Have Your Say About the Marlborough Australian Defence Force Expansion

Crowd at Marlborough Town Hall - Photo by ABC

The proposed expansion of the Shoalwater Bay Training Area has caused plenty of talk in the community recently.

What Stage Is The Project At?

The proposal is currently in the "master plan" stage.  As part of the "business plan" process and to help understand the effects of the expansion on the community and Queensland economy, the Defence force are undertaking a Socio-Economic Impact Assessment of the proposed expansion.

The Defence Force has already been in contact with directly affected property owners; however this Impact Assessment provides an opportunity for any member of the community to provide feedback on the proposal.

Who Is Conducting The Impact Assessment?

The Assessment is being conducted by independent advisory firm KPMG. 

What Will The Socio-Economic Impact Assessment Look At?

The assessment will consider all current and future socio-economic impacts of the Singapore Military Training Initiative. This process will include analysing things like the economic flow on effect of the extended military training program and the upgrading/expansion of the training area.

For example the assessment may look at the increase in demand on public facilities (eg say pressure on the Base Hospital) or the increase in say tourism activities and construction work for businesses in town.

Alternately it will also look at the effects of the loss of large cattle numbers from the area and the flow on effects for Rockhampton businesses who are involved in the agricultural supply chain.

How Can I Share My Views On The Expansion Proposal?

If you would like to share your thoughts on the proposed expansion, whether good, bad or ugly, you can obtain a copy of the Submission Form from the Defence force website and either email, post or fax it to KPMG. Further details on how to participate can be found here.

http://www.defence.gov.au/Initiatives/SingaporeTraining/Assessment.asp

As part of the consultation process, KPMG will also meet face-to-face with stakeholder representatives; however the dates for these consultations are still to be advised.

Amy Gudmann is a Solicitor in the Environment, Energy and Agribusiness Team at Rees R & Sydney Jones.

Qld Government Mining Lease Application Notices as at 6 July 2016

Each week, our Landowner Lawyer shares the Queensland Government Mining Lease Application Notices.

Details of current mining lease applications: Mining Notices as at 7 July 2016.

According to Queensland law, anyone can object to a mining lease application or current environmental authority application for a mining lease. The objection period is a minimum of 20 business days. Make sure your objection is lodged by 4.30 pm on the last day of objections.

If you believe you are affected by a mining lease application or if you would like further information, please contact our Energy, Environment & Agribusiness team on 07 4927 6333 or at enquire@reesjones.com.au.

Our Landowner Lawyer's View

In this video clip, our Landowner Lawyer, Melanie Findlay provides a solicitor's view of  the Agriculture & Environment Parliamentary Committee's recommendations in relation to the proposed changes to the Vegetation Management Bill.

Video clip is courtesy of Sharon Howard, Regional Manager AgForce Central

The Agriculture and Environment Parliamentary Committee have made their recommendations in relation to proposed changes to the Vegetation Management bill. 

We know landowners are outraged at the changes, but what about the legal profession?

Mel: I'm Melanie Findlay, so I'm a partner in the Energy, Environment and Agribusiness section of Rees R & Sydney Jones in Rockhampton.

Reverse Onus of Proof

Mel: Recently the recommendations to parliament have been released in regards to the Vegetation Reinstatement Bill, and the most important one for agriculture would be the reverse onus of proof provision. So there's been a recommendation that that provision be removed, and what that provision said was that you are pretty much guilty until you are proven innocent or until there's evidence in the contrary that you didn't illegally clear. 

It should have never have been in there in the first place because legislation standards say that you are innocent until proven guilty, but what they've done is reverse that onus of proof and it is great to see that they have recommended that that be removed from the Act. 

Mistake of Fact

Mel: The next thing we are going to talk about is the mistake of fact. So, pretty much everyone who has seen their vegetation data would notice that there are probably errors in their mapping. You might rely on a map that you are given by the government and that map might be full of mistakes and the reason why it is full of mistakes is because it has been done at such a large scale. 

So the problem with the mistake of fact issue is that, for example, right now we have got the Early Detection Unit in Rockhampton that are going around looking at satellite data from the last few months and what happens is they pick up that there has been some clearing in an area that they think there shouldn't be clearing according to their mapping. So they will write to a landowner and say "Can you explain why there has been this clearing because we cannot explain it?". The problem is, the landowner then has to run off and they're worried about having to prove that what they did was legal and they come and see me, and my hourly rate is expensive, or they need to go see a botanist or a consultant at an expensive rate and spend money proving that the maps were wrong, and therefore they didn't actually commit an offence.

So what? They never do anything about the maps anyway, do they?

Mel: Apparently so far there have been 86 of these early detection notifications going out and we have had a fair few come through our office. 

What should we be doing with these proposed changes?

Mel: So in my opinion, as a solicitor, I find it really difficult to deal with such a complicated area of law that keeps chopping and changing and landowners were quite happy and frankly people in Brisbane trusted them to deal with the laws as they were in place. So I wouldn't agree with these new amendments coming in because I just think that they are too onerous and too expensive for landowners to deal with.

At the moment there is a real interest in investment in agriculture. We have got the Northern Australia Plan, we are looking at enlivening exports to new markets, and I think we have got to trust the people in the business of agriculture that they know what to do to take care of their land. I think we should stop making things too difficult for them; multiple pieces of paper, exemptions, codes and clearing rules when really people genuinely want to take care of the grass cover and their land in the first place.

In this media release, Queensland Law Society president Bill Potts said it was refreshing that the Parliament’s Agriculture and Environment Committee’s unanimously recommended removing a provision under which landholders were to be considered guilty of illegally clearing land until they could prove themselves innocent.

Rookwood Weir Funding

Rookwood Weir Funding - more questions than answers

Whilst anything that supports Agriculture is welcomed by Central Queensland locals, the Rookwood Weir $130M funding announcement may have came as a surprise to those that will be directly impacted by the effects of the infrastructure.

Late last year meetings with Landholders affected by the Weir as well as Eden Bann were held across CQ. Whilst most landholders were happy with the possible opportunities the Weirs could create two very important issues were debated and are still being debated now.

Firstly, landholders directly affected by the Weir by possibly inundation easements were quite surprised at the lack of notice and consultation in regard to the EIS process.

Agforce invited landholders to attending meetings in August last year at Alton Downs and Duaringa to discuss and find out more information about the Weir Projects. At these meetings, some Landowners commented that they were only alerted to the EIS process and the possible impacts to their properties by their local Agforce representative. GHD EIS Consultant, Geraldine Squires, at the meeting for Eden Bann advised that Landholders had been written to, although many at that meeting advised her that they had not received notices and that further they had not heard from any Weir representatives for some years. The audience at both the meetings held at both Alton Downs and Duaringa last year made it very clear that more consultation about the project was necessary. The words “Inundation” and “Resumption” are not nice words to hear and the key to keeping landholders positive in regard to these projects is more consultation.

Secondly, landholders have queried on more than one occasion how much water will cost once the infrastructure is built. A real problem for Landholders is the affordability of water allocations, electricity and irrigation equipment. Members of the Eden Bann meeting in Alton Downs expressed their concerns that once the price of water is fixed and advertised, it may then increase and be unaffordable. The same query was asked of the political hosts of the public consultation meeting held on 28 October 2015 . That query was never answered.

Funding for Agriculture is always welcomed in CQ, but more information and guidance for Landholders is required. If you have any queries about the EIS process, the process of land resumptions or require advice in regard to these projects please do not hesitate to contact Melanie Findlay of the Energy, Environment and Agribusiness Team at Rees R & Sydney Jones.

Mining Lease Application Notices as at 6 May 2016

Each week, our Landowner Lawyer shares the Queensland Government Mining Lease Application Notices.

Details of current mining lease applications: Mining Notices as at 6 May 2016.

According to Queensland law, anyone can object to a mining lease application or current environmental authority application for a mining lease. The objection period is a minimum of 20 business days. Make sure your objection is lodged by 4.30 pm on the last day of objections.

If you believe you are affected by a mining lease application or if you would like further information, please contact our Energy, Environment & Agribusiness team on 07 4927 6333 or at enquire@reesjones.com.au.

Mining Lease Application Notices as at 29 April 2016

Each week, our Landowner Lawyer shares the Queensland Government Mining Lease Application Notices.

Details of current mining lease applications: Mining Noticesas at 29 April 2016.

According to Queensland law, anyone can object to a mining lease application or current environmental authority application for a mining lease. The objection period is a minimum of 20 business days. Make sure your objection is lodged by 4.30 pm on the last day of objections.

If you believe you are affected by a mining lease application or if you would like further information, please contact our Energy, Environment & Agribusiness team on 07 4927 6333 or at enquire@reesjones.com.au.

Mining Lease Application Notices as at 22 April 2016

Each week, our Landowner Lawyer shares the Queensland Government Mining Lease Application Notices.

Details of current mining lease applications: Mining Notices as at 22 April 2016.

According to Queensland law, anyone can object to a mining lease application or current environmental authority application for a mining lease. The objection period is a minimum of 20 business days. Make sure your objection is lodged by 4.30 pm on the last day of objections.

If you believe you are affected by a mining lease application or if you would like further information, please contact our Energy, Environment & Agribusiness team on 07 4927 6333 or at enquire@reesjones.com.au.

Draft Surat Underground Water Impact Report 2016

Picture: Department of Natural Resources and Mines

Surat Cumulative Management Area: Draft Surat Underground Water Impact Report 2016

The Queensland Government and Office of Groundwater Impact Assessment (OGIA) have recently released the draft Surat Underground Water Impact Report 2016.

The draft Report updates the Underground Water Impact Report 2012 and incorporates new knowledge and uses a new and different groundwater flow model to predict the future impacts.

You can view a summary of the draft Report and the full Report at:- https://www.dnrm.qld.gov.au/ogia/surat-underground-water-impact-report

Public Consultation and Information Sessions & Submissions

The OGIA are calling for interested parties to take part in public consultation and information sessions and prepare a written submission.

Public consultation and information sessions are being held throughout Queensland in April at Wandoan, Roma, Chinchilla, Dalby and Toowoomba.

Written submissions are due by 5pm on 29 April 2016. Written submissions will then be considered by the OGIA and a final report to the Chief Executive of the Department of Environment and Heritage Protection will be prepared.

For more information on the call for submissions or the public consultation and information sessions, please see the following link:- https://www.dnrm.qld.gov.au/ogia/surat-underground-water-impact-report/public-consultation.

If you have any queries about the draft Report or would like assistance to prepare your written submission, please do not hesitate to contact our Energy, Environment and Agribusiness Team on (07) 4927 6333.

Land-use change and sustainability scenario, Australia 2013 - 2050

Our Landowner Lawyer found this animated YouTube clip on the CSIRO site. 

It depicts "the economic potential for land-use change and the impact on economic and environmental sustainability." and has been supplied by Brett Bryan. 

Brett Bryan is the author of a previous article shared by The Landowner Lawyer on 1 April 2016 "Farming in 2050: storing carbon could help meet Australia's climate goals".

Of particular interest is the huge predicted growth of carbon plantings (pale blue on the map). As the years progress, the area of carbon plantings increase along with the economic returns. Crop and livestock demand increases as does the carbon price, while oil and electricity prices level out.

Our Energy, Environment & Agribusiness team would be happy to talk to you about how you can use Carbon Planting as an alternative on-farm income source.