ABSTRACT
Australia is a resource rich country with a long history of mining. In recent years a new form of mining coal seam gas (CSG) mining has captured the interest of mining companies, politicians and citizens alike. This chapter contends that Australian CSG activities and their governance offend many Earth Charter precepts, in part, because the present governance model is too heavily weighted in favour of permitting CSG activities and licensing harm. The focus of the chapter is that the oppositional forces to CSG do not simply splinter down traditional party political lines. Resistance is more complex than that. Some resistance is predominantly 'green' and embraces Earth Charter-type principles but this is certainly not true for all resistance. The chapter demonstrates the forces at play are often complex, inter-related and unusual, making effective governance challenging.
