Mr Abbott, who had previously sided with farmers opposing expansion of the gas industry on their land, said on Wednesday that some farmers welcomed it and it was not as disruptive to the land as mining, The Australian Financial Review reports.

The comments triggered a backlash from independent rural MPs Tony Windsor and Bob Katter, who accused Mr Abbott of not understanding the gas extraction process.

Mr Abbott, while visiting Tamworth in northern NSW on Wednesday, said during an ABC interview that there was a big difference between coal seam gas extraction and open-cut mining. "Open-cut mining is a devastating thing. Coal seam gas extraction, by contrast, involves relatively little disturbance of the surface, a relatively modest area for the plant itself, some roads and fences," he said.

He said there were legitimate concerns about the impact on the water table but some farmers were happy for gas extraction to occur because it often led to road upgrades as part of the process.