Media Release

 

Minister for State Development and Minister for Natural Resources and Mines
The Honourable Anthony Lynham

 

Budget delivers almost half-a-billion for natural resources and mines

 

The Palaszczuk Government will support drought-affected landholders and upgrade the satellite imagery of Queensland used across government as part of the 2016-17 $456.7 million natural resources and mines budget. 

Minister for Natural Resources and Mines Dr Anthony Lynham said today’s Queensland Budget

extended existing relief measures to support landholders in communities across the state.

“About 80 per cent of Queensland is currently drought-declared and landholders, local businesses and their communities continue to experience financial hardship,” he said. 

Dr Lynham said his Department of Natural Resources and Mines would deliver $4.2 million of the 2016-17 $41.9 million whole-of-government drought assistance package drought assistance by: 

• providing an 11.5 per cent rent rebate to all Category 11 tenures in drought-declared areas; returning an estimated total $3.2 million in rent collectively to more than 4530 eligible leaseholders 

• waiving the annual water licence fee for drought-declared properties in 2016-17; saving about 12,820 water licence holders a collective $1 million in fees 

• deferring all rural rent payments for more than 8000 Category 11 primary production and grazing leases (with no penalty interest accrued) in drought-declared areas until 30 June 2017 

• waiving the water licence application fee for new applications seeking licences to take water for stock and domestic purposes in drought-affected areas until 30 June 2017. 

Dr Lynham said $7.8 million over four years would be used to buy high-resolution satellite imagery coverage of Queensland in a joint initiative with the Department of Science, Information Technology and Innovation. 

“The department will buy high-resolution satellite imagery covering the entire state every year, instead of every three years,” he said. 

“This new coverage will see Queensland with one of the most comprehensive imagery datasets in the world. 

“For example, timely high-quality digital satellite imagery will assist in vegetation management monitoring and the early detection of land cover change; particularly in vulnerable Great Barrier Reef catchments where satellite imagery will be collected up to three times per year. 

“It will also assist other government agencies for purposes including monitoring Great Barrier Reef health, agriculture, emergency services, resource sector exploration, main roads and natural disaster recovery. 

“The high-resolution satellite imagery will also be made available on the Queensland Globe for the public and industry to use.” 

Other key initiatives in 2016-17 include: 

• $33.6 million over four years ($8.3 million in 2016-17) for abandoned mine land management; including ongoing remediation projects at historic mine sites on state land and mine shaft repair activities in Gympie, Charters Towers and other Queensland communities 

• $7.3 million over two years ($3.6 million in 2016-17) to fund a specialist coal seam gas compliance unit which investigates landholder concerns about CSG. 

[ENDS]           Tuesday 14 June, 2016 

Media contact:           Jan Martin     0439 341 314