New mine law delivers a recipe for economic growth

 

QUEENSLAND’s peak body for the resources sector has welcomed the passage of the Mineral and Energy Resources (Common Provisions) Bill, which delivers a recipe for regional economic growth.

Queensland Resources Council (QRC) Chief Executive Michael Roche says this important legislation again demonstrates that the Minister for Natural Resources and Mines, Andrew Cripps remains focused on enabling regional growth and development by streamlining unnecessary regulation.

"This Bill streamlines the objections process for the grant of a mining tenure but does not limit or remove a right to object to the mining project, rather, objections are considered as part of the project’s environmental authority," Mr Roche said. 

"Communities and landholders remain important stakeholders and still retain a genuine opportunity to raise concerns over a mining project’s environmental impacts.

"The amendments reduce unnecessary duplication in Queensland’s approvals processes," he said.

Mr Roche said QRC would also like to acknowledge the chair of the Parliamentary Committee, Ian Rickuss, the hard-working member for Lockyer, who succeeded in keeping the committee hearings on this legislation grounded in reality while they were surrounded in controversy.

"Mr Rickuss and the majority of committee members have demonstrated that they can see past the cheap theatrics and focus on the actual issues at hand, which are fair process, regional growth and delivering regional jobs," Mr Roche said. 

"The committee hearings were a good opportunity to hear the important concerns of genuine landholders."

The Bill introduced a number of important reforms including:

	implementing the 2012 findings of the Land Access Implementation Committee—on which peak agricultural groups worked closely with peak resource industry bodies under an independent Chair
	a new process for ensuring that the maximum resource extraction occurs when coal and coal seam gas tenures overlap—that’s good news for Queensland as it means jobs and royalties will be maximised
	providing new powers to ensure legacy boreholes can be swiftly made safe; and
	a simple and consistent system of restricted land for all resource tenures—that’s good news for landholders.

QRC remains committed to working closely with the industry’s stakeholders, including landholders, rural and regional communities and peak agriculture bodies with whom we share an interest in seeing regional Queensland grow and develop.

www.qrc.org.au

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