Land Access Public Forums

The Queensland Government held a series of land access public forums in October and November 2008 to inform landholders and explorers about their rights and obligations when resource exploration takes place on private land. 

The forums covered:

• statutory frameworks relating to land access and compensation
• environmental compliance and securities
• the environmental impact statement process
• coal seam gas and water issues.

At these forums, landholders and explorers were encouraged to provide feedback about their experiences dealing with land access issues.

The forums were held in November 2008 in Roma, Injune, Miles, Wandoan, Dalby and Felton. 

Further land access public forums are planned for the Bowen Basin in 2009.

The land access public forums are an initiative of the Land Access Working Group (LAWG).

Issues raised at the public forums

Participants at the forums raised a number of issues which were consistent themes across the Surat Basin. These issues included:

• the need to review compensation provisions for affected landholders and the adequacy of the current compensation processes
• assessment of the broader community impacts of resource development
• inconsistencies relating to land access issues between relevant  legislation
• legislative and Code of Conduct breaches by some resource companies
• the need for a common and enforceable Code of Conduct for both the mining and gas industries
• understanding the tenure process and access to tenure information
• the need for field officers based in the Surat Basin, to deal with differences between landholders and explorers and to monitor compliance with legislation and Codes of Conduct.

Land access initiatives

In November 2008, the Bligh Government announced a number of initiatives which would be implemented as a result of community feedback from the public forums. These include:

• development of a standard compensation agreement as a basis for simplifying compensation negotiations
• development of a single code of environmental compliance
• establishment of common user pipeline easements where possible to minimise disruption to agricultural land
• improvement of cross-agency coordination associated with tenure applications and management
• investigation by the LAWG of minor legislative amendments to achieve better consistency between the Petroleum and Gas Acts and the Mineral Resources Act
• pre-qualification of contractors
• obligations to rehabilitate the land after exploration
• establishment of a joint Surat Basin district office at Roma for DME and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The office will be staffed by two DME Deputy Registrars, two EPA staff and administrative support staff
• development of a compliance strategy to be implemented by DME and EPA staff based in the Surat Basin District Office in Roma.