Queensland bill would let minister override conservation laws
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- Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie unveiled the state development and public works organisation (critical minerals) and other legislation amendment bill 2026 on 2 June, pitching it as a way to keep Queensland 'front of the pack' in critical minerals investment and 'streamline' approvals.
- The bill would allow the government to bypass other laws—including the Nature Conservation Act—for projects deemed 'state strategic' and lower the bar for compulsory land acquisition, including for private commercial development, critics say.
- Matt and Caitlin Wood fear their 120ha regenerative farm on Springbrook mountain could be seized for a cableway first proposed in 1998, rejected by the state in 2000, then revived by the Gold Coast council two decades later.
- On Tuesday, Gold Coast councillors voted to stop funding studies into the cableway, though Matt Wood warned a private proponent remains interested and plans appear to be 'moving forward, regardless of what we say.'
- Darling Downs grower Liza Balmain said the bill could override the regional interests development approval (Rida)—the last regulatory hurdle protecting her Cecil Plains community's fertile farmland from Arrow Energy's Surat gas project, which has sought entry since 2010.
- More than 70 farmers and 275 regional Queenslanders have signed an open letter demanding the government withdraw the bill and restart with 'genuine community consultation.'
- Queensland Law Society president Peter Jolly called the bill 'a systematic removal of third-party appeal and objection rights' amounting to a 'functional denial of natural justice.'
Why it matters: The bill is sold as streamlining critical minerals approvals, but its Henry VIII clause empowers the development minister to override any law for any 'strategic' project—including private commercial developments like the Springbrook cableway or Arrow Energy's gas wells. With inquiry findings due Friday, affected landowners could lose merit-based appeals to the Planning and Environment Court.
