In his Sunday Telegraph column, Mr Howes said there was “no logical reason” why NSW should not be “reaping the benefits” of coal seam gas (CSG) mining.

“It’s a resource that will potentially create billions of dollars in revenue, and thousands of jobs for our state as well as generate electricity with 70 per cent less greenhouse gas emissions than coal,” he said.

He went on to blame a “strange alliance of greenies, radio shock jocks, farmers and professional protesters” for trying to stop the development of CSG in NSW.

Resource company Planet Gas currently has an exploration permit that covers the southern and western edges of the Southern Highlands and has been reported as being quite active near Joadja.

Southern Highlands Coal Action Group has been quite vocal in 2011 about the potential dangers of allowing CSG mining in the shire including the potential contamination of ground and surface water supplies.

A US EPA investigation into the effects of CSG mining in the state of Wyoming has concluded that the extraction process contaminated a nearby drinking water aquifer.

The method used to extract CSG, fracking (injecting water, sand and chemicals deep into the ground at high pressure to crack the shale and allow gas to flow), has also been linked to earthquakes in the UK and, more recently, the US.

Yet Mr Howes failed to mention this in his column.

Instead he said that most of the arguments against CSG were based on “incorrect interpretations of the law, NIMBYism and a brand of ‘environmental’ extremism that is as illogical as it is dangerous”.

“Coal seam gas might not be popular. But if we want to make NSW great again, we must use the resources that are here. Even if they are behind a locked gate,” he said.