Speaking at an International Women's Day event in Sydney on Sunday, Dame Marie said Australia was in the incredible position of being able to "help to feed the world". Dame Marie Bashir at Government House last September, while still NSW governor. Credit:James Brickwood "And of course, what is the counter to that? Digging up precious farm land for coal … we're expected to be leaving the burning of fossil fuels behind because of the environment. This is surely contradictory," she said. Dame Marie said the situation was "a clarion call" to women, adding "I couldn't be more passionate about a cause than this one. We must do something to protect our food-producing land". Dame Marie, the daughter of Lebanese immigrants who grew up in Narrandera in western NSW, said women could make a difference "by lobbying the men, whether they live under the same roof or are in the same parliament".

"We've all got to take this message to all whom we know. This is, in a sense, a crisis, disguised though it is," she said. Dame Marie at a ceremony to mark her retirement last October. Credit:Edwina Pickles Independent candidates are trying to capitalise on concern over coal and coal seam gas mining in regional Nationals-held seats such as Tamworth and Barwon. Farmers on the Liverpool Plains were angered in January when planning authorities approved the $1.2 billion Shenhua Watermark open-cut coal mine in the farming region. But the industry hit back on Tuesday to emphasise the importance of mining to local economies. The NSW Minerals Council has launched a targeted advertising campaign in the Hunter region, warning election candidates "if you hurt mining, you hurt the Hunter".

In response to Dame Marie's comments, the council's chief executive Stephen Galilee said mining operations account for around 0.1 per cent of the state's land "compared to 76 per cent for agriculture". The Baird government recently cancelled coal seam gas exploration licences covering parts of the Central Coast, Sydney Basin and northern NSW in an apparent bid to nullify the polarising issue ahead of the March 28 poll. However it has delayed telling voters where future coal seam gas development will occur until after the election. NSW Labor wants a permanent ban on coal seam gas in the Northern Rivers region. Labor leader Luke Foley said last week the region's farm industries "depend on the purity of the fertile land and the purity of clean water. Both of those are at risk from coal seam gas." Dame Marie also recalled a meeting with a Chinese government official during her time as NSW governor.

The unnamed official said China's biggest security concern was how to feed its population, telling her "that is why we are looking to Australia, New Zealand and Southern Africa to buy up as much food-producing land ... to feed one quarter of the earth's population".



Dame Marie said she would never forget the encounter, which made her aware she has "a nasty side, and that is [triggered by] the selling off of our land to foreign investors". However it appears Dame Marie's opposition to mining is not a blanket one. In an interview with News Limited in October last year she reportedly advocated for uranium mining, which is presently banned in NSW. "Just assume that the day comes when we can make the use of uranium and nuclear power safe ... who's got the largest deposits of uranium in the world? Us," she was reported as saying, adding "our potential in so many ways remains undimmed".