- Assessment, development and delivery of the Taroom Trough to be streamlined following approval of key regulation amendments.
- The amendments empower the Coordinator-General to drive whole-of-government planning and stakeholder engagement.
- The Crisafulli Government is delivering a plan for Queensland's future and a better lifestyle through a stronger economy.
The Crisafulli Government has taken swift and decisive action to bolster the nation's long-term fuel security and unlock Australia's first new prospective oil field in 50 years, by ratifying the new Taroom Trough Development Plan through regulation.
The Development Plan establishes a whole-of-basin framework to streamline roads and trunk infrastructure and provide industry with the certainty and clarity needed for investment in the development, as well as opportunities for regional communities.
A new Works Regulation (State Development and Public Works Organisation (Taroom Trough Development Plan Works) Amendment Regulation 2026) was approved overnight, just over two weeks since the Crisafulli Government first announced its streamlining plan.
This key step activates the Coordinator-General's powers to drive whole-of-government planning and stakeholder engagement, and the Coordinator-General will be focussed on expediting development, maximising investment and creating jobs, to inform the Plan.
Next steps include further understanding the Taroom Trough's subsurface potential, planning of critical infrastructure to support a pathway to market, addressing tenure arrangements, establishing an approvals strategy and conducting essential baseline studies.
The Crisafulli Government is also continuing its calls for the Federal Government to get out of the way and recognise the Taroom Trough as a project of national interest and streamline EPBC approvals under the National Interest Fast-Track Assessment Pathway.
The National Interest Fast-Track Assessment Pathway will remove duplicated approvals already conducted at a State level, allowing oil to be produced without unnecessary delay.
Deputy Premier and Minister for State Development, Infrastructure and Planning Jarrod Bleijie said the Taroom Trough represented a generational opportunity for Queensland and the nation.
"The Taroom Trough is a credible opportunity for Queensland to drive its own destiny again and ensure we're no longer at the mercy of foreign nations and at the end of a global supply chain," Deputy Premier Bleijie said.
"We identified the Taroom Trough as a key opportunity for this state long before the national fuel crisis and after a decade of inaction by Labor, and we've taking swift action to unlock its benefits.
"Coordinated development in the Taroom Trough ensures the most efficient and fast-tracked pathway for its development to bolster the nation's long-term fuel security, and helps deliver regional investment and jobs for our rural and regional communities sooner."
Minister for Natural Resources and Mines Dale Last said the approval gave industry the official signal it had been waiting for.
"My message to industry is clear; I'll sign, you drill," Minister Last said.
"The Taroom Trough has the potential to open up Australia's first major oil province since the 1970s and we're moving forward with our plan to streamline approvals so producers can get on with it.
"Energy security is national security and we are already seeing 200 barrels of oil from the Taroom Trough make their way into the local refinery at Eromanga each day for local fuel supply.
"The Crisafulli Government is delivering on its word. We're doing our part, and now the Federal Government needs to put aside its political ideologies and recognise the national significance of the Taroom Trough by streamlining environmental approvals for the basin under a national interest exemption."
Coordinator-General Gerard Coggan said his office is prioritising the governance and delivery framework for the Plan without delay.
"Engagement with local governments and industry is a vital first step to ensure development is timely, considered and delivered in a way that maximises investment and job creation.
"In practice, a whole-of-government plan that supports efficient and fast-tracked development will deliver stronger outcomes for regional communities, reduced impacts through shared infrastructure and greater investment certainty for delivery of these nationally significant outcomes."
