HUNDREDS of thousands of hectares of Queensland’s prime agricultural land are claimed to now be protected from coal and gas developments.
Deputy Premier Jeff Seeney says instead of attempting to use a controversial system to classify vital agricultural land, based on seven soil criteria, the new Regional Plans will protect agricultural land use.
“Any resource development seeking to operate in a PAA (Priority Agricultural Area) will need to meet co-existence criteria which will ensure no material loss of land, no threat to continued agricultural use and no material impact on irrigation aquifers or overland flow,” Mr Seeney said.
“Anything that constrains agricultural land use cannot proceed.”
Mr Seeney – who is also the Minister for State Development, Infrastructure and Planning – will launch new Regional Plans for the Darling Downs and Central Queensland at Wellcamp near Toowoomba this morning.
Maps included in the plans show areas that include Priority Agricultural Land Uses (PALU).
The plans effectively became law when they were gazetted on Friday. The Newman government is now planning to introduce a Regional Planning and Development Act into Parliament later before Christmas, he said.
However, not all farmers are convinced that plan offered sufficient protection from resource developments.
AgForce senior policy officer Dal Miller said farmers were very disappointed in the regional plans as less than half of the existing agricultural land on the Darling Downs and in Central Queensland had been identified by the State Government.
“We are also still to see the finalised co-existence criteria but from what we have seen it does not appear that the State Government has delivered the confidence that farmers need for an equal say in resource development on their land,” he said.
Graham Clapham, from the anti-CSG group Save Our Darling Downs, said that, although the regional plan identified areas that should be protected, the associated co-existence criteria were still only in draft form and, as it currently stood, fell far short of empowering landholders.
“In a nutshell the regional plans do not prevent resource development on prime agricultural land because the associated coexistence criteria do not empower landholders,” Mr Clapham said.
“Resource developers already need to minimise their impact on agricultural land but equally if there are no other options to the resource company then the development can still continue.
“Agricultural operators still do not have a strong enough say in what happens on their land.
“We are still talking to the government, and happy to do so, because we still have to empower landholders to protect these critically important agricultural lands.”
Mr Seeney said that while the question of co-existence remained agricultural landholders were now in a very strong position.
“Protecting prime agricultural land has been the number one issue on the agenda for the 19 months ago and will have legislation in Parliament before Christmas,” he said.
“The whole approach from the start has been to ensure farmers were not displaced by mining.
“I am still keen to hear from landholders on what else we need to do.”
The plans also identify Priority Living Areas (PLAs) that identify and provide protection to future urban growth areas.
Communities of more than 200 people will be protected from development by about a 2km buffer zone.
Mr Seeney said the resource companies with existing environmental authority were still able to proceed with developments.
However, in cases where an environmental authority had not been granted, the resource company would be required to meet the new laws.
He said Regional Plans would ensure that inappropriate developments such as an opencut coal mine on the Haystack Plain near Dalby on the Darling Downs would never again be contemplated.
In 2009 the Haystack Plain became a political pawn in negotiations to supply coal to the Tarong Power Station. The Mineral Development Licence covered some 13,000ha of what is regarded as some of the most fertile soil in Queensland.
The plans also provide protection to urban and regional communities from resource development.
Natural Resources and Mines Minister Andrew Cripps said the review of the Strategic Cropping Land (SCL) Framework contained recommendations to improve agricultural protection.
SCL will become one of the regional planning interests under the new act and the outcomes of the SCL review will be incorporated into the new act’s regulations and codes.
“The result will be a single, integrated framework that addresses SCL and the implementation of our new regional plans,” Mr Seeney said.
“The new Regional Plans have a strong focus on resolving land-use conflicts between the agricultural and resource sectors. We believe they can co-exist and both can flourish. The Regional Plans will drive economic development while ensuring government policy reflects the desires and aspirations of local communities.”
Mr Cripps said the SCL review provided a blueprint to improve SCL effectiveness, streamline administrative processes and better align the framework with the regional plans.
“Importantly these reforms will not reduce the current level of protection for Strategic Cropping Land,” Mr Cripps said.
“The recommendations focus on practical changes to the SCL framework that will provide greater flexibility in government decision-making and regulatory certainty to stakeholders.”
