A legislative change that requires proponents of major renewable energy projects to deliver long-term community benefits in the areas where power generation infrastructure is built has been welcomed by the Darling Downs and South West Queensland Council of Mayors (DDSWQCoM).
DDSWQCoM chair, Toowoomba Region Mayor Cr Geoff McDonald, said the local government representative group was confident that the inclusion of community benefit agreements in new legislation governing major energy projects was a positive step.
“Our member representatives have been advocating to ensure that the communities that are affected by the development of major energy projects derive long-lasting benefits for their respective communities,” Mayor McDonald said.
“Everyone agreed that we must not sell our wider southern and south west expanse of Queensland short.
“It will be especially important for us to collaborate as a group of councils in instances where major energy projects are established across our local government borders.
“Our communities can take a level of comfort from the fact that major project proponents need to establish a community benefit fund around social impacts as part of the conditions around gaining Queensland Government approval.
“We welcome the change in the legislation that formalises this step in the approval process where it was previously ad hoc.”
Discussions at the Mayors’ quarterly meeting in Dalby (31 July – 1 August) also covered advocacy around infrastructure needs covering critical freight roads, bulk water supply and telecommunications.
Mayor McDonald said policy discussions centred around insurance, energy regulation, economic development and disaster recovery reforms.
“In some regional and remote areas there is evidence of ‘discrimination by postcode’ by insurers. This has led to premiums being either price prohibitive or the situation where some properties are not covered by insurance,” Mayor McDonald said.
“The Dalby meeting also heard from Queensland Government Ministers, including Ann Leahy, the Minister for Local Government and Water and Minister for Fire, Disaster Recovery and Volunteers; Andrew Powell, the Minister for Environment and Tourism, Minister for Science and Innovation and
Bryson Head, the Assistant Minister for Regional Development, Resources and Critical Minerals. In addition, Nikki Boyd, the Shadow Minister for Local Government and Water and Fire, Disaster Recovery, Emergency Services and Volunteers also addressed the meeting, along with other departmental and industry representatives.
“These meetings are an important forum for our 10 local authorities to use our collective influence to help shape positive government policy reform and aid investment outcomes for our productive areas.
“There was agreement to support the ongoing Local Government Association of Queensland campaign advocating for the removal or reduction of the Queensland Government’s State Waste Levy or ‘bin tax’.
“Discussion also highlighted the importance of water security, whether it was for new water sources, essentially dams, or supporting councils that are required to undertake dam safety upgrade projects.
“The meeting also heard an update on biosecurity controls for feral pigs and a case study highlighting how artificial intelligence could be used to assess and report on road maintenance.”
Mayor McDonald thanked the Western Downs Regional Council for hosting the important forum.
“We look forward to the next Council of Mayors’ meeting to be held before the Queensland Local Government Association annual conference in late October,” Mayor McDonald said.
