Defence Force Update - Where is the Master Plan?

ADF Troops - Photo by ABC

The expansion of the ADF Shoalwater Bay Training Facilities and the Townsville/Charters Towers Facilities are a political football at the moment. For families caught in the crossfire, there were ADF visits in Charters Towers, Marlborough, Rockhampton and Stanage Bay this week. The hastily organised meetings were not advertised widely until only days before the ADF attended these meetings.

Where is the Master Plan?

The eagerly awaited Master Plan was not released to those directly affected. The timelines for the Business Case have not changed and neither has frankly anything changed from the meetings held late last year.

It seems the Master Plan is a difficult beast for the ADF to deal with as the recent announcement of “no forced sales”, the ADF has had to change their plans for the area. The ADF now needs to do some re-design and rethink their project as the willing sellers make themselves known.

The Master Plan is not likely to be released publically at all now to the disappointment of those affected by the announcements. There are only a few days left for people to make submissions to the socio-economic impact report. However, one wonders how a proper submission can be made to the report now, without the details of the Master Plan being released.

"Willing Sellers"

“Willing Sellers” are able to sell their land through two means with the ADF.

Advice needs to be sought regarding which option is best for those Sellers. The first way to sell to the ADF is “on the market”. This means that you approach the ADF and advise that you are interested in entering into negotiations to sell your land. If the negotiations fail, then obviously the Sellers don’t sell. If an Agreement can be reached by the parties then a contract is signed. These negotiated agreements can include anything (eg, leaseback arrangements, disturbance costs, professional costs and most importantly the timing for payments).

Once the Business Case is completed in June/July (more like August) then the ADF will announce their Land Acquisition Strategy. There will then be a gazetting process and some declarations. After these gazettes are issued, the second means of “selling” activates. That is that Sellers can still sell their land by agreement with the ADF, but the process will be in the hands of the Department of Finance and some timeframes and other options will change.

Your Land is Safe For Now

After the visits this week, we can say that the announcement of “no forced sales” has not changed. There will be still no “compulsory acquisitions” once those gazettes start. However; with neighbouring properties being sold, and the ADF plans still being formalised, the decision on whether or not to sell is something that people should consider carefully. Landowners may be concerned about such matters as neighbouring ADF boundaries, feeling “squeezed”, possible changes to road arrangements.  Once the decision to sell has been made, the two means to sell the Land above also need careful thought.

Melanie Findlay is a rural agribusiness specialist who has negotiated many compensation/resumption matters with government departments, mining and gas companies.

Contact rural agribusiness specialist, Melanie Findlay on (07) 4927 6333 or at enquire@reesjones.com.au

Environmental Harm, Fines & Notices

A $60,000 FINE!? Know your legal obligations when it comes to notifying contaminated land!

Are you aware that your property or the property that you are working on could be contaminated? If you are aware, and you fail to notify the Department of Environment and Heritage Protection (EHP), serious fines could apply.

What is a “notifiable Activity”?

This is an activity that is likely to cause contamination. In town, these activities might include some types of manufacturing or disposal operations, printing, petroleum or chemical storage. On a rural property, you might have a livestock dip or spray race.

Who is required to notify EHP?

Just about everyone! Employees/employers, company directors, contractors and agents, engineers, project managers, auditors, local government, owners and occupiers of Land.

When must notification occur?

If contamination or environmental harm is likely to occur or has occurred, notification to EHP has to be given within 24 hours of an event occurring. You must also give notification to an owner or occupier of land (so say a tenant) if it is likely that their land could be affected.

What happens if you do not notify?

Fines of up to almost $60,000 can apply in certain circumstances so the fines are significant. Tenants and Occupiers of Land should be aware that they must notify the owners of the Land or Fines also apply if the owner is not notified.

How do I notify?

There are particular forms and guidelines you can use online through EHP, or you can contact them directly.

What about if I am purchasing a property?

This positive duty to notify should result in an increase in properties being noted on the Contaminated Land Register. Appropriate searches and advice should be obtained when you purchase a new property or if you take on a long term lease of a premises.

Contact Energy, Environment & Agribusiness Partner, Melanie Findlay on (07) 4927 6333 or at enquire@reesjones.com.au.

Rookwood Weir Update via Queensland Country Life

Queensland Country Life yesterday, published some good news for the Rookwood Weir Project.

Turnbull in town in Rockhampton for weir funding by Kelly Butterworth, 27 October 2016, 11:51am

CSG Wells and Your Mortgage

CSG Wells

There has been a bit of media attention lately regarding a bank turning down a loan application on grounds relating to some Coal Seam Gas operations on a property. An example of such a story can be found here.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/sep/30/commonwealth-bank-coal-seam-gas-makes-property-unacceptable-as-loan-security

Conduct and Compensation Agreement

It is usually a term of your bank mortgage that you must seek the consent of your bank prior to entering into any agreement for compensation relating to mining and/or gas activities on your property. It is therefore very important to provide a copy of any Compensation Agreement or CCA to your banker prior to signing any such document.

This will save you dealing with an angry mortgagee later and could have saved the landowners mentioned in the story attached from some problems.

If your bank is worried about any changes in the value of your land, then you can use their valuations or letters as a bargaining tool in your negotiations with a gas or mining company.

Sometimes, especially if the Activities to be performed on your land are quite substantial (e.g. a large gas pipeline), it is a good idea to chat with your banker about how your expected income stream on your property may be affected by gas or mining activities.

Your banker may like to hear from you about when any expected compensation money might be due to be paid to you so they can work with you in meeting the terms of your mortgage.

What can I do?

Conduct and Compensation Agreements for Mining and Gas Agreements are very complicated, and for this reason you should always involve your accountant, your lawyer and your banker at least in any negotiations you start. It is for this reason we would never advise a landowner to “Opt Out” of a negotiation.

The law also requires companies to reimburse landowner legal, accounting and valuation fees so it is always good to get advice on these types of negotiations.

Contact Energy, Environment & Agribusiness Partner, Melanie Findlay on (07) 4927 6333 or at enquire@reesjones.com.au.

Just another day in the office....

Our Landowner Lawyer sure has a nice view from her office!

Tree clearing laws fail to pass Parliament

ABC News: Queensland tree clearing laws fail to pass Parliament in blow to minority Labor Government by Gail Burke.

Nature Conservation Act with Melanie Findlay

Our Landowner Lawyer, Melanie Findlay recently spoke to Aaron Stevens from 990 4RO regarding the Nature Conservation Act (also known as "trigger maps" or "blue dots").

You can listen to the broadcast here.

Contact Melanie Findlay on (07) 4927 6333 or enquire@reesjones.com.au if you have any questions on vegetation management or land clearing.

#supportourcq

Dawson Valley Free Range Pork

Lucy and Kim House own a property at Baralaba in Central Queensland and pride themselves on producing pork that "tastes like pork should".

We were recently lucky enough to catch up with Lucy House and ask her a few questions about Dawson Valley Free Range Pork.

How how long have you been breeding pigs? 

We’ve been in pigs for about 5 years. We were cattle farmers before that. We’ve been at Anabank (Baralaba) for 25 years but as a cattle farm it is too small to be viable, so we decided to start a free range pig business for two reasons – to make a better income off a small place, and because we liked pigs!

Is accreditation required for free range farming? 

We are accredited with Humane Choice and I think some form of accreditation is important because the customer needs assurance that they are in fact buying a free range product. I think that there is only one form of free range, but unfortunately that is not enough as not all free range farms are the same.

Free range is where the animal is free to roam and to behave in a natural way. Of course free to roam is within reason, as for safety purposes, they do need to be contained behind some sort of fence. Pigs love to dig, lie around in wallows and eat grass, so it is important that they get every opportunity to do that. They should be in paddocks that have grass all the time, so some rotation and rest of paddocks is necessary.

Tell me about "Locavore", why is it important? 

To me the term locavore is a person that makes a conscious decision to eat local produce and to support local business. It does depend on the product, but I try to source the closest possible product to me. For example, local potatoes are only available for a very short period of time, so at other times I choose Queensland grown before any other part of Australia. I think it’s important to support local businesses (including food producers) as it encourages prosperity in the local area.

We need to de-centralise our food systems. Some would say that this would improve our food security, but I think the greater value is in keeping small communities alive. Not everyone wants to or can live in the major cities, so it is necessary to have employment in smaller towns – vibrant communities are needed to provide employment and this can be done by keeping local businesses profitable.

Are you seeing an increased interest in free range products or more support for our farmers as the general public is becoming more aware of food origins? 

We have two types of customers – some are more concerned with the quality of food that comes from a free range animal and others are more concerned with the quality of life that the animal has before it becomes food. Both are very important to me.

There is more interest in free range products because generally our health is not good. Health of humans has declined as the industrialised food systems (factory farming) have increased. There are those that aren’t prepared to continue down that path as factory farmed food does not have the best nutritional value . Food has become very cheap – mostly due to the industrialised food system, but it is also due to competition from cheap imports and from the competition between our two big supermarkets.

Real food does cost more to produce than processed food and that should not be the case. Most of our customers support us because we are local farmers, so I do think that they care about food origins. Unfortunately our customers are only a small sample of society and there are a lot of people that don’t really care. They just want to keep getting cheap food – they don’t understand or want to consider the connection between food and health.

There are recipes on the Dawson Valley Free Range Pork and the Healthy Farming, Healthy Food blogs but do you have a "go to" recipe you'd be prepared to share? 

I don’t really have a “go to” recipe. I really do think that all you need is good quality ingredients. If I’m time poor and that’s most often the case, I plan ahead and put something in the oven or slow cooker. One of my favourite things would be:

Chops (lamb, goat, pork), or chicken pieces - tossed in some aromatics like garlic, chili, herbs and lime juice, then placed on top of sliced potatoes and onions ( a mix of white and sweet potatoes). Depending on the fat content of the meat, I will dot some butter over the top. I then place this in the oven and go outside and do my afternoon jobs! The juices and fat from the meat filter down through the potatoes and adds flavour and keeps them moist. Cooking time would be 2 -3 hours on low or 1.5 hours at moderate.

What is your favourite part of the day? 

I enjoy early mornings or late afternoons. Early mornings milking the cow are always relaxing and I often use this quiet time to plan my day. Late afternoons walking around the pig paddocks is lovely, because the pigs are all relaxed and will stop for a chat – the mornings are frantic because they only want food! I also enjoy bedtime!

What's next for Dawson Valley Free Range Pork? 

We are hoping to increase our production, as we are struggling to meet the demand for our product. We will be engaging our first full time employee soon and we are hoping that this will enable us to expand and to undertake more activities. We want to increase the layers of enterprises – in the short term that will be goats and sheep.

Pigs are very good at improving fertility and our land is now organic certified, so we would like to make organic hay. I can see other enterprises like fruit and nut trees, vegetable crops, as well as meat chickens in the years to come.

Our Energy, Environment & Agribusiness Partner, Melanie Findlay says your pork is really yummy! How can people get your product? 

Our pork is available in the Rockhampton and Yeppoon area by getting our pork, beef and goat direct from us at the Kern Arcade Carpark Markets and the Yeppoon Community Markets. We have been going there twice a month, however recently we have had to reduce this as we are low on product.

The best idea is for people to follow us on Facebook or my Blog to know when we are going to be at the markets. In Gladstone, Daly’s Quality Meats stock our pork. Our pork is available from Sunshine Coast Organic Meats and from Sherwood Road Organic Meats and Milton Fine Meats, both in Brisbane.

Dawson Valley Free Range Blog
Dawson Valley Free Range Facebook
Healthy Farming Healthy Food Blog
Lucy's Kitchen Facebook

Draft MERCP Regulations

The draft Mineral and Energy Resources (Common Provisions) ("MERCP") Regulations are up for consultation. You can make a submission and review the new Regulations here
https://www.dnrm.qld.gov.au/our-department/corporate-information/policies-initiatives/mining-resources/legislative-reforms/mqra/consultation-draft-regulation

We represent Landholders who are affected by mining and gas activities on their land. When negotiations fail, there is a process where a mining or gas company can effect to take a landholder to a mediation or a conference to negotiate the matter before a third party.

The problem currently is that landowners are entitled to have their reasonable and necessary legal fees reimbursed to them for the negotiation of a CCA or Conduct and Compensation Agreement.

Currently there is a gap in the law which says that a legal advisor for a landholder is only allowed to be present at a conference if the other party agrees AND the officer is happy that there is no undue disadvantage to the other party at the conference.  This wording is not desirable because a mining company MUST therefore agree to allow a landholder lawyer to attend the conference.

Usually gas or mining companies are represented at these conferences by legally trained people and if you have ever attended these conferences, there is usually a cast of thousands attending on behalf of the resource company. The balance of power in a meeting, without a lawyer present on behalf of a landholder is undesirable.  The change of just one word in the new Regulations could correct this.

A party must not be represented by a lawyer at the conference unless—
(a) the other party agrees; OR (rather than AND)
(b) the authorised officer is satisfied there is no undue disadvantage to the other party.

Submissions are due on the draft by 12 August 2016.

Contact our Energy, Environment & Agribusiness team on (07) 4927 6333 or at enquire@reesjones.com.au.

Draft Land Access Code

The new draft Land Access Code 2016 is available for public consultation here
https://www.dnrm.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/390485/land-access-code.pdf

The usual problems have not been removed from the Code. For example, the wash down provisions regarding weed management are still unfavourable for Landholders.

Part 15 covers the obligations on the parties to prevent spread of declared pests. The usual clause which requires a resource authority holder to “wash down” vehicles and machinery before entering private property remains. However, this is only a requirement if the risk of spreading the pest is likely to be reduced by the wash down.

The first problem is that the method of wash down is not specified and landholders have often advised our office of situations where the holders of a resource authority do not carry proper wash down certificates or certificates from third party wash down facilities.

The second problem is that it is usually the resource holder that decides that it is NOT likely that the pest will be spread.

Under the new Biosecurity Act 2014, landholders now have a higher onus of care placed upon them to make sure that pests and weeds are kept in check on their properties. It would be therefore desirable for the Land Access Code to be tightened up to give landholders the rights to reject dirty or contaminated vehicles and to insist on third party wash down facilities.

If you wish to make a submission regarding the Code or the new Regulations, submissions close on 12 August 2016.

The link to the site containing the new drafts is here:-
https://www.dnrm.qld.gov.au/our-department/corporate-information/policies-initiatives/mining-resources/legislative-reforms/mqra/consultation-draft-regulation

Contact our Energy, Environment & Agribusiness team on (07) 4927 6333 or at enquire@reesjones.com.au.

Cattle Farming and Facebook

The way our rural sector does business is changing. More and more farmers are now marketing and selling their cattle online - our Landowner Lawyer, Melanie Findlay shares two recent articles that caught her attention.

Jason Murphy of news.com.au writes about how "buy swap sell" groups are providing dedicated market places with incredible potential in his article Is Facebook about to take over another huge part of the economy? as published on NT News, 7 July 2016.

James Nason writes about how the livestock marketing is changing as a result of social media in his article, Facebook: Another way livestock marketing is changing as published on Beef Central, 13 July 2016.

Calliope Vegetation Management

Our friends at Capricornia Catchments Inc. are hosting a Vegetation Management Information Session in Calliope on Wednesday 27 July 2016.

Landowner Lawyer, Melanie Findlay will join ecosure's Senior Botanist, Geoffrey Sinclair to discuss the existing Vegetation Management Act, the proposed changes and how they may affect you.

This is what Capricornia Catchments Inc. has to say about the information session:

On 17 March 2016, the Government introduced the Vegetation Management (reinstatement) and other Legislation Amendment Bill 2016, which is currently being considered through the parliamentary committee process.  One of the amendments proposed by the bill is the reintroduction of high value regrowth on freehold land (Cat. C) and regrowth vegetation on watercourse areas (Cat. R) for Great Barrier Reef Catchments.

Geoffrey Sinclaire, Ecosure will bring his understanding of the existing Vegetation Management Act, and the proposed changes and how they can affect your business. Bring your lot and plan details he will be able to identify specific issues to your property.

Melanie Findlay, Rees R and Sydney Jones, will clarify some of the legal implications of vegetation management that currently exist and may arise from the proposed changes.

The Central Bowls Club is located at 21 Drynan Drive, Calliope.

You can book for this event via the Capricornia Catchments Inc. Website  or by contacting Janeen Whiting at Capricornia Catchments Inc. on 07 4921 0573 or admin@capcatchments.org.au.

Water Queensland

Water Queensland invites you...

You are invited to a presentation on the Callide Valley Flood Mitigation Study, Tuesday 19 July 2016 at Banana Civic Centre, Rainbow Street, Biloela from 6.30pm. Light refreshments will be available.

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.

The Soil Story

Our Landowner Lawyer shares an explanation of Soil Sequestration of Carbon in an easy to watch
4 minute clip presented by Kiss the Ground.

You may also be interested in our Landowner Lawyer's previous blog on Carbon Farming.

If you have any queries about carbon farming opportunities that may be available to you, please do not hesitate to 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.

Ag-Grow Emerald Vegetation Information Session

Ag-Grow Emerald Information Session

Energy, Environment & Agribusiness Partner Melanie Findlay will be at Ag-Grow Emerald from Thursday 7 to Saturday 9 July 2016. Sessions will be held at 10am, 12 noon and 2pm daily.

In conjunction with Ecosure, Melanie will be conducting an information session to inform graziers and landowners of the current vegetation and land clearing laws, the impacts of the SLATS data, what to do if you have illegally cleared and your property is currently under investigation and how to apply for a retrospective clearing permit (additional information is below).

There is also an opportunity to have a topic of your choosing included in this session when you RSVP.

What else would you like information on?

• Environmental/vegetation offsets
• Work place health and safety
• Wills and succession planning
• Biosecurity/weed management plans
• Vegetation law/protected plants (trigger mapping)
• Carbon farming and carbon projects

RSVP ESSENTIAL to Emma Kime on 07 4927 6333 or emmak@reesjones.com.au

Vegetation and Land Clearing Release of Qld Government Data

Earlier this year, the Queensland Government publicly released their Statewide Landcover and Trees Study (SLATS) data for the 2012 – 2014 period.

The purpose of the Statewide Landcover and Trees Study (SLATS) is to monitor Queensland's forests and woodlands to assess vegetation extent and clearing activities.

In conjunction with Ecosure Pty Ltd, Rees R & Sydney Jones Solicitors has conducted inquires and identified areas in Queensland where vegetation and land clearing has occurred.

We are aware that the Department of Natural Resources and Mines on behalf of the Queensland Government will now be in the process of investigating all properties located on the SLATS 2012 – 2014 maps to determine whether vegetation and land clearing was authorised or illegal.

In particular with reference to the SLATS 2012 – 2014 maps, we note that:-

• Properties covered in darker red and showing higher levels of clearing (500 + hectares) will be the listed for priority investigation by the Department of Natural Resources and Mines; and,
• Properties covered yellow and orange with less levels of clearing will be subject to investigations by the Department of Natural Resources and Mines in due course.

Qld Government Mining Lease Application Notices at at 21 June 2016

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

Details of current mining lease applications: Mining Notices as at 21 June 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.

https://www.business.qld.gov.au/industry/mining/public-notices-tenders/mining-lease-application-notices

Mt Coolon Hotel Vegetation & Land Clearing Information Session

Mt Coolon Hotel Information Session

Energy, Environment & Agribusiness Partner Melanie Findlay will be at an AgForce hosted event Wednesday 13 July from 10am at the Mt Coolon Hotel, Mt Coolon.

In conjunction with Ecosure, Melanie will be conducting an information session to inform graziers and landowners of the current vegetation and land clearing laws, the impacts of the SLATS data, what to do if you have illegally cleared and your property is currently under investigation and how to apply for a retrospective clearing permit (additional information is below).

There is also an opportunity to have a topic of your choosing included in this session when you RSVP.

What else would you like information on?

• Environmental/vegetation offsets
• Work place health and safety
• Wills and succession planning
• Biosecurity/weed management plans
• Vegetation law/protected plants (trigger mapping)
• Carbon farming and carbon projects

RSVP ESSENTIAL to Emma Kime on 07 4927 6333 or emmak@reesjones.com.au

Vegetation and Land Clearing Release of Qld Government Data

Earlier this year, the Queensland Government publicly released their Statewide Landcover and Trees Study (SLATS) data for the 2012 – 2014 period.

The purpose of the Statewide Landcover and Trees Study (SLATS) is to monitor Queensland's forests and woodlands to assess vegetation extent and clearing activities.

In conjunction with Ecosure Pty Ltd, Rees R & Sydney Jones Solicitors has conducted inquires and identified areas in Queensland where vegetation and land clearing has occurred.

We are aware that the Department of Natural Resources and Mines on behalf of the Queensland Government will now be in the process of investigating all properties located on the SLATS 2012 – 2014 maps to determine whether vegetation and land clearing was authorised or illegal.

In particular with reference to the SLATS 2012 – 2014 maps, we note that:-

• Properties covered in darker red and showing higher levels of clearing (500 + hectares) will be the listed for priority investigation by the Department of Natural Resources and Mines; and,
• Properties covered yellow and orange with less levels of clearing will be subject to investigations by the Department of Natural Resources and Mines in due course.

Rookwood Weir - Additional Information

Additional Information to the Draft Environmental Impact Statement

The Gladstone Area Water Board and SunWater Limited have prepared additional information to the draft environmental impact statement (AEIS) for the Lower Fitzroy River Infrastructure Project.

You can view this information here.

You are able to make a submission to the AEIS here. Submissions close at 5pm on 27 June 2016.

If you would like any further information or assistance with a submission, contact Melanie Findlay on (07) 4927 6333.