24 August 2026. John Baker, AgForce Central Queensland Regional President and Director.
Concerns about the potential impact of the state government's Critical Minerals Bill are the big topic in Central Queensland at the moment.
We're opposed to any watering down of existing protections and safeguards for landholders.
It's something AgForce focused on in its submission on the legislation.
The actual intent of the Bill is good in that it makes it easier for development. One example might be for a feed lot development. This Bill would simplify the process, but in terms of a mining company or other significant projects, we have major concerns about protections for landholders and adequate compensation for any disturbance or land acquisitions.
Should an area be declared a State Strategic Project, expanded ministerial powers for compulsory acquisition mean developers or mining companies could resume that land, even if you are unable to come to an agreement.
That's one part of it.
There is also limited ability for landholders to receive legal advice and valuation advice about potential projects and the impact on a property in the 10-day period after it's declared a State Strategic Project. There should not be such a short time limit on that ability and we also believe that legal advice and valuation advice should be paid by the developer rather than out of our pockets.
It's certainly not good for anyone in agriculture if you have something like this hanging over your head.
This is not something that primary producers are going to back down on.
Reforms to the Federal EPBC Act are also still a major topic of conversation and concern.
The release of the National EPA's Farmers Guide has not given producers the clarity we had hoped for in terms of the day-to-day business of land management.
It's something that needs further fine tuning to ensure landholders know what they can and can't do in order to comply with the legislation.
Another issue on the agenda for the CQ Region is difficulties with postal deliveries.
Changes to a database recording the address and location of each property are causing enormous frustration for many landholders. Often the locality address is not the same as your usual address and is linked to another township. That means mail ends up at the wrong post office which has no idea who or where you are and deliveries end up being returned to the sender.
The problem is that many government offices and businesses use that database and will not change the address when sending mail. This also has implications for licensing.
It's an issue we'll be discussing at the next CQ regional meeting.
