ALL RISK, NO REWARD FOR OUTBACK FARMERS: NSW FARMERS ASSOCIATION Source: arr.news, Contributor ARR News, First Published February 23rd, 2026 Shortchanged farmers in the state’s northwest are desperately calling on the government to deliver fairer compensation for small-scale title mining claims. NSW Farmers Acting CEO Mike Guerin said the proposed compensation amounts for opal mining claims fell well short of the real and ongoing losses faced by farm businesses hosting mining activity and called on the NSW Government to urgently rework the proposed compensation framework to ensure farmers were treated fairly and not forced to absorb the full financial and operational impacts of mining activity on their land. Under the current proposal, landholders would receive as little as $50 per claim in White Cliffs and $200 near Lightning Ridge, amounts NSW Farmers said were nowhere near the actual losses borne by farm businesses. “A lot of people don’t realise that an opal miner can turn up with a piece of paper and completely disrupt your business or your backyard,” Mr Guerin said. Opening Lines 5 BUSINESS VIEW OCEANIA VOLUME 08, ISSUE 02
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