Environmental bypass to fast-track oil project
The state deputy premier will have the power to override environmental and heritage laws in a move slammed by the opposition and a conservation group.
A plan to give the deputy premier the power to override a state governmentâs environmental laws for âstrategicâ projects has come under fire from a conservation group.
The Queensland government has introduced legislation giving Jarrod Bleijie the ability to bypass environmental and heritage laws for projects of âstrategicâ significance.
Bleijie, who is also the state development minister, said the new legislation would be used for projects such as petroleum exploration in the Taroom Trough on Queenslandâs Western Downs.
The 43,000 square kilometre area west of Brisbane has been described as a âsea of oilâ by Premier David Crisafulli, and been touted as a project that would fuel the stateâs energy needs.
The legislation will give the government the power to declare developments âstate strategic projectsâ that would be considered by the Office of the Co-ordinator-General.
However, Bleijie will have the power to overrule the co-ordinator-general.
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The new state legislation was âall about economic delivery in Queensland, itâs about getting stuff doneâ, Bleijie told reporters on the Sunshine Coast on Wednesday.
âThe legislation I introduced goes even further into looking at projects of resource significance,â he said.
He said the laws allowed him to declare state-significant projects not only in the resource sector but also eco-tourism, creating job opportunities and allowing international visitors to go into world-class facilities.
âIt fast-tracks approval processes for lots of projects across Queensland.â
Bleijie denied state opposition claims that the legislation would give him power to allow mining in national parks.
âThere are protections in place,â he said.
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âThereâs consultations with the environment minister and other protections already in place under environmental agreements.â
Conservation groups are alarmed by the move, with Lock the Gate Alliance national co-ordinator Ellen Roberts saying the law would allow mining giants access to prime agricultural land.
She said Crisafulli was backing oil and gas companies over farmers and food bowls.
âThe Queensland government is selling the people of Queensland a dud,â she said.
She said that companies had long struggled to extract significant quantities of oil from the Taroom Trough, with the reserves buried over 3km underground, requiring fracking for removal.
âNo amount of fast-tracking will change the fact that the project will take years, risky investment decisions, and vast new infrastructure to get off the ground.
âItâs time for Crisafulli to back Queenslandâs farmers and manufacturers, not oil companies trying to get blood from a stone.â
Crisafulli had previously called on the federal government to grant a national interest exemption for oil exploration under its Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act for the Taroom Trough.
Federal environment minister Murray Watt countered that the Commonwealth had received no formal application or documentation to allow the project to be considered.
-with AAP
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