Strong and Sustainable Resource Communities Bill 2016
Plain English Summary
Overview
This bill requires large mining and gas projects in Queensland to share the benefits with the regional towns near them. It bans future projects from staffing their entire operational workforce as fly-in fly-out (FIFO), makes it illegal to discriminate against local residents when hiring, and requires every project to do a social impact assessment. It also permanently bans underground coal gasification (UCG), a controversial gas-extraction method.
Who it affects
Residents of regional mining towns gain new job protections; mining and gas companies and their contractors face new hiring, recruitment-advertising and social impact rules; and UCG licence holders lose the ability to carry out gasification activities.
Jobs for regional communities
Large resource projects near a town of 200 or more people within 100 km cannot run a 100% FIFO operational workforce and cannot discriminate against locals during recruitment or sack a worker for moving into town.
- Future large mining and gas projects can't run 100% fly-in fly-out operational workforces where a regional town of 200+ people sits within 100 km
- Job ads that lock out local residents become an offence, with a maximum penalty of 400 penalty units (multiplied by five for companies)
- Project owners and principal contractors can be jointly sued for discriminating against local job applicants in the Anti-Discrimination Commission
- Workers can't be sacked for moving out of a FIFO camp into a nearby town and driving to work
Social impact assessments
Every large resource project must prepare a social impact assessment as part of its environmental impact statement, covering community engagement, workforce, housing, local procurement and community wellbeing. The Coordinator-General can set enforceable social conditions on the project.
- Mandatory social impact assessment for every large resource project's EIS
- Local councils must be consulted when the SIA is prepared
- Coordinator-General gets new powers to set enforceable social conditions on projects approved under the Environmental Protection Act 1994
- Land Court and Planning and Environment Court can't review these social conditions
Ban on underground coal gasification
The Mineral Resources Act 1989 is amended to prohibit all UCG and in situ oil shale gasification activities in Queensland. Existing licence holders can only carry out rehabilitation, and the Minister can waive rent and reporting obligations for rehabilitation-only licences.
- Permanent ban on underground coal gasification (mineral (f) activity) in Queensland
- No new UCG mining leases or licences can be granted
- Existing licence holders can still do environmental rehabilitation, monitoring and decommissioning
- The Minister can waive rent and other obligations for rehabilitation-only licences
Bill Journey
▸Committee8 Nov 2016View Hansard
Referred to Infrastructure, Planning and Natural Resources Committee
The Infrastructure, Planning and Natural Resources Committee recommended the bill be passed and made seven recommendations, several of which proposed expanding the bill's scope to cover all resource projects regardless of size or commencement date. The committee held extensive public hearings across regional Queensland including Emerald, Middlemount, Moranbah, Mackay, Rockhampton, and Mount Isa. The government supported or partially supported most recommendations, agreeing to expand the 100 per cent fly-in fly-out prohibition to existing large resource projects.
Key findings (5)
- The bill addressed the committee's earlier bipartisan recommendations from its inquiry into fly-in fly-out and long distance commuting work practices in regional Queensland
- The committee recommended expanding the definition of 'nearby regional community' to remove the 100km radius and leave it to the Coordinator-General's discretion, though the government instead amended the radius to 125km
- The committee recommended extending the 100 per cent FIFO prohibition and anti-discrimination provisions to all resource projects regardless of size or commencement date, which the government partially supported for large projects only
- Regional communities, local governments, and unions strongly supported the bill, while the resources industry raised concerns about regulatory burden
- The committee accepted the reverse onus of proof provisions as necessary to address 'postcode discrimination' against local residents in resource project recruitment
Recommendations (7)
- The committee recommends the Strong and Sustainable Resource Communities Bill 2016 be passed.
- The committee recommends the definition of 'nearby regional community' be amended to omit the 100km radius and leave to the discretion of the Coordinator-General with input from local government, unions, and other stakeholders.
- The committee recommends the definition of 'nearby regional community' be amended to make it clear that the Coordinator-General may decide that a town with a population of 200 people or less is a 'nearby regional community'.
- The committee recommends the scope of the bill be amended to cover all resource projects in the vicinity of a nearby regional community, regardless of the size of the resource project or the date of its commencement.
- The committee recommends that the prohibition on 100 per cent fly-in fly-out workers be amended, with appropriate transitional provisions, to extend to all resource projects regardless of size and to all current and future projects.
- The committee recommends that clauses 8 and 19 be amended to apply anti-discrimination provisions to all resource projects that have a nearby regional community, regardless of size or date of commencement.
- The committee recommends that clause 9(4) be amended to require the Coordinator-General to make a guideline stating the details that must be included in a social impact assessment.
Committee report tabled
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