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Seeney maps planning priority



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24 May, 2013 04:00 AM

TROY ROWLING


LANDHOLDERS have applauded the State Government's prioritisation of agriculture over mining sector development across significant farming communities, as detailed in the draft statutory regional plans for the Darling Downs and the Central Highlands.


However, there are now calls for this prioritisation to be expanded to allow landholders a right to veto a resource sector project if it is proposed on identified 'priority agriculture land'.

The draft plans, to be released for public consultation at the end of next month, state that resource sector proponents must be able to prove their operations will not negatively impact farmland in areas deemed to be priority agricultural areas, before gaining government approval to proceed.

Under the scheme, resource companies must address coexistence criteria - which are still being formulated - in order to gain approval.

These regional plans also take into consideration impacts on the liveability of surrounding towns and transport and freight corridors, and will guide land use planning and development at a state and local government level for decades.

Deputy Premier Jeff Seeney said the co-existence criteria would be developed to address resource activity impacts on confirmed priority agricultural land uses not already addressed by existing legislation.

Initial criteria being proposed include the loss of land for priority agricultural land uses; ability to undertake priority agricultural land uses; location of infrastructure and overland flow.

"This planning process lays out that agriculture is a priority," Mr Seeney told Queensland Country Life.

"To obtain the other economic benefits from other sectors - if they are to be obtained - resource projects must be able to meet the coexistence criteria," he said.

"There is no doubt in my mind there will be some instances where coexistence will not be able to be achieved and the economic benefits the resource project might bring will have to be foregone as a consequence of protecting the agricultural land use. That is the tough decision that has to be made."

Save Our Darling Downs chairman and Cecil Plains landholder Stuart Armitage, who was also a member of the committees which formulated the plans, said while the 'bare bones' detail in the draft report needed further elaboration, it was clear the ongoing concerns of landholders had been acknowledged.

Mr Armitage said landholders should be given the right to veto a resource sector proposal if it was deemed to be on priority agricultural land.

"We've got to see a lot more detail before we can make a real assessment," he said.

"But we did like to see there was a statement that said a resource activity as well as the associated infrastructure must have agreement from the landholder when across a priority agricultural area.

"This criteria must be absolute and must be the first criteria on any priority agricultural land."

However, Mr Seeney said this veto power could not be achieved.

"Our whole system of land ownership and resource ownership in this state does not allow for an individual veto power, and that is an historical system," he said.

"Landholders don't own the resources under the ground, the state does, and we can't reverse that system.

"We can put landholders in a stronger position to protect land use and to decide what is a significant impact that might interfere with their land use."

While similar plans are set to roll out across the entire state, the plans were fast-tracked for the Darling Downs and the Central Highlands because of strong community opposition to Arrow Energy's coal seam gas proposal west of Toowoomba and Bandanna Energy's thermal coal proposal south of Emerald.
http://www.queenslandcountrylife.com.au/news/agriculture/general/news/seeney-maps-planning-priority/2658687.aspx?storypage=0