Natural Resources and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2019
Bill Story
The journey of this bill through Parliament, including debate and recorded votes.
Referred to State Development, Natural Resources and Agricultural Industry Development Committee
▸35 members spoke10 support25 mixed
Criticised the removal of the Queensland foreign landownership report as reducing transparency, stating the LNP will oppose those sections while noting the bill contains other provisions.
“This Labor government is taking away a key source of data and transparency about who owns land in this state.”— 2019-05-15View Hansard
As Minister, introduced the bill and moved the second reading, arguing it delivers on government commitments and ensures effective regulatory frameworks for natural resources, mining, energy and water compliance.
“This bill delivers on several government commitments and ensures regulations within my portfolio remain effective and responsive to the needs of industry and the community.”— 2019-05-14View Hansard
Strongly opposed provisions weakening foreign landownership reporting, calling them 'mind boggling' and arguing the government should be increasing transparency, not reducing it.
“I concur with my colleagues and strongly oppose the provisions in this bill that weaken the reporting of foreign ownership of land.”— 2019-05-15View Hansard
As shadow minister, acknowledged many sensible reforms in the bill but announced the LNP would oppose three specific measures: removal of the foreign landownership report, allowing access to freehold land without consent, and increased ministerial powers over exploration permits.
“There are many sensible and constructive reforms within this bill, but there are also measures that go too far. The LNP finds it frustrating that Labor continues to lump good reform amongst actions of government overreach that we cannot support.”— 2019-05-14View Hansard
Acknowledged some good measures in the bill and said the LNP would not oppose it as a whole, but stated opposition to certain amendments particularly around foreign landownership reporting.
“I will not be opposing the bill as a whole. There are some amendments that I do not support and those have been outlined well by other opposition speakers.”— 2019-05-15View Hansard
Spoke in favour of the bill, particularly praising the creation of CleanCo as one of the most important developments in the renewable energy sector and defending the need to update legislation.
“I rise to speak in favour of the Natural Resources and Other Legislation Amendment Bill. Contrary to what we have heard, this is a great example of legislation that is open and accountable.”— 2019-05-14View Hansard
Spoke as shadow minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander partnerships, supporting Indigenous land access amendments but opposing clauses 213-215 removing financial provisioning scheme parliamentary oversight.
“There are some elements of the bill that we do not support. In particular, we oppose clauses 213, 214 and 215 of the bill.”— 2019-05-15View Hansard
As deputy chair of the committee, criticised the size of the omnibus bill and inadequate consultation time, but supported the water compliance amendments and the Vegetation Management Act amendment.
“Many of the amendments were supported by submitters. However, insufficient time was given to properly scrutinise the enormous amount of information in this bill.”— 2019-05-14View Hansard
Raised concerns about the size of the omnibus bill and its impact on landowners, while noting the LNP would oppose specific clauses.
“This is certainly a lot to get through when you are trying to scrutinise this piece of legislation.”— 2019-05-15View Hansard
As committee member, provided a summary of the bill's amendments and commended it to the House, noting stakeholder consultation during development.
“I commend the bill to the House.”— 2019-05-14View Hansard
Heavily criticised the omnibus nature of the bill and opposed clauses removing the foreign landownership report, while supporting AgForce's call for transparency.
“The LNP supports AgForce in this request and calls on the government to scrap clauses 36 and 37.”— 2019-05-15View Hansard
As committee member, criticised the omnibus bill process and expressed concerns about foreign landownership reporting removal, but acknowledged many aspects make sense.
“There are many aspects of this bill that make sense and are needed. However, amalgamating a grab bag of issues into another massive omnibus bill does nothing to engender trust in the community.”— 2019-05-14View Hansard
Acknowledged some provisions the LNP supports but opposed clause 45 granting state power to enter freehold land and clauses 36-37 removing foreign landownership reporting.
“The LNP will oppose clause 45 that introduces a new section 431ZD to the act granting this power.”— 2019-05-15View Hansard
Supported the bill, particularly the CleanCo provisions for affordable energy and the amendments promoting gender parity on government boards.
“I am very happy to support this bill, particularly in this regard. I think everyone concerned is going to be very pleased with the outcomes they see from having increased female representation and greater diversity in decision-making.”— 2019-05-14View Hansard
Opposed the removal of the foreign landownership report and the state land access powers, criticising the government's lack of transparency.
“The LNP will always oppose moves to reduce transparency on foreign landownership in Queensland.”— 2019-05-15View Hansard
As committee member, expressed grave concerns about the bill's size and complexity and inadequate review time, while acknowledging the LNP would oppose three specific elements.
“My fellow LNP committee members and I are gravely concerned with the enormity and complexity of this bill, submitting a statement of reservation as part of the final report.”— 2019-05-14View Hansard
Acknowledged some positive components but strongly opposed the reduction in transparency around foreign landownership and had concerns about balanced gender representation provisions for water management.
“Along with the KAP, I must strongly oppose any reduction in transparency.”— 2019-05-15View Hansard
Focused on Land Act provisions affecting his electorate, acknowledged three specific concerns with the bill, but commended the minister for pausing a land sale in Peachester.
“I want to confine my comments to those elements of the bill that pertain to the Land Act.”— 2019-05-14View Hansard
Criticised the rushed process for such a large omnibus bill amending 32 acts, supporting some elements but strongly opposing provisions on foreign landownership reporting and land access.
“There are elements of this bill that we would like to support, and I make that very, very clear. However, there are other elements in this bill that are offensive.”— 2019-05-15View Hansard
Supported the bill, focusing on water management provisions and exploration permits, emphasising the importance of protecting water resources for all users.
“The critical elements in this bill are around water. We need to make sure that we protect the multitude of users who access water. That is what this bill will do.”— 2019-05-14View Hansard
Replied in support of the bill as Minister for Natural Resources, defending CleanCo's establishment, the removal of the state foreign landownership register as reducing duplication, and the power of entry onto freehold land as necessary for state land management.
“I am reducing red tape, reducing unnecessary duplication and making sure that we have the one register for the public so it is a simple metric for the public to review.”— 2019-05-15View Hansard
Criticised the bill's process and inadequate consultation time, echoing stakeholder concerns about the complexity of the omnibus bill.
“This is a massive bill with massive ramifications across many pieces of legislation.”— 2019-05-14View Hansard
Supported the bill, particularly the water compliance provisions and resource authority amendments that support exploration and development in the Bowen Basin region.
“It is important that the water supply that we have is never taken for granted, is allocated wisely and efficiently, and is protected from waste and contamination.”— 2019-05-14View Hansard
Acknowledged some areas of the bill are supported by the LNP while others are not, specifically opposing the foreign landownership report removal and freehold land access provisions.
“Some areas of the bill are supported by the LNP; others are not.”— 2019-05-14View Hansard
Spoke in support of the bill, noting the sensible amendments across 29 acts and defending the foreign ownership data provisions.
“I rise today to speak in support of the Queensland government's Natural Resources and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2019.”— 2019-05-14View Hansard
Criticised the omnibus bill approach and expressed grave concerns about removing the foreign landownership report while acknowledging some parts he could support.
“As a result, there are parts of the bill I can support and there are parts of the bill about which I have grave concerns.”— 2019-05-14View Hansard
Defended the use of omnibus bills by noting the previous LNP government passed many similar bills, and supported the bill's provisions.
“I posed the question: how many such bills were passed by the parliament during the tenure of the Newman government? It seems that more than 70 of these bills were put through the parliament.”— 2019-05-14View Hansard
Expressed concern about lack of transparency and the bill's complexity while acknowledging the LNP would support most recommendations but oppose three specific amendments.
“While we will be supporting most of the recommendations made by this bill, we will be opposing three separate amendments which I will refer to shortly.”— 2019-05-14View Hansard
Criticised the government's consultation process and announced opposition to three specific amendments while implicitly supporting the remainder of the bill.
“The opposition will be opposing three separate amendments in this bill that weaken the reporting of foreign ownership of agricultural land, allow unauthorised persons to enter freehold land and increase ministerial powers.”— 2019-05-14View Hansard
Supported the bill, particularly the CleanCo provisions for cleaner power supply and the gender parity amendments for government boards.
“I rise today to speak in support of the Natural Resources and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2019.”— 2019-05-14View Hansard
Opposed the scrapping of foreign landownership report and access to private land provisions, but focused criticism on the removal of elections for category 2 water boards.
“The removal of elections is a disgraceful attack on locals when it comes to the Roadvale Water Board.”— 2019-05-14View Hansard
Raised concerns about delegation of ministerial powers, removal of foreign landownership reporting, and the wisdom of creating CleanCo alongside existing energy generators.
“I caution the government on the sensibility of forming another costly government owned corporation, namely CleanCo, when CS Energy and Stanwell currently exist within the electricity generation space.”— 2019-05-14View Hansard
Criticised the omnibus bill process and announced LNP opposition to three specific parts while echoing frustrations about inadequate consultation time.
“The LNP will be opposing three particular parts of the bill.”— 2019-05-14View Hansard
Criticised the committee process for only recommending the bill pass despite stakeholder concerns, and questioned the government's transparency on foreign landownership.
“As the shadow minister has said, the LNP agrees with the majority of this bill but there are some provisions that we have an issue with.”— 2019-05-14View Hansard
Strongly criticised the removal of the foreign landownership report as lazy and arrogant, while implicitly supporting other aspects of the bill.
“What a lazy Labor government we have. They could not even be bothered putting together a five-page report once a year about the foreign ownership of land in Queensland and tabling it in this House.”— 2019-05-14View Hansard
▸2 clause votes (all passed)
Vote on clause 45
Vote on whether to retain clause 45, which grants state officers power to enter freehold land to access adjacent state land for management purposes. LNP and KAP opposed this as eroding landholder rights. Government prevailed 47-41.
The clause was kept in the bill.
A vote on whether a specific clause should remain in the bill as written.
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Ayes (47)
Noes (41)
That clauses 36 and 37, as read, stand part of the bill
Vote on whether to retain clauses 36-37 which remove the requirement for Queensland to publish its own foreign landownership report, with the government arguing this duplicated the Commonwealth register. LNP, KAP and crossbenchers opposed this as reducing transparency. Government prevailed 46-42.
The motion passed.
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Ayes (46)
Noes (42)
Plain English Summary
Overview
This bill makes sweeping changes across Queensland's natural resources, land, water and energy laws. It streamlines exploration permit processes with 15-year caps and more flexible work programs, creates a new dispute resolution system for state land subleases, strengthens water compliance enforcement, and establishes CleanCo as a government clean energy company to boost electricity market competition.
Who it affects
Resource explorers gain clearer timeframes and more flexibility in exploration activities. Water users face stronger penalties for exceeding entitlements. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities benefit from simpler land grant processes. Electricity consumers may see benefits from increased competition in the wholesale market.
Resource exploration reform
Exploration permits are now capped at 15 years total life, with streamlined relinquishment requirements and new outcomes-based work programs that give explorers more flexibility to respond to results.
- Exploration permit life capped at 15 years with possible 3-year extension for exceptional events
- Relinquishment reduced to 50% at years 5 and 10 instead of annual requirements
- New outcomes-based work programs allow flexibility without needing approval to change activities
- Amalgamation of petroleum leases and potential commercial areas now permitted
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander land
Simplifies land grant processes by replacing regulation-making with ministerial declarations, and provides a pathway for transmitting leases when the lessee dies without a will.
- Ministerial declarations replace regulation-making for land grants
- Leases can now vest in entitled successors when lessee dies intestate
- Statutory review period for Land Holding Act extended from 5 to 10 years
Land dispute resolution
Creates a new framework for resolving disputes between lessees and sublessees on state land through mediation or arbitration.
- New mediation and arbitration process for sublease disputes
- Queensland Law Society and Resolution Institute can nominate mediators/arbitrators
- Related disputes can be resolved together to reduce costs
Water compliance and governance
Strengthens enforcement for water theft and modernises water authority board appointments to achieve gender balance.
- New offence for taking water in excess of licence volume or rate
- Increased penalties for non-compliance with compliance notices (1.5x multiplier)
- Joint liability for water users sharing a meter
- Water authority boards must seek gender-balanced director candidates
CleanCo establishment
Supports the establishment of CleanCo as a government-owned clean energy corporation to increase competition in the electricity market.
- CleanCo exempted from Right to Information Act except for community service obligations
- Can be designated as a State electricity entity subject to government directions
- Employee entitlements protected for staff transferring from CS Energy or Stanwell
Surveyors Board reform
Adds mining surveyor expertise to the Board and clarifies who can conduct cadastral surveys.
- New Board position for mining surveyor expertise
- Clearer offences for conducting cadastral surveys without registration
- Board can appoint investigators with non-surveying expertise for business conduct matters