Campbell Newman to oppose future deals to mine farmland, but honour existing ones
CAMPBELL Newman has pledged to keep miners off prime agricultural land but will not overturn business deals already done with the State Government.
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CAMPBELL Newman has pledged to keep miners off prime agricultural land but said he would not overturn business deals already done with the Bligh Government.
Tapping into the concerns of many Queenslanders worried about food security, the alternative Queensland premier said he would set up a Gasfields Land and Water Commission to manage conflicting interests.
But he stopped short of supporting Federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott's call for farmers having "a right to say no" to mining companies wanting to access their land.
Asked if his plan would give farmers the right to refuse miners access, Mr Newman said, "Ultimately these resources are going to be required because they're owned by the people of Queensland and if we have to have a lower carbon future".
He warned frustrated farmers that a LNP government would not be able to knock back deals already signed.
It means the alternative premier is unlikely to reject the $45 billion in private investment already committed for the state's burgeoning LNG sector.
"We can't reverse approvals that this tired Labor Government has given ... because that would mean that the state of Queensland, and everybody who lives in this state, would ultimately be sued by these companies who were given these legal rights."
The Sunday Mail revealed this month that mining and energy firms had scooped up more than 390,000ha across Queensland.
The land grab has concerned most Queenslanders, with an exclusive Sunday Mail/Channel 9 survey finding 96 per cent of Queenslanders want the best farming land protected from mining and development.
Mr Newman said the LNP would support farmers and Queenslanders keep prime agricultural land.
The Bligh Government, which will become the first state government to introduce laws that protect the most fertile food-producing land, accused Mr Newman of putting jobs at risk.
"Campbell Newman is now a one-man band of sovereign risk," Treasurer Andrew Fraser said.
