Australia's Queensland state government has introduced a bill to restrict objections to mining lease approvals, aiming to accelerate project approvals and limit legal challenges to mine expansions from climate activists.
The centre-right Liberal National party (LNP) government introduced the Mineral Resources Objections Reform and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2026 to parliament on 16 September. The proposed bill would prevent individuals outside of directly affected communities from objecting to mining lease approvals.
The change would allow objections from individuals situated within 125km of a mining lease boundary, enabling local communities to oppose mining approvals while limiting "environmental lawfare driven by activists," Queensland minister for natural resources and mines Dale Last said today.
The bill would also replace the automatic referrals to Queensland's land court with a process giving government ministers discretion to refer objections they consider warranted for a hearing or independent review. The change could be especially important for coal mine expansions, which are often subject to strong community scrutiny on climate grounds.
Conservation group the Queensland Conservation Council said the bill would severely limit the ability of Queenslanders to object to mining projects and allow ministers to "pick and choose" which community objections would get heard in court.
The bill would widen the gap between mining approval processes in Queensland and New South Wales (NSW) state. NSW has stopped issuing greenfield permits for thermal coal mines, while Queensland has said coal will remain an integral part of its energy system until at least the 2040s.
Coal mining approvals in NSW have been marked by significant community opposition. The NSW court of appeal blocked Mach Energy's proposed extension of its 10mn t/yr Mount Pleasant thermal coal mine in July 2025 following opposition from an environmental group. Mach Energy sought to overturn this decision with an appeal in May, and the case remains before the High Court of Australia.
The Hunter Valley Operations (HVO) coal mining complex, a joint venture between Chinese-Australian producer Yancoal and Switzerland-headquartered Glencore, is awaiting approval for an extension from NSW's independent planning commission (IPC). The proposed extension has been met with opposition from the NSW Net Zero Commission and environmental activists and received over 4,200 public objections, according to the IPC's website. Public scrutiny prompted the IPC to delay its approval decision, which was due on 4 September, by an additional month.
