Submission to Senate Inquiry – Queensland Government Dealings in Lake Eyre Basin. This submission is in response to the Terms of Reference for the Senate Inquiry into Certain Aspects of Queensland Government Administration which state:- (1) That a select committee, to be known as the Select Committee on Certain Aspects of Queensland Government Administration related to Commonwealth Government Affairs, be established to inquire into and report on: (a) the amount of Commonwealth funds allocated or paid to the State of Queensland since 26 March 2012, with particular reference to: (i) the purposes for which the funds were appropriated by the Parliament, (ii) performance measures in relation to Commonwealth funds paid to the State of Queensland, (iii) identified breaches of funding agreements or conditions, (iv) the proportion of the Queensland State budget derived from Commonwealth funds, and (v) whether any Commonwealth funds have been used by the State of Queensland for state government advertising or party political purposes, (b) the administration of the Queensland courts and judicial system insofar as it relates to cross vesting arrangements, with particular reference to judicial independence and separation of powers; (c) approval process for the development of projects for the export of resources or services insofar as they are administered by the Commonwealth or under a bilateral agreement with the Commonwealth; (d) the extent to which Queensland State Government policies and practices are consistent with Australia’s obligations under international environmental law instruments; (e) whether it is appropriate for the Federal Minister for the Environment to delegate his approval powers to the Queensland State Government under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 by way of approval bilateral agreements or strategic assessments; This submission will specifically focus on points (c), (d) and (e) of these Terms of Reference in respect to the Queensland Government’s dealings with water resources and environmental assets in the Queensland part of the Lake Eyre Basin and subsequent actions by the Queensland Government. While we have no evidence of corrupt behaviours by public 1 | Page servants or Ministers of the Queensland Government, we will certainly demonstrate the lack of due probity and integrity in the dealings of the Queensland Government with stakeholders in the Lake Eyre Basin. Introduction: The Western Rivers catchments in Queensland (the Georgina and Diamantina Rivers and the Cooper Creek) are part of the world’s largest internally draining river basin, the Lake Eyre Basin. The Basin accounts for one-sixth of Australia’s landmass, covers an area of more than one million square kilometres and spans parts of Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia and the Northern Territory. The Lake Eyre Basin is of international and national environmental significance, and includes areas of high economic, social and cultural heritage values. The natural environment and land management activities in the Basin are dependent on the continued health of the Western Rivers systems. The significance of the Basin as an international and national asset is reflected in the Lake Eyre Basin Intergovernmental Agreement, which the Queensland Government is a signatory to. Summary: This submission provides an outline of a number of decisions and actions by the Queensland Government which are: a) contemptuous of the spirit and intent of the Lake Eyre Basin Intergovernmental Agreement and b) have treated the local stakeholders in the Queensland part of the Basin with total disrespect. Protection of the Iconic Values of the Lake Eyre Basin: In 2005, the Beattie Government introduced the Wild Rivers Act to offer protection to the “natural values” of rivers systems in Queensland that had all or most of their ecological assets intact. The Act’s purpose was achieved by establishing a framework that included the declaration of a Wild River Area that may have included special management areas designated on a map and associated management requirements for areas such as:- High Preservations Areas, Preservation Areas, Floodplain Management Areas, Special Floodplain Management Areas, Sub-artesian Management Areas, Designated Urban Areas and Nominated Waterways. Between 2005 and 2009 the Queensland Government declared nine (9) river basins as Wild Rivers Areas. The Wild Rivers Act and Wild Rivers Declarations were binding on all persons, including the State, the Commonwealth and the other States. However, the 2 | Page Commonwealth or a State could not be prosecuted for an offence against this Act. This legislation was the first piece of legislation to place some additional controls over the activities regulated under Queensland’s Mineral Resources Act, the Petroleum and Gas (Production and Safety) Act and the Petroleum Act. It was also the only Queensland statute that could not be overridden by Queensland’s Coordinator-General under the provisions of the State Development and Public Works Organisation Act 1971. In 2009, the Bligh Government announced that it would extend the protection of the Wild Rivers Act 2005 to protect the natural values of the river systems in the Lake Eyre Basin. This resulted in the Wild Rivers Act being amended in 2010 to restrict development on the floodplains of the Cooper Creek and the Georgina and Diamantina Rivers. The Cooper Creek and the Georgina and Diamantina Wild River Declarations were both made on the 16th December, 2011. Both of these Wild River Declarations imposed a number of statutory measures to protect the following relevant natural values: a) hydrologic processes, b) geomorphic processes, c) riparian function, d) wildlife corridor function, and e) water quality. Both declarations included the designations of spatial areas as High Preservation Area (HPA), Preservation Area (PA), Floodplain Management Area (FMA), Special Floodplain Management Area (SFMA), Designated Urban Areas (DUA) and Nominated Waterways. A critical aspect of these Wild River Declarations was that they provided a spatial boundary of the respective management areas and they provided a level of protection, right through from the headwaters of the river systems to their discharges into South Australia. The Wild River Declarations also placed restrictions on the application of the Transport Infrastructure Act 1994, the Mineral Resources Act, the Petroleum and Gas Act (Production and Safety) and the Petroleum Act through the application of setback distances for certain works and operations. For any mining activity below the surface of a HPA or SFMA or under a nominated waterway in a PA, an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) was required as part of the application and development assessment process. The declarations also spelt out certain provisions that must be included in the Terms of Reference for any required EIS process and also outlined specific conditions that had to be included in any environmental management plan that was part of a tenement approval. In developing the Lake Eyre Basin Wild River Declaration proposals, the former Queensland Department of Environment and Resource Management established a Lake Eyre Basin Wild Rivers Advisory Panel (LEB-WRAP) which had a charter to provide advice to the Queensland Government on the appropriateness of the Wild 3 | Page Rivers Code and what changes needed to be made to the existing Wild Rivers Act to make it applicable to the Lake Eyre Basin rivers systems. The Department also convened in excess of 140 consultation meetings with stakeholders and the community in developing the Lake Eyre Basin Wild Rivers Declarations. Simultaneously, the Department also undertook an extensive review of the available science on water flows and associated impacts on ecological processes. At that time, the Department convened two Science Forums of eminent people from around Australia who had either been conducting research in the Basin, or who had extensive knowledge of ecological processes in arid zones, or were members of the Lake Eyre Basin Scientific Advisory Panel and the Lake Eyre Basin Community Advisory Committee. The outcomes of the Science Forums, the LEBWRAP and the stakeholder/community consultation meetings greatly assisted in shaping the content of the LEB Wild River Declarations. The stakeholders felt this was a very inclusive process and it was fairly represented by all stakeholders. It should be noted that the consultation process undertaken by the Newman Government for the revocation of the Lake Eyre Basin Wild River Declarations was limited to four (4) meetings of the Western Rivers Advisory Panel and the opportunity to lodge submissions to the Government’s announcement of its intention to revoke the Cooper Creek and Georgina and Diamantina Basins Wild River Declarations and the Regional Planning Interests Bill. There were no community or stakeholder consultation meetings. During the election campaign for the 2012 Queensland Election, the Liberal National Party gave a commitment, that, if elected, they would move to repeal the Wild River Declarations for the Cape York Peninsula and “to work with locals and other stakeholders about appropriate environmental protections for the Western Rivers of their Region”. With the election of the Newman LNP government, the Honourable Andrew Cripps MP – Minister for Natural Resources and Mines was given the responsibility of progressing the government’s election commitment on the Western Rivers in the Lake Eyre Basin. The