A proposal for engaging a stakeholder panel in planning post-mining land uses in Australia's coal-rich tropical savannahs

摘要

In Queensland's Bowen Basin, a major Australian coal reserve, areas of post-mining land are increasing. These areas have been subject to decades of coal-mining and, without appropriate transfer to alternative use, may remain as vacant land unable to be used for grazing or other productive uses. Research that informs new and revised policies and processes to optimize rehabilitation and post-mining land use planning is critical in assisting regional economies to transition to post-mining contexts. This paper explores the potential for panels comprised of stakeholders to agree on a beneficial land use, which is one of the four goals of mine rehabilitation and closure specified by the Queensland regulator. Whilst current guidelines require stakeholder consultation, there is little real evidence that rehabilitation and closure planning processes incorporate the perceptions of potential future land users in terms of the utility of ex-mining leases, socio-economic value and associated opportunities and risks. In contrast, existing literature reveals the range of influencing factors that landholders, especially graziers, may consider in determining the utility and value proposition of land packages. These include physical, agronomic, ecological, economic, aesthetic and recreational characteristics.