- Community feedback is sought on options to better protect the Queensland section of the Lake Eyre Basin, as well as recognising First Nations peoples' connection to the region and supporting future sustainable economic development.
- Public consultation will open on 2 June and close on 25 August
The Palaszczuk Government is calling for community feedback on options to protect the Queensland section of the Lake Eyre Basin.
The options will also recognise First Nations peoples' connection to the region and support sustainable economic development.
The consultation process will begin on 2 June and conclude on 25 August.
The options being considered include:
- more comprehensively identifying watercourses, floodplains and hydrological special features that contribute to the health of the basin,
- retaining the existing regulatory framework to manage current resource extraction, including ongoing expansion of existing extraction methods,
- adapting the existing regulatory framework to provide greater certainty for future resource activities, including new extraction methods,
- amending existing regimes to not allow certain future activities, particularly unconventional oil and gas extraction on the rivers, flood plains and main watercourses, and
- not allowing any future high impact activities, including new gas or oil development on the rivers, flood plains and main watercourses.
Expanding environmental protections through regulation will support sustainable economic activities across the region and reduce or eliminate major future threats to the Lake Eyre Basin.
This will ensure economic growth and prosperity in the long term.
Quotes attributable to Environment Minister, Leanne Linard:
"The Palaszczuk Government is committed to protecting the long-term health, ecology and cultural values of the rivers and floodplains of the Lake Eyre Basin within Queensland.
"The basin comes to life following rain, with waterbirds like pelicans and stilts arriving in their thousands to breed. The Lake Eyre Basin's wetland also supports species of threatened migratory shorebirds, like the Critically Endangered Curlew Sandpiper.
"Maintaining clean and uninterrupted flow of the waterways in the basin is critical to the survival of these birds.
"Through this public consultation, we are seeking the public's views on options to better protect the globally significant river systems in the basin, and achieve a balance between future economic prosperity for Queensland and ecological sustainability for the region.
"In collaboration with the Lake Eyre Basin Stakeholder Advisory Group, the Department of Environment and Science has examined existing policies and legislation, reviewed the available science and considered a range of possible approaches to develop future long-term plan for the basin.
"Feedback is now being sought from those who call the basin home, from those who have a connection to its land, and from the businesses and industries that operate there.
"During this process, we want to ensure all voices, particularly those of Traditional Owners representing present and future generations, are heard."
Quotes attributable to Resources Minister, Scott Stewart:
"It's important we continue to work with all stakeholders, including the resources industry, on the future of the Lake Eyre Basin.
"Any resources projects regardless of where they are must stack up environmentally, socially and financially.
"This consultation is important to ensure that happens.
"It will also help provide certainty to the industry moving forward."
Quotes attributable to Lake Eyre Basin Stakeholder Advisory Group Chair, Stephen Robertson:
"Lake Eyre Basin is of high ecological and cultural significance both nationally and globally and must be protected.
"It is the largest internal drainage system in Australia, and one of the biggest in the world.
"This unique basin also has one of the world's most variable flow regimes, and contains one of the last remaining unpolluted, largely free-flowing arid river systems on the planet.
"Along with the Queensland Government, we are committed to the ongoing preservation of the ecological and cultural values in the rivers, watercourses and floodplains of Lake Eyre Basin, and to supporting First Nations Peoples connection to the land, in ways that maximise economic and other opportunities.
"That's why the options aim to ensure that planning and regulatory frameworks will provide clarity and certainty for industry, community and the ecology and are strong enough to provide long-term protection for the river systems of the basin."
