Qld rebuilds reputation as a mining investment destination

Reforms to stop bureaucratic approval duplications; crackdowns on frivolous legal objections; and measures to prevent our courts being bogged down by co-ordinated international activism, are as welcome as they are sensible and overdue.

The proposed new mining lease approval process comes at a time when the Queensland government has a clear focus on restoring the state’s once cherished and envied reputation as a global leader for mining investment and excellence.

That status has been allowed to drift and slide and reached its nadir under the previous Labor government when, in 2024, Queensland’s global ranking plummeted to 39th in the annual index of mining investment attractiveness, compiled by the Fraser Institute.

Those global rankings are not led by countries that have a wanton disregard for environmental processes or the rule of law.

They are led by countries which provide investment certainty and clearly defined approval and objection processes, and timely outcomes to determine either an approval or a rejection.

Finland and Sweden are the highest-ranked nations in the world.

It makes sense the Queensland government should aim to be at the top of that list, particularly during a period of global economic and energy uncertainty.

Legislation has a habit of carrying underwhelming titles that can do an injustice to the vital economic structural reform they deliver.

The Mineral Resources and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2026 is no exception to that.

When it comes to mining approvals in Queensland, the proposed new laws rightly prioritise the views of Queenslanders over and above the views of someone in Melbourne, or those of a foreign-based or funded activist group.

That can only be good for both integrity and state sovereignty. And that can only be fair.

While inhibiting interstate and international interference and activist lawfare, the proposed laws entrench the rights for someone to oppose a mining lease application if they are directly affected and live within 125km of the proposed mining boundary.

That’s roughly the same distance as the northern suburbs of Brisbane to Noosa; or from the centre of Brisbane to Toowoomba. That’s a very reasonable radius for residents, farmers and local governments to have their say.

Beyond that radius, a person’s right to object is also entrenched if they own or occupy land that adjoins or provides access to the proposed site of the mining lease.

The proposed laws don’t aim to stop or limit environmental approvals, but they do seek to prevent costly and time-wasting duplication.

Currently the same environmental objections can be heard through both the mining lease approval process and the environmental approval process for the same project. That is an obvious flaw and open to time-delaying abuse.

The mining lease approval processes should not be a free for all for foreign-funded activist groups or interstate interest groups to clog the Queensland legal system with their views on mining and energy policies.

That’s a matter for the electorate, and that’s why it’s critical the proposed new laws stipulate that objections must relate directly to the project and be confined to the approval criteria.

Who could ever justify the costly and torturous 14-year approval process – from 2009 to 2023 – it took to get an extension to an already existing mine at New Hope’s New Acland on the Darling Downs?

That was evidence the state’s approval processes needed urgent reform.

The Queensland government’s reforms strike the right balance by entrenching the objection rights of those genuinely and directly affected by a mining lease application; preserving environmental safeguards while avoiding duplication; and giving investors and the mining sector the confidence that Queensland has transparent, consistent and timely approval processes.

For the coal sector, which provided nearly 32,000 direct Queensland jobs last year in addition to investing $38.4 billion into the state, we welcome these reforms.

Stuart Bocking is chief executive of Coal Australia

Original article from The Courier Mail by Stuart Bocking.