September 10, 2014
Mining and resources companies in Queensland no longer have to issue public notifications when seeking an Environmental Authority for “low impact” mines.
Only the immediately affected landowner, and landowners who share a boundary with the site, will receive notification – and they will be the only parties able to lodge objections to an Environmental Authority.
Legislation to amend the Mineral and Energy Resources (Common Provisions) Act 2014 were passed in State Parliament last night.
“Too often we see alarmist green groups submit deliberately distorted and misrepresented objections to proposals in an attempt to shut down the resources sector and the tens of thousands of jobs it supports,” Mines Minister Andrew Cripps said today.
“These types of objections stall the application process, hinder economic development and deny Queenslanders potentially billions of dollars of royalties that could be put back into building hospitals, schools and road infrastructure.”
Under the legislation, landholders directly affected by resources activities and their direct neighbours will retain the right to object to low-impact mining proposals.
Landholders whose properties share a boundary with a site will have the same notification and objection rights as those who own or lease the site of the proposal.
Mr Cripps said the changes would provide greater certainty to both landholders and resources companies.
“Our common sense approach means smaller mining operations, which make up the majority of all mining leases in Queensland and have little impact on landholders or the environment, do not have to follow the same process as large-scale projects,” he said.
“With large-scale mines, all notification rights are preserved and the broader public will retain their right to have their say.
“Environmental authorities for mines with potential impacts on the wider community and the environment will always be publicly notified, so anyone, including landholders, councils and the community, can lodge a submission for that proposal.”
The Act also includes amendments to clearly identify the Land Court’s jurisdiction to ensure any issues considered by the Court relate to impacts of the proposed mine on those more directly impacted by the proposed mining lease application.
The Newman Government has removed the legal right for anyone to object to massive coal and uranium mines in Queensland on environmental grounds.
The Newman Government has taken the biggest backward step in Queenslanders’ rights to protect their land, water and communities, that this state has ever seen.
The Newman Government deceitfully slipped the amendment to mining laws through state Parliament at five minutes to midnight last Tuesday night without any Parliamentary discussion.
This comes on top of the Newman Government’s other change to mining laws, which means that only landholders, neighbours and local councils can object to mining leases.
Because of this new, last minute amendment, not even landholders, neighbours or local councils, or anybody else, will be able to challenge ‘coordinated projects’ – the biggest mining projects in the State – through the Land Court.
Instead the only recourse against these mega mines will be to submit concerns to the Coordinator General, an unelected bureaucrat, who can choose to ignore those concerns and approve massive mines no matter how many people will be impacted.
As late as last Wednesday, Minister Cripps was still claiming that the community would have the right to object under environmental assessment, while conveniently leaving out that for the biggest, most damaging mines this won’t be the case.
Campbell Newman is setting up the law so that his mining company buddies can get away with anything they want, even if that means sacrificing our land and water, by taking away Queenslanders’ rights to have a say.
Premier Newman is trying to silence Queenslanders and they won’t stand for it at the next election.