Anti-mining activists want assurances

Anti-coal activists want Mike Baird and Luke Foley to commit to reforming coal seam gas and coal mining laws ahead of the NSW election.

Lock The Gate Alliance wants commitments from the premier and opposition leader to rein in the extractive industries, and it's asking both leaders to ban mining on productive farmland and near drinking water catchments.

It is also demanding a ban on exploration companies making political donations.

The NSW government has already cancelled petroleum exploration licences spanning more that 1.5 million hectares following buy-backs from resources company Pangaea.

But Lock the Gate's national co-ordinator Phil Laird said the coalition government had broken promises to implement mining no-go zones, ring fences and other protections for the community.

"Since then communities have had to fight a rear-guard action to protect themselves and their environment."

Lock the Gate wants both Labor and the coalition to commit to a sweep of measures to clean up the industry, including: stamping out the corruption prone approvals process for new mines and introducing health assessments and regulations to protect people from air pollution.

Other measures include creating mining exclusion zones for farmland and water resources, as well as restoring the right to challenge mining approvals in court.

Resources and Energy Minister Anthony Roberts on Wednesday announced the cancellation of two exploration licences.

PEL 437 covered 565,497 hectares in the central north of NSW, up to the Queensland border, while PEL 476 covered more than one million hectares north of Maitland.

The buy-back program is part of the state government's NSW Gas Plan, which provides a one-off opportunity for PEL holders to surrender titles for limited compensation, Mr Roberts said.

In November the state government announced it was cancelling all 16 petroleum exploration licence applications, while keeping a freeze on new exploration licences in place until October 2015.

Mr Baird last week committed to only supporting mining projects that don't harm the state's long-term water supply or the environment.

Labor has promised it would place a moratorium on the CSG industry and bans mining on the north coast and in Sydney's water catchment areas.