas from the coal seams.
"Recent legislation changes require mining companies to notify landholders 10 days before they're fracking and inform them of the chemicals they're using," Mr Brier said.
He said the changes were brought about by huge community concern over the transparency of the industry.
CSG would not poison or drain the Great Artesian Basin, a major underground water source that existed where CSG wells were being drilled, he said.
"People have a right to be concerned about the impact CSG will have on the Great Artesian Basin, but to say it'll drain the basin is fanciful," Mr Brier said.
But he admitted the industry didn't know what to do with the tonnes of salty wastewater drawn up from coal seams during fracking.
There has been 131 CSG complaints and 32 compliance issues ranging from wastewater spills, overflows, sewage and vegetation clearing.
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