Australian Property News

Councils choose to allow mining exploration

Posted on Wednesday, December 07 2011 at 1:45 PM

Eight regional councils have chosen to allow new applications for exploration permits, despite the Queensland Government’s announcement to put a stop to it, according to Queensland Employment, Skills and Mining Minister Stirling Hinchliffe.

In August the Queensland Government announced that no new applications for exploration permits would be accepted over urban centres with a population of 1000 or more, said Hinchliffe.

“We asked councils to base their decision on what was considered to be in the best interests of the community. They were asked to inform government whether they wished to opt in or out of those interim arrangements,” he said.

Consultation with communities and industry was undertaken about how to balance exploration and urban living on a long-term basis. A discussion paper, Exploration and Urban Living Striking the Balance, was released, and since this process, the following eight councils chose to opt out of the interim arrangements: Blackall-Tambo, Charters Towers, Cloncurry, Isaac (town of Clermont), Mount Isa, North Burnett (towns of Gayndah, Mundubbera, and Monto), Rockhampton (Mount Morgan) and the Tablelands (Herberton).