Environmental bypass to fast-track oil project
A plan to give a deputy prime minister the power to override the state government’s environmental laws for “strategic” projects has been criticized by a conservation group.
The Queensland government has passed legislation giving Jarrod Bleijie the ability to bypass environmental and heritage laws for projects of “strategic” importance.
Mr Bleijie, who is also the state development minister, said the new legislation would be used for projects such as oil exploration at Taroom Trough in Queensland’s Western Downs.
The 43,000 square kilometer area west of Brisbane was described as a “sea of oil” by Prime Minister David Crisafulli and was touted as a project to meet the state’s energy needs.
The law will give the government the authority to declare developments to be evaluated by the General Coordination Office as “strategic projects of the state”.
But Mr Bleijie will have the power to overrule the general coordinator.
Mr Bleijie told reporters on the Sunshine Coast on Wednesday that the new state legislation was “all about economic delivery in Queensland, it’s about getting things done”.
“The legislation I introduced takes it even further to look at resource-critical projects,” he said.
He said the laws allow him to declare state-important projects not only in the resource sector but also in eco-tourism, creating job opportunities and allowing international visitors to visit world-class facilities.
“It speeds up approval processes for many projects in Queensland.”
Mr Bleijie rejected claims from the state opposition that the legislation would give it the power to allow mining in national parks.
“There are guards,” he said.
“Consultations are taking place with the environment minister and there are other safeguards already in place under environmental agreements.”
Conservation groups were alarmed by the move, with Ellen Roberts, national coordinator of the Lock the Gate Alliance, saying the legislation would allow mining giants access to prime farmland.
He said Mr. Crisafulli supported oil and gas companies on farmers and food containers.
“The Queensland government is selling a fiasco to the people of Queensland,” he said.
He said companies have long sought to extract significant amounts of oil from the Taroom Trough, with reserves buried more than 3 kilometers underground and requiring hydraulic fracturing to remove them.
“No rapid progress will change the fact that the project will take years, risky investment decisions and extensive new infrastructure to get off the ground.
“It’s time for Crisafulli to support Queensland farmers and manufacturers, not the oil companies trying to extract blood from the stone.”
Mr Crisafulli had previously called on the federal government to grant a national interest exemption for oil exploration under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act for the Taroom Trough.
Federal Environment Minister Murray Watt countered, saying the Commonwealth had not received a formal application or documentation to allow the project to be assessed.
