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Farming family allegedly made sick by CSG wells launches compo bid

Tuesday, 29 Mar 2016 15:00:11 | Stephanie Smail

The Nothdurft family say gas wells on their property have made them sick. (ABC News: Stephanie Smail)

A Queensland farming family has launched a landmark bid for compensation over the alleged impact of coal seam gas mining.

Narelle and Allan Nothdurft entered an agreement with the Queensland Gas Company (QGC) to drill wells on their property near Chinchilla on the Western Downs in 2006.

"We were offered a lot of water and some gravel roads around the property. It was all good at the start," Mr Nothdurft said.

But Mr Nothdurft said issues with wells on and around their property, including noise levels and problems with gas vents, have made them sick ever since.

"The children have headaches, they get fast onset migraine headaches. They're missing a lot of school because they get headaches at the drop of a hat," he said.

The Nothdurft family has challenged QGC and four other respondents for compensation in the Land Court in Brisbane, so they can move away.

The family's lawyer George Houen said it was the first time the compensation rules under Queensland's Petroleum and Gas Act had been tested.

"They were signatories to the agreement on the basis the environmental authority conditions would be complied with. And they haven't been," Mr Houen said.

In a statement, QGC said "evidence from leading expert bodies confirms that properly regulated, unconventional gas developments do not threaten the environment or public health".

The company said it was operating within authorised noise levels, but it was waiting for access to the Nothdurft property to install noise suppression equipment on some infrastructure.

QGC said the matter was now for the Land Court to decide and it would comply with its orders.

The case is due back in court in September.

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