17 October Recent regulatory updates across Australia October 17, 2023 By AMPLA Admin General, Resources and Energy 0 This article provides an overview of developments in the industry over the past couple of months that have occurred in several states across Australia. New South Wales The Hunter region has been declared an offshore wind zone expected to generate 5GW of wind energy. This is in addition to the region already having the Hunter Transmission Project to facilitate the transfer of electricity generated in renewable energy zones in the region. The Hunter Declared Area is approximately 1,854 km2 and will have a height restriction of 260m on turbines to ensure aviation safety. Proponents can submit feasibility licence applications for offshore wind projects in the region until 14 November. Submissions have also been requested regarding the proposed offshore renewable infrastructure in Illawarra, an area which extends from off the coast of Kiama to Wombarra. The area has been identified as suitable for offshore wind projects and is within the proposed Illawarra Renewable Energy Zone. The public consultation period is open until 16 October, after which the Minister will decide whether the proposed area is suitable for offshore wind development. Victoria The Victorian Government has passed the Mineral Resources (Sustainable Development) Amendment Bill that proposes to simplify how exploration, mining and extractive industries are regulated. The legislation introduces a duty-based approach that is similar to other environmental and occupational health and safety models. Work plans for exploration, mining and extractive industries will be more prescriptive but regulatory tools will largely be removed. The legislation also removes the work plan statutory endorsement process which should be more cost-effective and enable a quicker assessment and approvals process. The new scheme will come into effect from 1 July 2027 to provide time to put in place the appropriate regulatory systems and further consultations. Queensland The Queensland Government has been undertaking a review of the Wind Farm Code (State Code 23) which is used in planning assessment of wind farm applications. The review will consider several factors including how to better protect areas of high ecological and biodiversity value (including the Great Barrier Reef), assessing viable haulage routes, rehabilitation requirements and expectations, and the impact construction will have on local workforces and accommodation. The community consultation period has now closed and it is expected the government will respond in due time. The Government also released its draft 2023 Queensland Renewable Energy Zone Roadmap for public consultation. This is designed to coordinate the development of clean energy infrastructure in the State in areas with high potential while maximising benefits for local communities. The roadmap indicates the intent to work with landholders, communities, industry and First Nations people across all stages of the development of Renewable Energy Zones. Submissions close on 22 September and the final roadmap is expected to be published before the end of the year. Western Australia The Western Australian government recently made the decision to repeal the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act 2021 just over a month after it became law. In its place is the original Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972 with some amendments. The proposed amendments are likely to include equal rights for review and requirements to report new information about an Aboriginal site. They are also expected to include a revised policy to guide proponents through the Section 18 Consent process where work or development is likely to impact Aboriginal cultural heritage. It is expected the proposed amendments’ introduction to parliament is imminent. The Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation has also announced that it will no longer consider applications from gas producers to export liquified natural gas. This means all future gas projects will be restricted to supply the domestic market in Western Australia. This is intended to safeguard and secure the State’s gas supply and support long-term economic and industrial development in the state. South Australia The South Australian Government has been consulting on its proposed Hydrogen and Renewable Energy Bill 2023. The proposed legislation aims to streamline regulatory processes for renewable energy and hydrogen production projects end to end. It intends to also reduce adverse impacts on the environment and to Aboriginal cultural heritage by facilitating greater engagement with the wider community. The Bill proposes a new licensing regime for hydrogen generation and renewable energy projects, seeks to regulate access and acquisition of land by licensees, creates a comprehensive environmental impact assessment regime and the establishment of a Hydrogen and Renewable Energy Fund to promote research into reducing the environmental damage and protecting cultural heritage. 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. POWERING CONSUMER PROTECTIONS: WHY DECENTRALISED AND DISTRIBUTED ENERGY RESOURCES WARRANT A NEW LENS ON CONSUMER PROTECTION REGULATIONS Recent years have seen distributed energy resources usher in a new era of self-generation and reduced reliance on traditional centralised energy networks. Australian customers are increasingly enabled to access unconventional “behind the meter” energy sources and contribute to a two-way flow of energy back to the grid. 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. Submission - DISER Consultation Paper December 2020 ‘Enhancing Australia’s decommissioning framework for offshore oil and gas activities’ Recent updates in New Zealand, Canada, Indonesia and Vietnam The industry’s legal landscape continues to evolve across the world. This article outlines some recent updates from New Zealand, Canada, Indonesia and Vietnam. 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. Showing 0 Comment Comments are closed.