Stated purpose:
The main objective of the bill is to effectively repeal the amendments made by the North Stradbroke Island Protection and Sustainability and Another Act Amendment Act 2013 (Qld) in order to substantially phase out sand mining by 2019.
Native title implications:
The Quandamooka People are the traditional owners and native title holders of land and waters on and surrounding North Stradbroke Island. Access needs to be retained for some time by mine site operators to carry out rehabilitation of the area. This access could be to land which is subject to native title. If entry to the land interferes with native title interests, the holder of the authorisation to access could be liable for compensation to the native title holders. The explanatory notes state ‘if compensation must be paid to a freehold owner, then the native title holders will have equivalent rights to compensation.’
The Bill also provides that Aboriginal cultural heritage and environmental values need to be considered in determining the location of all new disturbance areas and mineral extraction areas. Amendments to the bills also prevent changes to the mine area where that change would significantly increase impacts on significant Aboriginal areas, Aboriginal objects, or evidence of Aboriginal occupation of an area.
For further information, see the Explanatory Notes and Explanatory Speech.
Relevant provisions:
s 19 Minister to decide application
(1) The Minister must, within 20 business days after receiving an application under section 18(1), decide to grant or refuse the application.
(2) The Minister may amend the restricted mine path map area to add an area of land only if—
(a) the land proposed to be added is not, or does not include, a threatened ecosystem; and
(b) the Minister is satisfied that, compared to any adverse impact of the restricted mine path map area before the addition of the land, the amended area is not likely to have a significantly greater adverse impact on—
(i) Aboriginal cultural heritage; or
(ii) a threatened ecosystem; and
(c) the addition of the land will not result in the total area of the restricted mine path for an Enterprise Mine lease, or the total area of the limit of disturbance, being increased in size; and
(d) the addition of the land is consistent with the conditions applying under environmental authority EPML00575913; and
(e) there is an ILUA that regulates future acts in relation to the land.
(3) In this section—
Aboriginal cultural heritage see the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act 2003, section 8.
future act see the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth), section 233.
ILUA means an indigenous land use agreement for which an application for registration, on the Register of Indigenous Land Use Agreements, has been made under the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth).
s 348 Liability for payment of compensation to native title holders
(1) This section applies if compensation is payable under the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth) to native title holders for the grant of an authorisation to enter land under section 344A(3).
(2) The person liable to pay the compensation is the holder of the environmental authority who is authorised under section 344A(3) to enter the land.
(3) In this section—
native title holders see the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth), section 224.