Landholders will have the right to protect their key farm infrastructure from mining, and community members will have their objection rights restored, under legislation introduced to State Parliament on Tuesday.
Natural Resources and Mines Minister Dr Anthony Lynham told Parliament the Mineral and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2016 would fulfil an election commitment to reinstate broader communication objection rights.
The first step was delivered last July around large-scale mining projects assessed through the Co-ordinator-General.
Dr Lynham said the introduction of the new bill showed the government had listened to stakeholders and taken action.
“The legislative amendments will give landholders the protection they want for their agricultural infrastructure like stockyards, bores and artesian wells.” Dr Lynham said.
“It will also restore the community’s right to have their say on mining lease and environmental authority applications for projects that have not gone through an Environmental Impact Statement process.
“Our legislative changes in July last year restored community rights in relation to large projects that have been through a Co-ordinator-General’s EIS process. Today’s bill completes our commitment.”
Dr Lynham said the Queensland Land Court would also have the power to strike out any objections that are frivolous or vexatious, an abuse of the court’s process, or outside the court’s jurisdiction.
“This legislation represents another important step towards restoring the balance between landholders, the community and the resources sector in Queensland,” he said.
The Bill allows for:
- a protection zone of a minimum 50 metres around principal stockyards, bores and artesian wells, dams and artificial water storages connected to a water supply
- mine proponents to again have to place public notices in newspapers about proposed mining projects
- any landholder to be able to lodge an objection, for example, a landholder downstream from a proposed mine on a river
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The Lock The Gate Alliance today condemned the new bill, saying that while it improves access to the Land Court and puts some limits on mining near homes and infrastructure, it will further erode the rights of landholders dealing with CSG companies.
The group has called for the bill to be substantially changed to revoke all of the worst elements that were initially put forward by the Newman Government.
Lock the Gate’s National Campaign Coordinator, Carmel Flint, said the amendments were needed to protect farmers from bullying and intimidation by mining giants, and to protect food-growing areas and the health of families forced to live near coal and gas developments and infrastructure.
“The Bill introduced by Minister Lynham today takes the final step in fully reinstating the rights of the community to challenge mining projects through the Land Court, and that is a positive measure,” Ms Flint said.
“It also puts some hard restrictions on mining near homes and infrastructure, but unfortunately the limited distances of the setbacks (from 50m to 200m) are completely inadequate to prevent impacts on families and farming businesses.”
Ms Flint said the Bill dramatically reduces the protections available to farmers forced to deal with CSG companies.
“It allows CSG companies to sign landholders up to ‘opt-out agreements’ which would see vulnerable people unknowingly signing away their rights to negotiate a Conduct and Compensation Agreement,” she said.
“This is an outrageous step that gives CSG companies even more power over the ordinary folks that are forced to deal with them (CSG companies) invading their properties and their communities.”
The Bill also removes existing rights landholders had to negotiate with CSG companies who sought to conduct activities within 600m of their homes.
“Lock the Gate is staunchly opposed to any law changes that reduce the rights and protections of ordinary Queenslanders up against the power and money of the CSG industry,” Ms Flint said.
“We are astonished the State Government would propose to erode current protections for landholders when it is clear that the system is already heavily skewed against them.
“We fear for the wellbeing of farmers who will be caught by a system that is even more damaging then the one that is already causing extreme harm in its current form.”
