Gasfields Commission and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2017

Introduced: 10/5/2017By: Hon Dr A Lynham MPStatus: PASSED

Environment Business & Economy Regional Queensland

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Plain English Summary

This is an omnibus bill covering multiple policy areas.

Overview

This bill restructures the GasFields Commission Queensland to clearly separate its strategic board from its day-to-day management, and to allow a part-time chairperson. It also makes it easier for biodiscovery businesses to on-license the use of native biological material, and fixes a technical gap in how port planning overlays apply to development.

Who it affects

Landholders and communities near coal seam gas operations, the onshore gas industry, and biodiscovery researchers and companies that use Queensland native biological material.

GasFields Commission restructure

Implements recommendations from an independent review by a retired Land Court member. Splits the commission's strategic and operational roles, and changes how commissioners are selected.

Chairperson can now be part-time instead of only full-time
'General manager' role is abolished and replaced with a 'chief executive officer' who runs day-to-day operations
Commissioners are now required to have knowledge of or experience with landholders, affected communities and the gas industry, rather than 'representing' those sectors
Quorum for board meetings reduced from chairperson plus three part-time commissioners to chairperson plus two other commissioners

Commission's role in disputes and health information

Narrows the commission's dispute-related functions and adds new health and wellbeing information functions for communities near onshore gas activities.

Removes the commission's function of convening landholders, communities and gas industry to resolve individual issues
Adds a new function to support the provision of health and wellbeing information to communities near onshore gas operations
Adds a new function to facilitate community engagement on assessing health and wellbeing concerns about onshore gas activities
Chief executive officer (not the chairperson) will now convene and chair the Gasfields Community Leaders Council

Biodiscovery subsequent use agreements

Creates a new type of agreement that allows a biodiscovery business with a benefit sharing agreement with the State to on-license the use of native biological material to other researchers and businesses down a commercial chain.

Primary users can enter subsequent use agreements with other biodiscovery entities, and those subsequent users can enter further agreements down the chain
Each subsequent use agreement must include 'prescribed minimum terms' set in the head agreement with the State
A new offence carries a maximum penalty of 100 penalty units for contravening a prescribed minimum term
Subsequent use agreements are exempt from the Right to Information Act to protect commercial information

Port overlay clarification

Clarifies that Sustainable Ports Development Act port overlays apply to development assessed under local government planning schemes or land use plans, supporting Reef 2050 priority port master planning.

Development in priority development areas and state development areas that is regulated under a local planning scheme or land use plan must consider the port overlay
Confirms port overlays cannot override development schemes for priority development areas or state development areas

How this affects you

Environment

•The commission that oversees coexistence between coal seam gas companies and communities is restructured to focus on bigger-picture issues rather than individual disputesClauses 19-20Section 7(g) is omitted to allow the commission to focus on facilitating better relationships between gas companies and landholders at a strategic level, rather than through involvement in individual disputes.
•A clearer port overlay rule helps implement Reef 2050 plan commitments for development near priority Queensland portsClause 42Ensures port overlay provisions which implement a priority port master plan are applied consistently to development in priority port master planned areas.
•Researchers using Queensland native plants, animals or microbes for biodiscovery get a workable way to license material down a commercial chainClause 9 (new section 35A)The primary user may enter a subsequent use agreement with another biodiscovery entity allowing use of the native biological material for biodiscovery.

Business & Economy

•Biodiscovery companies can now on-license rights to use native biological material, making it easier to form commercial research chainsClauses 7-9This reform will expand the contractual arrangements available to allow other entities to enter into subsequent use agreements with a party to a benefit sharing agreement.
•Downstream users of biodiscovery material face a new offence with penalties up to 100 penalty units if they breach the minimum terms set by the StateClause 13 (new section 55A)A subsequent user who is a party to a subsequent use agreement must not contravene a prescribed minimum term of the agreement. Maximum penalty - 100 penalty units.
•Commercially sensitive subsequent use agreements are kept out of Right to Information releasesClause 40Schedule 1 is amended to make a subsequent use agreement and records kept by a department about one exempt from the Right to Information Act.

Regional Queensland

•Rural landholders near coal seam gas operations lose the commission's formal role in convening parties to resolve individual disputesClause 19Section 7(g) is omitted to allow the commission to focus on facilitating better relationships between gas companies and landholders at a strategic level.
•Communities in gas-producing regions get new commission-supported information and engagement on health and wellbeing concerns from onshore gas activitiesClause 19 (new sections 7(ia) and 7(ib))New functions for facilitating the provision of information and community participation in health and well-being matters relating to onshore gas activities.
•Local voices on the Gasfields Community Leaders Council will now be convened by the commission's chief executive officer instead of the chairpersonClause 26Amends section 29 to make it a responsibility of the chief executive officer to convene and chair the Gasfields Community Leaders Council meetings.

Bill Journey

Introduced10 May 2017

First Reading

Committee

Committee Report13 July 2017

Committee report tabled

Second Reading

In Detail

Third Reading

Royal Assent13 Sept 2017

Referenced Entities

Legislation

Gasfields Commission Act 2013 Biodiscovery Act 2004 Right to Information Act 2009 Sustainable Ports Development Act 2015 Public Service Regulation 2008 Sustainable Planning Act 2009 Planning Act 2016 Transport Infrastructure Act 1994 Economic Development Act 2012 State Development and Public Works Organisation Act 1971 Regional Planning Interests Act 2014 Legislative Standards Act 1992 Public Service Act 2008

Organisations

Sectors Affected

Agriculture Conservation Public Administration Petroleum and Gas Maritime

Classified using AGIFT/ANZSIC Australian government standards