ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the resistance to Coal Seam Gas (CSG) mining on Gamilaraay Gomeroi country in northwest New South Wales. It draws on fieldwork in the Pilliga to examine the ways that neo/liberal ideology normalises and legitimises violent responses to water protectors. It argues for diverse activist elements to parse the lies of liberalism and operate with an integrity that is defined by integration with, and conformity to, the first law of the land. This is an ontological imperative: First Peoples law is of the land and waters that protectors seek to protect. The findings are anchored to three levels. The first is the sovereign authority of First Peoples, derived from ancient and continuing connection, knowledge and love of country. The second is to analyse commodification of country by the state, and deployment of state resources to safeguard mining interests. Third, communities of interest are examined in the context of universal principle, identifiable from First Peoples' leadership.
