The band of farmers and retirees who had chosen Sutton Forest for its bucolic setting close to Sydney has been fighting Hume Coal, owned by the giant Korean steel company POSCO for five years. Some farmers have sold out, but others like Peter Martin, a retired engineer and businessman fought on. They locked their gates, put up signs, petitioned their local members and took action in the Land and Environment Court.

But two weeks ago the court ruled that an equestrian course and car park on one property and improved pastures on another did not amount to "significant improvements" on the land, and that Hume Coal should be given access for their drilling equipment. Hume holds an exploration licence which gives it the right to explore for coal on the land, unless there are significant improvements that will be affected.

"It means they can drive their trucks through our paddocks and gardens," said Mr Martin. "It's an appalling decision."

It was yet another example of the inability of farmers to prevent mining and gas exploration on their land, often as a  first step to full exploitation of the resource. The rage among farmers across the nation is palpable.

The issue will surface in Canberra on Friday when resources ministers meet to discuss mining and energy issues as part of the Council of Australian Governments (COAG).

Lock the Gate's national co-ordinator Phil Laird wants the federal government to step in to provide farmers with a genuine right to say no.

"We want a statement from the government that land holders and traditional owners should have a genuine veto as to who comes on their land," he said.

"We also want the  Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to investigate land access contracts as many have potentially been signed under duress."

Lock the Gate has advice that the federal government has constitutional power under the corporations power and external affairs power to legislate if it chose.

But all the signs are Minister for Resources and Energy Josh Frydenberg will be looking to states to come up with solutions to balancing landholder rights and those of mining and gas.

"This is a state issue because it's the states who own the resources and ultimately they're the ones who are going to have to take responsibility for future actions," Mr Frydenberg told the ABC last month.

"As a federal minister, I can bring the state ministers together to discuss how we can plan a way forward here, how we can adopt best practice, how we can share experiences, how we can outline key principles. That's what I'll be hoping to do with my state and territory colleagues."

Anne  Kennedy, a farmer from Coonamble and the president of the Artesian Bore Water Users Association said the federal government has to stop buck-passing.

"We would like them to prioritise food and water, over multinational companies," she said. "It's an unfair balance of power. We need a genuine right to say no. It shouldn't be up to normal law abiding citizens to take their government to court," she said.

NSW resources minister, Anthony Roberts pointed to the voluntary agreement between Santos, AGL and NSW Farmers which commits the companies to respecting the rights of farms when it comes to coal seam gas drilling.

"NSW leads the nation when it comes to regulations and laws related to land access and arbitration," he said.

But Mr Laird said the agreement was non-binding and had not been signed by the third gas company, Metgasco.

Nor does it apply in the case of coal exploration. Mr Martin said he and the other landholders at Sutton Forest would appeal.