Excerpt from the article by AIMN. Queensland Premier Campbell Newman has asked the people of Queensland to judge his government on its performance. So let’s judge it on its approach to managing our most precious resource – water. Tom Crothers reports. Since coming to office in March 2012 the Newman Government has removed the moratorium on water development on Cape York Peninsular before the Water Resource Plan had been developed. This allows landholders on the Cape to secure large quantities of water entitlement for minimal cost while the water plan is still being prepared. Natural Resources and Mines Minister Andrew Cripps led the charge to repeal the Wild Rivers Act; legislation that protected the water quality of streams/rivers and prevented inappropriate development on adjoining floodplains in undeveloped river systems. Minister Cripps also amended the Water Act to progressively dismantle Queensland’s water planning and allocation framework – recognised as one of the best frameworks in Australia. Cripps also amended the Mineral Resources Act, allowing miners unlimited interference and access to associated groundwater in their mining operations. This will potentially result in a decline or loss of water supplies for existing landholders and rural communities. The government also removed the rights of the general public, local authorities and interest groups to object and appeal to the granting of an environmental authority (without an EA [environmental authority] the miners cannot commence water extraction) and the granting of a mining lease. Minister Cripps’ department went on to amend the Cooper Creek Resource Operations Plan to allow the trading of large “sleeper” water licences without following the due processes of the Water Act 2000. At Deputy Premier Seeney’s direction, Minister Cripps passed retrospective legislation to allow a sand and gravel operation in the Brisbane River (at Harlin) to continue excavations, thus ceasing a DNR&M compliance investigation for unauthorised removal of sand and gravel resource. READ MORE = theaimn/judging-campbell-newmans-performance/
Posted on: Tue, 27 Jan 2015 07:16:12 +0000
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