Competition for prime agricultural land
With 80 percent of the state now under exploration permits, there is a continuing need for AgForce members to be informed and involved at the interface between Queensland's two great primary industries of mining and agriculture.
There are many positives for regional communities when resource-rich deposits are discovered and developed, but AgForce seeks to maintain the balance, that with policy discussions and decisions that are in the best interests of agriculture and food production in the future.
AgForce policy on a mining moratorium
Current AgForce policy is that a moratorium be called for in particular locations were insufficient science exists to prove that CSG development will not have impacts on the environment.
Members can log in through the top right hand corner of this screen to view AgForce's submission to the Review of the Land Access Framework.
Mining strategy
In September 2008, AgForce outlined a strategy to reduce the conflict between mining and agriculture which required a whole-of-government response.
The first layer of that strategy included better access to government information for landholders about their rights and obligations and assistance in negotiations with resource companies.
To a large degree this has been achieved with mining liaison officer Gerry McKie and legal aid solicitor Glen Martin, as well as two deputy mining registrars working from a new mining office at Roma.
Introducing equity into the interaction between landholders and miners remains a work in progress. AgForce is prominently involved in the Queensland Government's Land Access Working Group which is developing some new standards about how various parties work together.
Click here to read the AgForce policy on mining on nature refuges.
Are you impacted?
Coal seam gas
Coal seam gas (CSG) activity has experienced extraordinary growth in recent years, bringing wealth and jobs to areas like the Surat Basin. The impact of this activity is largely unmeasured in Queensland and until recently, has been carried out mostly unchecked. The pace of this growth is making it hard for legislation to keep up and as a result, there is an imbalance between agriculture and mining.
AgForce Projects landholder CSG project
Are you looking for more information about the AgForce Projects landholder CSG project?
The AgForce Projects' CSG team has successfully provided vital CSG industry information and negotiation support to more than 4000 landholders across the state. The team deliver free negotiation support workshops in towns across the Surat, Bowen and Galilee Basins as well as property computer mapping workshops.
The team is also available to provide on-on-one support to landholders over the phone.
To find out more about the workshops, meet the team and get up to the minute information about CSG click here.
For frequently asked questions and useful links click here.
Log in to read the AgForce submission into the Management of Water Produced from Coal Seam Gas Production discussion paper and AgForce's latest mining submissions.
For more information contact AgForce senior policy advisor Dr Dale Miller on 3236 3100; email.
CSG online groundwater portal
After much lobbying from AgForce and other concerned groups, an interactive online portal was set up by the Queensland Government through the Department of Natural Resources and Mines (DNRM) and the Office of Groundwater Impact Assessment (OGIA) to provide the latest information on groundwater monitoring in the Surat and Bowen basins.
The portal maps the locations of private water bores and springs along with gas production sites and exploration wells. It also details historical water levels and salinity records (measured as conductivity) from the four major CSG explorers and producers in the Surat and Bowen basins - Santos, Origin Energy, Queensland Gas Company (QGC) and Arrow Energy.
This does not preclude the landholder from the common sense monitoring of their own water for both pressure, level and contaminants as it is very hard to prove an impact from a third party when you do not know what your base line was in the first place. AgForce has continued to lobby the government for further resource in this area.
The portal can be found here.
Water management fact sheets
The links below provide more information on the new Water Act 2000 provisions relating to the underground water management framework:
Arrangements to protect groundwater in coal seam gas areas
In May 2010, the Queensland Government introduced laws to protect landholder's groundwater supplies and the local environment if there are any impacts from CSG activities. The new laws will apply to current and future projects and require evaluation and strict management of impacts of water extraction from the CSG process on bores, aquifers and springs.
New 'trigger thresholds' will be used to investigate individual CSG operators' impacts on bore water supplies.
Trigger thresholds are:
If a bore owner believes CSG water extraction has caused a decline in their bore water levels in excess of the trigger value, the CSG producer will be obliged to negotiate with the bore owner, under the 'make good' provisions of the new regulations.
Where the water level impacts of CSG producers overlap, the government will establish a cumulative management area. Within a cumulative management area, OGIA are responsible for managing activities like groundwater impact monitoring, modelling and preparing cumulative impact reports.
Baseline Assessment Plans - Click here to read a fact sheet about how the Water Act 2000 ('the Water Act') creates an obligation for petroleum tenure holders to prepare a baseline assessment plan ('the plan') and submit this plan within a certain timeframe to the Chief Executive of the Department of Natural Resources and Mines (DNRM).
The requirement to undertake baseline assessments of private water bores is a key step in the process of managing underground water impacts resulting from activities conducted by petroleum tenure holders. This information sheet outlines who has to prepare the plan, and what this plan must contain according to the Water Act.
Please login as a Member at the top of the page to access AgForce's submissions on this policy area below.
Our website login feature is temporarily suspended while we are building a new member portal, so some information may not be available. If you experience any difficulties, please contact us for more information.
