
The Association of Mining & Exploration Companies (AMEC) is pleased to see the Queensland Government has listened to the needs of explorers and miners in reducing the complexity and bureaucracy involved with the environmental impact statement process.
“The new simplified terms of reference focus on the critical matters and remove overly prescriptive and duplicate requirements. This will reduce the cost of preparing EIS statements and help increase investment in Queensland’s resources sector,” said Bernie Hogan, AMEC Regional Manager.
“Even though the paperwork involved has been reduced, environmental standards will not change which is certainly a win:win for industry and communities.
“Communities will also have greater say in how companies ‘give back’ through Local Area Infrastructure Plans. This gives companies confidence they are participating in community endorsed projects to improve the area they operate in.
“These changes should allow companies to focus on what really matters to their communities, rather than be tied into standardised systems that suited neither the community or the company.
“While this is a good start to reducing the red tape in duplication and cost of approvals, much more is needed to have a significant impact on the industry.
“These changes will now be road-tested by industry to assess the improvements in the EIS process,” said Bernie Hogan.