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Public Briefing

The committee held a public departmental briefing on the Bill on Wednesday, 26 November 2014.

A proof transcript of the briefing is available via this link

 

Submissions

The committee's call for submissions ceased upon dissolution of the Legislative Assembly on 6 January 2015.

Referral

On 25 November 2014, the Deputy Premier and Minister for State Development, Infrastructure and Planning, Hon Jeff Seeney MP, introduced the Ports Bill 2014 (the Bill).

In accordance with Standing Order 131, the Bill has been referred to the State Development, Infrastructure and Industry Committee for consideration.  The committee must provide its report to the House by Monday, 2 February 2015.

The Bill

The objective of the Bill is to give effect to the government’s intent to reform the way ports are planned and developed in Queensland (as articulated in the Queensland Ports Strategy (QPS)) by:

• Providing for the establishment of Priority Port Development Areas (PPDAs) at the long-established major ports of Abbot Point, Gladstone, Hay Point/Mackay and Townsville. It is expected that the Port of Brisbane will also be able to become a port with a PPDA.
• Establishing master plans that will consider factors beyond traditional port boundaries, including supply chain connections, environmental and community values and surrounding land use activities.
• Prohibiting dredging within and adjoining the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area (GBRWHA), for the development of new, or the expansion of existing port facilities outside PPDAs, until the end of 2024. This includes land under the tidal waters between the Queensland coast and the low water mark (the boundary of the GBRWHA).
• Prohibiting significant development on land under tidal waters between the Queensland coast and the low water mark (the boundary of the GBRWHA) until the end of 2022.
• These prohibitions address UNESCO World Heritage Committee (WHC) recommendations regarding the conservation of the GBRWHA.
• Facilitating staged, incremental expansion of port and terminal capacity to meet emerging demand in line with long-term plans at each PPDA.

The Bill will also reform planning for ports that will not have a PPDA through changes to the port land use planning requirements, increasing the transparency and consistency of port planning across the state.

Minor amendments are proposed to part 4A of the State Development and Public Works Organisation Act 1971 (SDPWO Act) to allow development activities within PPDAs to be assessed and approved by the Coordinator-General once an Approval Bilateral Agreement made under sections 45 and 46 of the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) has been finalised.

The SDPWO Act amendments will contribute to reducing duplication between Queensland and Australian Government environmental assessment and approval processes, and result in streamlining benefits, under an Approval Bilateral Agreement.

A copy of the Bill and its explanatory notes are available via the links below:

The Bill

Explanatory Notes