Qld boom threatened by farmers, miners standoff

A new report warns a standoff between farmers and miners over land use poses a major threat to Queensland’s resources boom.

The Brisbane daily newspaper The Courier-Mail quotes a Land Access Review Panel report that warns red tape is making it difficult to impossible for resource explorers to do business.

It also warns farmers, battling to protect prime agricultural land, are under siege from a wave of mining exploration.

The report says the impasse between the mining and farming sectors could bring mining exploration in the northern state to a halt. It identifies three key battlegrounds: parts of northwest Queensland around Mount Isa, the Surat Basin and central Queensland.

The report makes 12 recommendations to help resolve the impasse, including setting up an independent disputes panel.

It also says the government should review the scope of compensation for affected land holders, to possibly include impacts on farm business, time spent negotiating with mining companies, social amenity and the potential for loss of property value.

The conservative Liberal National state government’s Natural Resources and Mines Minister Andrew Cripps denied the report, commissioned by the previous Labor government and completed in February, had been buried.

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Editor's Note:  I think we would ALL like to see this report.