8 November Recent developments in Queensland, Western Australia and Victoria November 8, 2024 By ER Law Admin Energy, Environment, General, Resources and Energy 0 Legislative amendments and new codes and guidelines have been introduced in states across the country. The focus is on developing renewable energy production and supporting existing energy infrastructure. In this article, we outline some recent developments in Queensland, Western Australia and Victoria. Legislative amendments and new codes and guidelines have been introduced in states across the country. The focus is on developing renewable energy production and supporting existing energy infrastructure. In this article, we outline some recent developments in Queensland, Western Australia and Victoria. Queensland Changes to State Code 23: Wind farm development came into effect on 30 September 2024, following a review and consultation period. The code will be used to assess wind farm development applications moving forward and applies to the design, construction, operation and decommissioning of wind farms. The key changes are focused on strengthening environmental protections and providing proponents with more clarification of their expectations. This includes requiring areas cleared for wind farm construction to be progressively rehabilitated without impeding safe and efficient operations, the introduction of performance outcomes to assess the management of water quality, erosion control and natural hazards, and new requirements focused on maintaining transport networks and ensuring safe haulage. Alongside the updated code, planning guidelines were also published that assist applicants to prepare their development applications for new wind farms or request a change to existing approvals. The guidelines include detail on the methodologies to be used for technical assessments, including ecological assessment reports, noise impact assessments and shadow flicker assessments. Western Australia Amendments have been made to the Mining Act 1978 (WA) regarding exploration licences and security of tenure for future tenement applicants. These amendments are in response to two cases - Blue Ribbon Mines v Roy Hill Infrastructure and Forrest and Forrest v Wilson. In the Blue Ribbon Mines case, the Supreme Court of Western Australia held that the Minister did not have the ability under the legislation to excise areas from an application for an exploration licence. The legislative amendments clarify that the Minister can exclude certain areas of land in granting an application. In the Forrest case, the High Court held that a failure to strictly comply with the Mining Act 1978 could invalidate an application. In that case, mineralisation reports were submitted after applications were filed, and the High Court’s decision invalidated those applications. The amendments apply only to new applications, raising concerns for existing tenement holders. The Western Australian Government also announced updates to its domestic gas policy in September 2024. These changes allow onshore gas producers to export up to 20% of their production until 2030. The remaining production must be reserved for domestic use. There has been no change to the policy regarding offshore gas production. An annual WA Domestic Gas Statement will also be provided to market participants. This will include information on compliance with the reservation requirements and the amount of gas expected for the domestic market. The aim of the statement is to address concerns about market transparency, with the process to be reviewed again in 2026. Victoria The 2024 Victorian Transmission Plan Guidelines were released on 30 September 2024. They are an important step towards the 2025 Victorian Transmission Plan, which will provide the strategic vision for the state’s energy system. The objective of the Victorian Transmission Plan is to ensure the right amount of energy infrastructure is in the right place at the right time and provide a coordinated and consistent approach for energy infrastructure in Victoria. The Guidelines outline the areas that have the potential to host Renewable Energy Zones because of their opportunity for renewable energy development and low constraints. This is an important part of Victorian policy, where it is envisaged that Renewable Energy Zones will be a concentrated region to develop renewable energy. The Victorian Transmission Plan will outline how much energy each Zone should generate, how much wind or solar energy can be produced and what the storage capacity should be. Once the Plan is released, the Minister will need to make a formal order regarding the Renewable Energy Zones. It is important to note that any proposed project will still need to meet relevant planning and environmental approval processes. The Victorian Transmission Plan will also assess what additional or upgraded transmission infrastructure is required to support the generation capacity and propose a sequence of transmission network improvements to deliver that generation capacity. The Guidelines also state that the VicGrid must use scenarios to determine the amount of renewable energy required to support the energy transition. Three scenarios are proposed that reference existing policies, energy demand and the closure of existing power stations. Related Articles COMMUNITY LEGAL RIGHTS IN MINE CLOSURE PLANNING; A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THREE AUSTRALIAN STATES Professor Alex Gardner, University of Western Australia Law School, and Laura Hamblin, formerly research associate at the UWA Law School, 2021 Why does the Mining Act 1978 (WA) not provide secure legal rights for community consultation in relation to mining lease proposals and mine closure plans? Addressing this question presents an important theme for this comparative review of some core features of the regulatory frameworks for mine closure in three Australian States. It also raises important questions for future legal research. Western Australia, Queensland and Victoria have prominent but vastly different, and thus uniquely significant, mining industries. Western Australia’s mining industry has a long history of large and smaller scale mining of a diverse range of minerals by various methods that pose significant mine rehabilitation challenges.[i] Queensland’s mining industry is similarly large and diverse, dominated by export coal production, and planning future minerals development in a decarbonising world.[ii] Victoria has a smaller mining industry with a large historical legacy dominated by a coal mining industry for domestic electricity generation in the Latrobe Valley, which is closing as the State actively transitions to renewable power sources.[iii] These States also have significant differences in the regulation of their mining industries. What all three States do have in common is the significance of their mining industries to both the State economy and the communities who depend on or live near mining operations. Importantly, all three States are confronting large legal and regulatory challenges in managing mine rehabilitation and closure. The key to addressing these challenges is effective mine closure planning: the closure of a mine site has ripple effects that are not merely environmental and economic, but social and cultural too. The initial approval of a mine closure plan occurs before any mining has begun and, with the life cycle of a mine often spanning decades, regulatory bodies are approving hypothetical closure scenarios, potentially subject to vast changes. Regulatory bodies may then seek to enforce closure requirements enshrined in a plan that may wane in relevance as mining operations progress, the updating of which may depend on the miner. Yet remedying the regulatory system so that it creates adaptable but consistently effective mine closure outcomes for affected communities still begins at planning. Although that planning is an iterative process across the life of the mine, it is very important at the initial stage of approval. Recent legislative reforms in all three States are adding to the regulatory rigour and adaptability of mine closure planning, though there are very different legal requirements for community consultation. This article aims to explain and assess the regulatory reforms by undertaking a comparative analysis of mine closure planning across Western Australia, Queensland and Victoria, with a focus on the initial approval stage and how stakeholders and communities are brought into that process. The facilitation of continuous and comprehensive community engagement is critical to ensuring that mine closure planning accounts for environmental, economic, social, cultural and safety outcomes after mine closure, but it has not been possible to consider here the process of ongoing mine closure planning, especially for amending mine closure plans and determining satisfaction of mine closure plans leading to resource tenure relinquishment.[iv] The article begins by considering core concepts of mine closure planning and the regulatory goals that inform it. It then provides a comparative overview of each State’s mine closure planning requirements under the mineral resources, environmental and land use planning laws and draws out some of the different regulatory structures and processes for mine closure within each State. The third step in our analysis compares the ways in which those laws provide for local communities’ participation in mine closure planning, with specific attention to whether the regulatory provisions create legally enforceable rights for effective community engagement. The article concludes with a summary of the key points from the discussion of three themes in our analysis: (i) the importance of clear definitions of core concepts and key goals, (ii) mine closure planning as an essential part of a mining proposal, and (iii) the legal definition of community engagement and consultation rights. Mine closure planning and implementation is necessarily influenced by many other spheres of law including taxation law, investment law, water law, and the rights of traditional owners, to name a few. A potentially directly relevant Commonwealth law is the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth), which may require environmental impact assessment of a mining proposal and closure plan and lead to approval conditions supplementing State requirements.[v] Whilst acknowledging the importance of these adjacent spheres of the regulatory frameworks for effective mine closure planning, this article does not attempt to address their impact. In particular, the rights of Traditional Custodians are a crucial part of mine closure planning that are only briefly noted here and that would benefit from future research. WA Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety, Major Commodities Review 2022-23”. Qld Government, Department of Resources, Queensland Resources Industry Development Plan, June 022. Vic Government, Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions, Latrobe Valley Regional Rehabilitation Strategy. See L Hamblin, A Gardner, Y Haigh, Mapping the Regulatory Framework of Mine Closure, May 2022, CRC TiME, for a broader exploration of the full life cycle of mine closure regulation. In Buzzacott v Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities [2013] FCAFC 111; (2013) 214 FCR 301, [144], [227]-[230], referring to the range of approval conditions, which included mine closure. In setting conditions under the EPBC Act, the Commonwealth Minister must consider any relevant conditions under State or Territory law: at [80] citing Lansen v Minister for Environment and Heritage (2008) 174 FCR 14. Victorian and Western Australian State Budgets In recent weeks we’ve seen both the Victorian and Western Australian Governments deliver budgets for their State. Both have included significant investments in the energy and resources sector. In Victoria, the budget has signalled the importance of the mineral industry to regional development. Victorian mines directly contribute $510 million into the state economy in 2020-21. ARELJ Recent Development- Transitioning Section 18 Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972 Consents Under the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act 2021 of Western Australia Recent Development: Critical Minerals: Developments Globally and in Australia John Southalan Barrister (WA Bar Association), Mediator (NMAS), Adjunct Professor (UWA & Murdoch) john@southalan.net This note is written in a personal capacity and does not represent the views of any organisation with which the author is associated. This note examines the legal and policy attention being focused on “critical minerals”, and implications for mineral regulation in Australia and particularly Western Australia. The note was written for a 21 February 2024 seminar held by ER Law at the Perth office of Norton Rose Fulbright. The last year has seen great focus on “critical minerals”. There is broad consensus that, to meet the 2050 energy transition for the Paris Agreement, much more critical minerals are required (and that means mined, given that recycling supply cannot meet expected demand [i]). Many governments have adopted incentives to encourage and support the mining and processing of these minerals. And, just in the last few months, significant price volatility has seen some critical mineral operations in Western Australia close, and increasing consideration of government incentives. Legislative updates in Queensland and Western Australia The Governments in Queensland and Western Australia have recently released several consultation papers, reports and proposed legislation that impact the resources sector. Recent environmental cases in Australia Two recent cases involving environmental actions provide some guidance on how the law and Ministerial decision making can apply. Recently two judicial review proceedings were dismissed by the Federal Court. The case was brought by Environmental Justice Australia and has been called the Living Wonders case. The case sought to challenge the Federal Environment Minister’s failure to adequately consider climate change risk when assessing two coal mine expansions under s78 of the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. Showing 0 Comment Comments are closed.