Queensland moves to bar distant activists from mining lease objections

Queensland’s Liberal National government is set to introduce a bill that restricts formal objections to mining leases to landowners or occupiers located within 125 kilometres of a proposed site, barring activists based farther away. Minister Dale Last said the reform is needed to avoid protracted delays like the 15-year uncertainty surrounding the New Acland Coal Mine expansion and to accelerate approvals, targeting timelines measured in years rather than months.

The proposal also removes environmental impact as a basis for objection, routing such concerns through the environmental authority system, which carries less weight than a Land Court challenge. Critics, including the Lock the Gate Alliance and Greens MP Michael Berkman, contend the law silences distant activist groups, many funded overseas, and could exclude First Nations people who do not own land. Premier David Crisafulli highlighted the reforms alongside efforts to attract AI data-centre investment and a Pentagon-backed expansion of the Mount Carbine tungsten mine. The bill will now enter public consultation and be examined by a parliamentary committee.