Public notification on regulatory amendments to increase protections of the Queensland section of Lake Eyre Basin

Closed
30 May 2024 11.59pm
Topic
Environmental licensing and regulation; Environmental initiatives
Type
Public notification
Region
Outback Queensland

Government is strengthening protections for the most sensitive and fragile rivers and floodplains of the Lake Eyre Basin from future high risk and high impact activities of the oil and gas industry by using geographically-precise regulations, and by recognising its special ecological features.

The Queensland Government has decided to better protect the Queensland Lake Eyre Basin’s (Qld LEB) environment, for First Nations’ Country and Culture in the region, and for its long-term sustainability and future economic opportunities.

Some changes to the Regional Planning Interests Regulation 2014 (the Regulation) are under way to reflect this decision. Amendments to the Regulation are being completed by the Department of Environment, Science and Innovation in partnership with the Regulation’s administering agency, the Department of Housing, Local Government, Planning and Public Works.

The purpose of this public notification is to indicate what the regulation changes will mean in terms of the Queensland Human Rights Act 2019.

Under the Human Rights Act 2019, it is necessary for the Queensland Government to consider whether any rights, including the Cultural Rights of Aboriginal Peoples, under this law are engaged, whether they are limited in any way, and – if they are limited – how such limitation can be minimised to ensure it government’s actions are lawful, necessary and reasonable.

The changes concern:

  • More accurately mapping the ecologically and culturally sensitive and special areas in the rivers/floodplains of the region, to add them to the mapped Designated Precincts.
  • Introducing regulation of future petroleum activities in the sensitive rivers and floodplains, such that following a transitional process no new gas or oil exploration or production leases will be allowed in the mapped Designated Precincts.

    The transitional process means that existing gas or oil production applications will still be assessed and a limited number of new applications will be allowed up to the end of August 2024.
  • Permitting existing gas or oil production in the mapped Designated Precincts to continue to the end of its currently approved lifespan.
  • Critical mineral extraction through open cut mining (in the newly added parts of the Designated Precincts) being a matter for site-specific environmental assessment and approval, rather than automatically being an unacceptable activity.
  • Adopting a broader list of environmental attributes for the mapped rivers and floodplains to better describe the features and characteristics of these sensitive areas.

If you have any questions, comments or concerns about these regulation changes in terms of their impacts on your rights under the Human Rights Act 2019, please let us know by email: policyinitiaitves@des.qld.gov.au or the Department of Environment, Science and Innovation, Strategic Policy, PO Box 15187, City East, QLD, 4002.

Please provide any comments by Thursday 30 May 2024 to ensure they are considered by the department in its human rights impact assessment work.