In 2014, when introducing the Regional Planning Interests Act (RPIA), the LNP Government said that it would ‘address the power imbalance between farmers and resource proponents’ and prioritise ‘agricultural activity on what is a finite and critical resource for Queensland’[1]. However, new analysis shows that mining continues to pose an enormous threat to areas identified as Regional Planning Interest zones under the RPIA. Since the Act came into force in 2014, a total of 42 resource projects have been approved under the Act, 3 under the former LNP Government and 39 under the current Labor Government. Continue reading

  Not a single mining or gas project slated for Queensland’s best agricultural land has been refused since planning legislation was changed five years ago, according to new analysis.   Continue reading