BETWEEN THE CRACKS: WATER GOVERNANCE IN QUEENSLAND,AUSTRALIA AND POTENTIAL CUMULATIVE IMPACTS FROM MINING COAL SEAM GAS

摘要

Ostensibly, water issues related to CSG production are now, in response to community action, within the ambit of the state's governance framework. However, as we have seen, the regulatory framework for CSG mining in Queensland gives primacy to the state's petroleum and gas legislation. The priority given to underground water rights displaces the well developed public law procedures established by the water planning framework and its protections of broader hydrological and catchment systems. The CSG regime allows unlimited volumes of water to be extracted as a result of mining activity, whilst other water users' access is capped by water planning. This undermines water planning outcomes and processes and subordinates the rights of existing water users, the rivers and the environment. As other jurisdictions have found, the regulatory framework should place CSG proponents on the same footing as other water users. This is especially so given the high level of uncertainty of information used to construct models for estimating the production of underground water and its consequential effects on other water resources. Whilst risk assessment frameworks have been adopted in NSW and other parts of Australia, these have not yet been applied in a systematic fashion in Queensland, and application is unlikely unless made mandatory or facilitated through a suitable governance framework.