“There is no guide book or source of information to help people learn how to deal with the challenges, health symptoms and conflict situations brought about by living in a gasfield.” So says Jo Taghipour, a Tara resident and co-convenor of the 2nd Coal Seam Gas and Public Health Conference, to be held in Chinchilla on Wednesday, 4th November 2026.
Organisers of the one-day conference have brought together a speaker panel including Western Downs residents who will share their experiences of defending their family lifestyles and property rights against invasive gas industry practices.
Locals Bev Newton and Damian Fairbairn will join veterans of the Queensland gasfields, John Jenkyn, Brian Monk, to discuss some of the specific problems that confront residents when directly interacting with the unconventional gas industry.
“We bought into Tara estates three years ago thinking it was residential enough to be safe from the gas industry”, says Jo, “we thought residential areas would be safe due to the closer populated community but we now know we were wrong”.
“Most people aren’t aware that the Western Downs air monitoring system set up to keep check of pollutant levels was shut down by the gas industry,” she adds. “That air monitoring network was set up at the outset because Queensland Health said it was important to know what we are being exposed to.”
The lack of air monitoring is just one of the topics that will be covered at the conference, which will include speakers on how communities can use citizen science to take control of measuring pollution in their own backyards.
“There are specific interactions that occur between gas company operatives and gasfield residents, that people need to understand to protect their own family interests”, says Jo Taghipour. “From what we have learned so far, one wrong step in negotiating with industry can lead to some major problems in your life”.
The speaker panel will also include experts and professionals in public health, occupational health and safety, water and air testing, Professor Melissa Haswell, Dr Steven Burch, Dr Shay Dougall, Dr Ian Wright, Dr Louise Woodward and Mia Pepper. They will discuss the experience of other regional communities faced with air pollution and how people living near gasfields and large mines dealt with threats to their security and lifestyle from poorly regulated industrial processes.
Health impacts include the psychological flow-on from stress, insecurity and threats to livelihood in the case of farmers trying to continue an agricultural existence within encroaching gas infrastructure.
For the benefit of community members, locals can attend the conference for free, but need to register.