THE federal Coalition is calling for a national scheme to help farmers bargain with gas companies over access to their land, raising the prospect of a public register to reveal the millions of dollars flowing to landowners.
Coalition resources spokesman Ian Macfarlane is advocating the national approach after a series of deals to compensate farmers for the "fracking" used to extract coal-seam gas from beneath their land.
Similar state moves are being resisted by rural groups, which object to the disclosure of the cash payment farmers are getting from Santos, Shell and other companies spending billions to get the gas.
Mr Macfarlane is suggesting an agreement between Canberra and the states to publish details of the compensation paid by listing the location and type of land, instead of naming the properties.
Revealing the compensation could empower farmers in their negotiations with gas companies and ease rural fears that communities are not getting a fair share of the CSG boom.
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The Australian
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