The Queensland Government has proposed legislation to limit legal challenges to mining projects, as part of a wider bid to streamline approval processes.
The Government plans to prevent people outside of mining regions from blocking projects by changing legal objection criteria and preventing automatic Land Court referrals, it said.
Groups and people – except for Federally-protected Native Title holders – will need to be within 125 kilometres of projects, or in directly affected communities, to oppose them under the proposed law. Ministers and state officials may also prevent objections from being referred to the Land Court.
“[The reforms] will put an end to the madness that saw objections from activists [outside the state] automatically referred to the Land Court, leaving projects in limbo for years,” Queensland Mines Minister Dale Last said on 15 September.
The Queensland Conservation Council (QCC) has opposed the Government’s legislation because it will prevent communities affected by projects from effectively challenging them in court.
“In a state as vast and varied as Queensland, limiting objection rights to a 125km radius makes no sense at all. The impacts of mining on biodiversity, climate and water resources have implications far beyond this arbitrary 125km limit,” QCC Acting Director Anthony Gough said.
Queensland’s proposed Land Court changes also let Ministers pick which community objections get heard in open court, and which projects get waved through, Gough added.
But the Association of Mining and Exploration Companies (AMEC) has backed the Government’s proposals because they could speed up approvals and support mine developments.
“Queensland has enormous resource potential, but projects need an approvals system that is efficient and focused on resolving genuine issues rather than creating unnecessary delays,” AMEC Chief Executive Officer Warren Pearce said.
Environmental groups often challenge Queensland mine projects in court. In May, the Mackay Conservation Group (MCG) opposed Glencore’s Hail Creek coal mine expansion over climate and habitat destruction concerns, MCG Coordinator Emma Barrett said. One year earlier, MCG objected to Whitehaven Coal’s Winchester South project on similar grounds.
MCG’s cases against Glencore and Whitehaven Coal are ongoing.
By Avinash Govind