Senate inquiry calls to ban mining on agricultural lands

The Federal Government's Senate Select Committee on Agricultural and Related Industries has found, in no uncertain terms, that "prime agricultural land needs to be protected from mining developments" and that "protecting the most productive agricultural land is an important step in maintaining efficient and quality food production systems and ensuring the nation's food security."

This landmark inquiry has recommended that all jurisdictions consider "measures to protect their vital agricultural resources from mining and other activities in their respective jurisdictions."

On 25 June 2008, the Senate established the Select Committee on Agricultural and Related Industries to investigate food production in Australia and the question of how to produce food that is:

1. affordable to consumers;

2. viable for production by farmers; and

3. of sustainable impact on the environment.

As part of its inquiries, the Committee examined the wide range of concerns raised by community and environmental groups in relation to proposed coal and gas exploration on the Liverpool Plains in New South Wales. In particular, the Committee was responding to the significant concerns around the potential for these developments to adversely impact on agricultural activities.

However, the considerations of the Committee, and the recommendations from the report, extend well beyond the Liverpool Plains, and have implications for the protection of farming land right across the country.

The report was based on 153 submissions, and evidence heard at public hearings in Sydney, Gunnedah and Canberra. The Committee also made a site visit to the Liverpool Plains on 19 May 2009.

The Committee  tabled its findings in a second interim report on 27th November 2009.

The Committee found categorically that "prime agricultural land needs to be protected from mining developments". The Committee's considered view was that: 

protecting the most productive agricultural land is an important step in maintaining efficient and quality food production systems and ensuring the nation's food security. As the driest inhabited continent on earth, with only an estimated 6 per cent of arable land across Australia, the preservation of these productive lands and finite water systems is clearly of national significance.

The central recommendation, which is being considered by the New South Wales Government, was that the Liverpool Plains should not be subject to any mining activities, and that a total prohibition of mining under the floodplains of the Plains and other areas of similar agricultural significance be considered.

Importantly, though, this landmark inquiry has recommended that all jurisdictions consider "measures to protect their vital agricultural resources from mining and other activities in their respective jurisdictions."

Jenny Ward, a spokeperson for the NSW Minister for Mineral Resources, Peter Primrose, said in response to the report: 

It would be premature to simply ban mining without all the facts - local families and business would be hard hit by an uninformed knee-jerk ban.

Of course, this is quite a brazen gesture on behalf of the Minister in referring to the findings of a Senate Committee, based on an 18 month inquiry, as "uninformed".

Other state jurisdictions have yet to respond to these recommendations.

The findings of the second interim report

A number of the conclusions of the committee are worth citing at length, and have direct implications for a range of mining and exploration activities currently encroaching upon Queensland's productive landscapes.

2.92: The committee believes that prime agricultural land needs to be protected from mining developments. Protecting the most productive agricultural land is an important step in maintaining efficient and quality food production systems and ensuring the nation's 'food security'.

2.93: As the driest inhabited continent on earth, with only an estimated 6 per cent of arable land across Australia, the preservation of these productive lands and finite water systems is clearly of national significance.

2.94: The committee believes that the floodplains of the Liverpool Plains should not be subject to mining activities. The Liverpool Plains with its climate, soils and unique groundwater make it one of the most fertile and drought-resistant agricultural areas in Australia. The committee also recognises that many families have been farming in the area for generations and have a very close affinity with the land.

...

2.98: Recommendation 1: The committee recommends that the NSW Government investigate the total prohibition of mining under the floodplains of the Liverpool Plains and other areas of the state where similar conditions prevail, especially where evidence indicates that there will be damage to the floodplain or aquifers and the agricultural productive capacity of the floodplain in question.

2.99: The committee considers that other jurisdictions should consider similar measures to protect their vital agricultural resources from mining and other activities in their respective jurisdictions.

...

2.101: The importance of water security was emphasised during the inquiry. The committee notes that the NSW Mining Act does not explicitly recognise the impact of water resources in the granting of exploration licenses.

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2.104: The committee considers that an independent water study should be an essential prerequisite before exploratory drilling commences in an area where mining exploration is to be undertaken.

Related Links

The full report is available for download from the Australian Government website.

Media coverage of the report is also online via The Land, Mining Australia, and the Sydney Morning Herald.