Traditional owners in the south-west of Queensland are "disgusted" they have not been consulted about new gas exploration on their native title lands.

The Queensland Government said 11,000 square kilometres in the Cooper and Eromanga basins would be made available for exploration.

The area has been labelled Australia's most commercially-viable region for deep gas and oil development, which the government wants to capitalise on. Listen Duration: 5 minutes 33 seconds 5 m Listen Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Stakeholders discuss gas exploration in the south-west of Queensland ( Lydia Burton ) Download 10.2 MB

But Mithaka traditional owner Scott Gorringe said he was extremely concerned as there was no consultation with locals.

"I'm pretty disgusted, it's like we are dealing with the Liberal National Party all over again," he said.

"There has been zero consultation and they just basically want to get into that country and bloody make a whole heap of money out of it, with zero consultation with Aboriginal people and I am pretty sure nobody else has been consulted about it.

"I would like a future where water and country are priorities and the other things fit within it.

"At the moment we have gas and oil being the priority and our country and water coming a distant third."

Mr Gorringe is also the spokesperson on behalf of native title owners in the Lake Eyre basin region on water issues.

He said the government should have spoken to native title holders about its call for exploration expressions of interest for the south-west of the state.

Minister for Natural Resources and Mines Dr Anthony Lynham said the government was trying to attract junior and major explorers, particularly from Europe, North America and Asia.

"We are expecting interest from a wide range of companies, both Australian companies and international companies," he said.

"When the tender closes they [exploration companies] will have six years for exploration and we expect development at the end of that time.

"We are not going to let people sit on the tender and sit on the land."

In a statement, a spokesperson for Dr Lynham added that the government supported responsible and sustainable development in the resources sector.

"Before the government grants any exploration permit, applicants need to complete native title negotiations with traditional owners as well as environmental and land access assessments," the spokesperson's statement said.

"This government supports jobs but with projects that stack up financially, environmentally and in the public interest."

Mayor says gas exploration welcome

This is the first lot of land released under the government's four-year plan for the Cooper and Eromanga Basins.

Quilpie shire Mayor Stuart MacKenzie said any development in the region was a positive thing.

"It is certainly beneficial for the infrastructure we get," he said.

"Some of the roads we get out here is because of the increased activity because of the oil and gas.

"There is employment, a lot of it is fly-in fly-out, but there is a lot of contract work comes out of it for local residents.

"There is also a benefit to councils as far as rates and ability to leverage off the resources activity out here for infrastructure projects."

Mr MacKenzie said there had been gas exploration in the area for the last 40 years.

"The oil and gas they have been pulling out here for 40 years, it's deeper than the artesian basin, so they have been doing that for a long time," he said.

"I know for sure that their practices and regulations are a hell of a lot better now than they were 40 years ago, so I am pretty comfortable with the way it is regulated.

"Going deeper isn't going to affect the artesian basin anymore than the ones that are already underneath it."

However Sarah Moles, from the Western Rivers Alliance, is not convinced.

"There is always a huge risk of the integrity of the wells failing and the risk of water leaking between aquifers," she said.

"There is also always a risk of other substances leaking at the surface and contaminating land and water on the surface."