Penny Blatchford picPenny Blatchford is a farmer who lives with her husband and three children at Gurley, near Moree, on a dryland cropping farm.

She has a Bachelor of Business (Ag Commerce), is a board member of Lock the Gate, was awarded an Environment Award for the Parkes Electorate 2012/13 and is chair of the Bellata Gurley Action Group Against Gas Inc NSW.

Penny ran as The Greens’ #3 candidate for the Senate in the recent federal election.

Penny has been involved with the movement against CSG mining since 2010, when she was approached by CSG exploration company Planet Gas/Leichhardt resources PEL470 (Bellata/Gurley/Terry Hie Hie).

This approach united landowners in the region, 100{17ac88c265afb328fa89088ab635a2a63864fdefdd7caa0964376053e8ea14b3} of whom signed a document asking the NSW Government not to renew the licence and to grant no further licences in the area.

Penny’s interests are legislation, regulation and policy development with respect to gas mining both federally and at state level.

Penny’s blog is www.pennyblatchford.com