Strategic cropping loophole

The state government claimed that it had restored the balance of power between resources companies and landholders when it extended the SCL trigger map by more than 40 per cent on October 8, taking the total area to 10.17 million hectares.

Under the RPI Act, any new resource development proposed on SCL or Priority Agricultural Areas that does not have a landholder agreement in place will need to go through a Regional Interest Development Assessment (RIDA).

But Property Rights Australia chairman Dale Stiller said the same protections wouldn't be afforded to landholders on properties where a petroleum lease and environmental authority had already been granted.

"Landholders who are yet to sign a Conduct and Compensation Agreement (CCA) with a resource company had reason to hope the provisions in RPI would have enabled them to manage CSG activity on their best country," he said.

"Sadly this hope is misplaced for many landholders because if the government had already granted a petroleum lease, along with approving an environmental authority before June 13, 2014, there will be little protection afforded under the RPI."

Deputy Premier and State Development, Infrastructure and Planning Minister Jeff Seeney has defended the RPI Act, saying it was deliberately designed to ensure that any new resource activity that impacted on SCL or priority agricultural areas, which did not have the agreement of the landholder, would need to go through a RIDA.

"We are confident that the new Act respects existing authorities for resource activities held by a company prior to the new laws coming into being, but at the same time ensures all future land uses are fairly and accurately assessed under planning rules that have been successfully applied in cities for many years," he said.

"While a resources company may have already had a right to build a certain distance of pipeline, and a certain number of wells when the RPI Act came into being - any additional activities they propose and that do not have landholder agreement will need to go through this brand new assessment process.

"For example, a CSG project will involve many resource activities including wells, pipes, access tracks, compressor stations, lay-down areas etc. Some of these may have been authorised prior to the RPI Act; however, some may not have and will require assessment under the Act."

Tom Marland from Ferrier & Co Solicitors, Roma, represents clients throughout the Surat Basin and would like to see a revised trigger map issued by the department to show the areas that are protected by the new regulations.

"The supposed 10.17 million hectares stated by the Government needs to be put in context of the significant areas that are either covered by an existing agreement, a current mining or petroleum lease and an environmental authority," Mr Marland said.

"I would like to be proved wrong but I would suggest less than a 10th of the good farming land claimed to be protected by the government is actually protected."

Mr Stiller also said that the government needed to deliver greater certainty to landholders who were yet to sign a CCA.

"With unseen petroleum leases bearing no relationship to property boundaries, neighbours could be treated differently," he said.

"One part of an individual property protected and the other part not.

"Environmental authorities are for a petroleum lease or multiple leases, the conditions are generally very broad and not specific to a landholder area.

"It will say that in the entire area there will be x amount of gas wells, x kilometres of pipelines, compressor station and other infrastructure.

"The EA also sets of environmental levels for noise and dusts."

Mr Stiller said the state government needed to change the legislation so that landholders without a CCA had the same rights and protections as those with a CCA in place.

"In any case the RPI regulations allowing CSG companies to have 2pc permanent impact on Priority Agricultural Areas and Strategic Cropping Areas give the gas company the ability to roll out a full number of gas wells across valuable agricultural land with restrictions only to very large infrastructure," he said.