As the Australian Greens prepare to introduce legislation giving farmers the right to deny coal seam gas miners access to their land, a Victorian woman is waiting to hear whether her land will be at the mercy of miners.
Kate Tubbs and her husband grow wheat and barley and run a harness racing stable on their 100-hectare property near Bacchus Marsh, west of Melbourne.
Last month, she was told that Western Australian minerals exploration company Mantle Mining would drill 15 holes in her area, including a 20-by-10-metre hole just outside her property.
If this hole was rejected by VicRoads, the company would need to cut into her fence and onto her property.
"We didn't really know anything that was going on until someone found out that an exploration licence had been granted to put drill-hole sites in our area," Mrs Tubbs told AAP on Monday.
"There were ads in the local paper and one in a city paper but where we live, nobody gets the local paper delivered.
"I made it quite clear that it wasn't an option.
"(They said) if you refuse to let us on your land the government has made rules that allow us to come in."
In an ASX announcement on August 11, the company said that "the low-impact drilling workplan was approved on August 3 and drill rig mobilisation is expected to occur within the next two weeks".
The company said the project area contained a large exploration target of brown coal surrounding the nearby Maddingley coal mine.
Mrs Tubbs is now awaiting a decision by VicRoads on whether the project will be allowed to continue as planned, or whether the company will have to cut into her land.
According to legal advice, she can take the matter to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT).
"In the end, we all know what happens when things go to VCAT," said Mrs Tubbs.
"They have got us over a barrel because we couldn't afford to go to the Supreme Court.
"If they can't get their way on the VicRoads side, then they will come in and it isn't fair.
"We know that we won't be able to put horses down that end of the farm and it's quite a peaceful place and to have drilling happening from 7.30 in the morning to 5.30 at night... it will be a big imposition and it just doesn't seem right that they can do it."
The Greens have flagged legislation that will require miners to obtain the written permission of landholders before exploring and extracting energy deposits.
But Greens Senator Larissa Waters said her legislation would be limited to coal seam gas miners only, not to open-cut coal mines on prime agricultural land.
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