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Landowners should be aware that as consumers of goods and services they have rights that are protected under the Australian Consumer Law (ACL). The ACL is the national law for fair trading and consumer protection. The ACL includes: a national unfair contract terms law covering standard form consumer and small business contracts; a national law…
Rehabilitation of land following CSG and mining activities remains a constant problem for landowners. Typical problems include the mixing of topsoils, inadequate erosion control measures and the introduction of weeds. Landowners have strong rights to ensure that rehabilitation is performed adequately. These rights exist despite any agreements that you have entered into with a resource…
Many landowners have negotiated easements with resource companies which authorise the construction, operation and maintenance of gas pipelines, particularly the major trunklines from the Surat Basin to the Gladstone LNG plant or trunklines from gas fields to compressor stations. A key feature in most easement agreements is an obligation on resource companies to comply with…
There are similar rehabilitation conditions imposed on resource companies under EA’s for coal seam gas developments which have been authorised by Conduct and Compensation Agreements (CCAs) entered into between landowners and resource companies. Most CCAs contain a contractual commitment from the resource company to comply with the conditions of the EA including to consult with…
The Department of Natural Resources and Mines (DNRM) CSG Compliance Unit has established CSG Net Groups which aim to assist landowners to effectively monitor water levels in their water bores. Registering for a CSG Net Group allows landowners to upload monitoring data online using a program which automatically generates monitoring graphs for that selected bore. This…
Even in circumstances where you have signed an agreement authorising the development of pipeline infrastructure on your land in exchange for the payment of compensation, there are ongoing rehabilitation obligations that must be met by resource companies. The standard of rehabilitation on your land will either comply with the EA conditions or not. If EA…
A recent decision in NSW highlighted the importance of undertaking a proper assessment of Aboriginal cultural heritage in order to obtain development approval for a project. In Darkinjung Local Aboriginal Council & Ors v Minister for Planning & Infrastructure Anor [2015] NSWLEC 1465 the NSW Land and Environment Court refused the extension of an existing…
Landowners across the region should be aware that the impacts of the groundwater extraction associated with coal seam gas (CSG) development may not be limited to the Walloon Coal Measures as originally predicted in the Underground Water Impact Report (UWIR) in 2012. The revised UWIR was released in draft in March 2016. The report concludes…
P&E Law lodged a recent submission on behalf of landowners in respect of the Palaszczuk government’s Mineral and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2016 introduced in February 2016. The Bill proposes to amend the Mineral and Energy Resources (Common Provisions) Act 2014 (the MERCP Act) which is currently scheduled to commence on 27 September 2016. On a…
The United Nations Declaration on the rights of Indigenous peoples includes in Article 19 a fairly narrowly focused requirement for States to obtain free, prior and informed consent before adopting measures that may affect Indigenous peoples. The concept of free (with no coercion, intimidation or manipulation), prior (with the consent to be sought long enough…
On 15 March 2016 the Environmental Protection (Chain of Responsibility) Amendment Bill 2016 (the Bill) was introduced into the Queensland Parliament. The purpose of the Bill is to amend the Environmental Protection Act 1994 (EP Act) to: facilitate enhanced environmental protection for sites operated by companies in financial difficulty; and avoid the State bearing the…
The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) is the Australian Government’s primary environmental legislation and is designed to protect Matters of National Environmental Significance (MNES). This legislation applies in addition to any state or local government environmental assessment processes and approval. Approval may be required by landholders under the EPBC Act to…
P&E Law welcomed the Senate Select Committee on Unconventional Gas Mining and made a submission setting out a number of our concerns including: Give landowners the right to refuse CSG mining on their land. Impose statutory obligations on CSG companies to disclose relevant information to landowners negotiating CCAs including: Noise modelling Dust modelling Development plans…
Recently the Commonwealth Government’s Clean Energy Regulator purchased over 45 million tonnes of carbon abatement measures at the second Emissions Reduction Fund auction held on 4 and 5 November 2015. The Fund was established through a variety of legal regulation under the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Act 2011 (Cth). With the advent of the Commonwealth…
In early 2016, a draft update to the Underground Water Impact Report (UWIR) for the Surat Cumulative Management Area (SCMA) will be released by the Office of Groundwater Impact Assessment (OGIA) for public consultation. We strongly recommend all landowners review the draft update UWIR to determine whether their bores will be affected by the continued…
In Endocoal Limited v Glencore Queensland Pty Ltd and Department of Environment and Heritage Protection [2014] QLC 54, the Land Court found that a coal mining company applying for a mining lease was required to enter into a make good agreement with a neighbouring coal mining operator. In this case, Endocoal Limited (Endocoal) applied for…
Over the past six months P&E Law has been engaged in a number of cases on behalf of landholders in dispute with resources companies primarily to have their land rehabilitated after the construction of coal seam gas infrastructure. Issues that consistently arise include weed invasion, subsidence, erosion, soil inversion and inappropriate seed mixes, all of which…
In Queensland, a developer, mining proponent or other infrastructure provider planning to undertake substantial development activities likely to cause ground disturbance will usually negotiate a Cultural Heritage Management Agreement or Plan with the relevant Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Party. But what can you do if this has not happened? What if you find mining,…
In June 2015, the Australian Government released its first ever White Paper on developing northern Australia. It states: a strong north means a strong nation. Included in it are 2, 5, 10 and 20 year implementation plans. The paper provides that the Commonwealth Government will address challenges to development by: Making it easier to use…
Recently P&E Law voiced its strong concern to the Queensland Government about plans to proceed with two of the previous government’s changes to landowner rights for mining and exploration. In 2014 the Newman LNP government passed laws including the Mineral and Energy Resources (Common Provisions) Act 2014 (the MERCP Act) significantly eroding landowner’s rights including: (a) …