New coal seam gas developments in Queensland and New South Wales present major challenges concerning the large volumes of brackish groundwater that will be abstracted from the coal seams as part of the process. These are part of broader public concerns regarding the conflict of mining development with agricultural land use and lifestyle values of the affected regions. Worldwide, a new technology to extract methane from deep lying coal beds has led to unprecedented development in areas previously not viable for economic exploitation. Queensland holds exceptionally large reserves of coal seam gas.