What was shaping up as one of the largest environmental campaigns in the last twenty years in Australia has scored a significant victory.

Thousands of anti-fracking campaigners in northern New South Wales have reason to celebrate and have proven once again that determined defiance can win struggles.

Most residents of the Northern Rivers region were outraged at a decision to allow exploration for coal seam gas (CSG) in the Bentley area.

The mining industry claims that CSG is a “cleaner” alternative to other fossil fuels. The reality is that it is a dirty and dangerous industry. Harvesting CSG involves digging into underground coal seams, fracturing them by pumping in pressurised water (often polluted with other additives) and then collecting as much of the escaping gas as possible.

Importantly, locals weren’t just outraged – they organised. A protest camp was staffed 24/7 near the site where Metgasco were trying to conduct exploration. Thousands of people have been involved in the campaign since it began.

Early in May, the Murdoch press started laying the groundwork for a police attack on the protest, revealing that hundreds of police were being mobilised from around NSW and trying to blame the protest for “costing the state millions of dollars”.

This backfired spectacularly. Two thousand people turned up at short notice when a police attack appeared imminent. The camp held its ground.

Determination and defiance has now paid off.

The exploration licence awarded to Metgasco has been suspended, and the decision to award the licence is now being investigated by ICAC, the NSW anti-corruption watchdog.

While the stated reason for the licence suspension was that Metgasco “failed to comply with the licence requirement to conduct community consultation”, the real reason was the protest.

Companies ignore environmental regulations and consultation clauses all of the time. They lobby or outright bribe politicians into changing the law in their favour. Even when they do flagrantly break the law, the legal system seldom does anything about it. The law is generally there to serve the rich, not to go after them.

However, direct action made it impossible for exploration to go ahead unless the police broke up the protest. The unpopular state government, reeling from the corruption scandal that recently toppled former Premier Barry O’Farrell, did not have the confidence to pick that fight. Ultimately, the government looked for a way to defuse the situation and concede defeat.

Under capitalism, the victories we win usually look like this. But the capitalists never admit that they have backed down because of protests. Instead they create excuses to save face. However, the fact is that without the blockade, Metgasco would be conducting exploration right now. And if CSG reserves had been found, the highly profitable environmental vandalism that is fracking would have followed.

The campaign needs to remain vigilant. This victory, while significant, is not total. The licence could be reinstated at a later date, to Metgasco or another company. Our side should nevertheless celebrate the victory and get ready for bigger fights.

Let’s remember that protesting isn’t just a way of complaining about the world – it’s a way to change it.