Fast tracking Significant Projects
The Qld Government has started the fast
tracking of significant projects and has granted significant project status to the
Yarwun coal export terminal in Gladstone. This
is a new paradigm with a Co-ordinator General with the unprecedented ability to
fast track development.
The
Qld Coordinator-General has also given the green light to Rio Tinto’s $1.45
billion South of the Embley
bauxite mining extension on Cape York, but the project still needs Federal Government
approval.
Environmental
groups such as the Wilderness Society say that the Qld Government's approval of
a bauxite mine expansion on Cape York is at-odds with the World Heritage process. Environmental activists have slammed the change,
saying it reduces the amount of time given to considering environmental impact
or community input.
The project is
still subject to Federal Government approval. Federal Environment Minister Tony Burke says
he is concerned about the impact of extra shipping on the Great Barrier Reef
& wants to make sure there is a proper environmental assessment.
The Qld
Government has called on Mr Burke to detail how long he intended to delay the
process and make a decision.
The following consultations provide an
opportunity for the public to comment or make a submission on significant
project proponents' environmental impact statements (EIS) and other initiatives:
Red Tape
One may recall that late last year,
Federal Labor received the final report of Dr Allan Hawke’s review of the EPBC
Act. Amongst other things, this report
recommended divesting responsibilities to the State Governments, with the action (RHETORIC) of cutting red tape & increasing certainty for business.
Deputy Premier Jeff Seeney says the
cutting down the red tape will mean Qld can take full advantage of the
resources boom.
Divesting of Coal Fired Power
The Qld Government has withdrawn its financial
support for the Cloncurry Photo Voltaic Solar Farm to achieve savings for the
state’s taxpayers of about $5.6 million.
Large-scale solar farms are proven technology and the Qld State
Government believes it is up to the private sector to decide whether to invest
in, build and operate such projects in Qld.
Should Premier
Newman sell Stanwell Corporation and CS Energy to the private sector, for the
same reasons that AGL has bought Loy Yang A in Victoria?
The purchase of
Loy Yang A will make AGL the equal largest generator of electricity in the
Australia. Up until recently, AGL have
pursued a strategy of developing the nation’s lowest carbon intensity in its
energy assets, this purchase nearly triples its intensity.
Loy Yang A will
act as a “cash cow” for the company, despite the introduction of a carbon price. AGL propose to use the substantial cash flows
to help fund its renewables investment, which it estimates at around $4-$5
billion to meet its share of the renewable energy target. It expects to meet
60-80% that capital cost itself. When one considers the transition from fossil
fuels to renewables – taking the cash from an older asset like Stanwell &
Tarong Power Stations & reinvesting it in renewable makes sense.
Government supports Surat Basin resource sector
growth
The Minister for Natural Resources &
Mines: Andrew Cripps has outlined the Qld Government’s plans to support
economic growth in the Surat Basin Energy Resources Province.
The Qld Government are looking to the significant
thermal coal and coal seam gas (CSG) resources in the Surat Basin to play a
critical role in reining in Queensland’s $2.8b budget deficit and reducing the
state’s unemployment to 4%.
Conversion of that CSG into liquefied
natural gas (LNG) to export from Gladstone is set to make Qld one of the
principal suppliers of LNG to the Asia-Pacific region. By 2018 Qld will be the
third largest LNG exporter in the world.
Mr Cripps believes the State Government’s
role is to strike a policy balance in regions like the Surat Basin that
supports growth in the coal & gas sector, protects the environment and
respects other land uses like agriculture.
The Minister emphasised however, that
rapid growth in the Surat Basin, particularly in CSG production, is not without
its challenges.
“There
is a need for CSG companies particularly to show a commitment to improving
their relationship with the agricultural sector and securing the trust of the
broader community,” he said.
The Qld Government’s newly established
Gasfields Land and Water Commission will play a key role in ensuring CSG
companies earn their social licence to operate by respecting landholders and
the environment.
Mr Cripps said the introduction of
Statutory Regional Plans, especially on the Darling Downs, should also ensure
that controversy is replaced by clear planning.
