Major reforms to boost resources and protect landholders

Queensland landholders will gain improved land access protection , while the resources sector will have red tape slashed through landmark reforms by the Newman Government.

Minister for Natural Resources and Mines Andrew Cripps said the Mineral and Energy Resources (Common Provisions) Bill 2014 addressed issues left to escalate under the former Labor Government, including overlapping coal mining and coal seam gas tenures and gas emissions from legacy exploration bores.

“This Bill demonstrates this government has a strong plan for a brighter future by growing the resources sector to support economic development and job creation in Queensland,” Mr Cripps said.

“Labor got it wrong when it came to balancing industry growth with landholder rights. This landmark legislation restores that balance.

“It delivers the first stage of our Modernising Queensland’s Resources Acts initiative, which involves phased development of a single, common resources Act for the mining, petroleum and gas, greenhouse gas storage and geothermal energy sectors. 

“This is a major component of delivering the Queensland Government’s commitment to support the resources sector by removing red tape and regulation.

“These initiatives reaffirm the Newman Government’s commitment to support a strong resources sector, including small scale alluvial miners, by cutting red tape and costs through streamlined regulatory processes.

“Importantly, it also delivers key land access reforms that will provide greater certainty for landholders and resource companies about their rights and obligations when undertaking resource activities.”

Mr Cripps said the Bill proposed a consistent framework across all resources types to provide landholders and resource companies with greater clarity about their rights and obligations for gaining access to private land near residences and other infrastructure.

“It also provides greater certainty about assessment timeframes and reduces costs for small scale alluvial miners and the broader mining sector,” he said.

“The legislation also enables coal mining companies to make more effective use of incidental gas extracted as a result of coal mining operations, enabling the industry to lower the cost of coal production.”

[ENDS] 5 June 2014

Media contact:  Kate Haddan 0418 373 516 or Eleisha Rogers 0413 375 088

 
BACKGROUND

The Bill also:

• introduces a new framework for managing Queensland’s overlapping coal and petroleum tenures to facilitate co-existence of coal mining and coal seam gas industries
• expands the Land Court’s jurisdiction to hear conduct matters when considering conduct and compensation agreements
• requires a resource authority holder to have the existence of an executed conduct and compensation agreement noted on the relevant property title
• amends the notification and objection process for a mining lease application to create a more streamlined and efficient process
• provides the means for immediate access to legacy boreholes that present a safety risk.