From this week, landholders and miners have more certainty about their land access rights and responsibilities around resource developments.
Minister for State Development and Minister for Natural Resources and Mines Dr Anthony Lynham said today marked the beginning of the Mineral and Energy Resources (Common Provisions) Act 2014 after amendments were made to provide stronger protection against resource activities occurring close to residential buildings and key farming infrastructure.
“The commencement of legislation introduced by the previous government in 2014 was delayed to allow the Palaszczuk Government time to repeal parts of the Act that would have removed landholder and community rights,” said Dr Lynham.
“Thanks to the Palaszczuk Government’s action, Queensland now has an appropriate balance between economic development and the rights of landholders and local communities.
“The changes coming into effect from today help to modernise and simplify legislation by streamlining land access provisions that were previously spread across five different Acts.
“This includes protecting the right of farmers, landholders and local communities to be informed of proposed mining projects through local newspaper ads and to have the ability to lodge an objection against a proposed mining development.
“Importantly, this is balanced against the Queensland Land Court’s powers to strike out any frivolous or vexatious objections.”
Dr Lynham said the new legislation will support more productive relationships between landholders and resource companies.
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