2016–17 Activity Statement—Environment

Preserving our environment is essential and Queenslanders recognise their role as stewards of our unique natural assets, particularly the Great Barrier Reef. Queenslanders’ vision for the environment includes being world leaders in renewable energy and sustainable business practices. To do this, we need to ensure new urban developments are eco-oriented and sustainable, harness our natural power, preserve our unique heritage and have the infrastructure to support growing industries.

Protecting the environment is one of the Queensland Government’s objectives for the community. In 2016–17, the Queensland Government:

Creating jobs and a diverse economy

• granted prescribed project and critical infrastructure status to the Kidston project, repurposing a disused gold mine site to accommodate a hydro-electric power plant and two solar farms and support job growth in the renewables sector
• supported Indigenous community participation in the growing domestic and international carbon markets through the Carbon Plus initiative—investing $3 million over two years for capacity building and developing a method for valuing social co-benefits of carbon farming projects
• commissioned an Expert Panel to investigate credible pathways to achieving a 50% renewable energy target in Queensland by 2030
• The Coordinator-General declared six major projects (together, potentially supporting up to 7,045 construction jobs and 2,060 operational jobs) as coordinated projects requiring an EIS to be prepared:
• KUR-World Integrated Eco-Resort project at Mareeba in North Queensland
• South Burnett Coal project near Kingaroy
• Olive Downs project in the Bowen Basin
• three sections of the Inland Rail Project in south-east Queensland: from Gowrie to Helidon; Helidon to Calvert; and Calvert to Kagaru
• continued to support High Value Horticulture Value Chains, as part of the Queensland Murray–Darling Basin Regional Economic Diversification Program, maximising economic return from available irrigation water, with producers in communities like Inglewood and St George growing and exporting new crops including sweet corn, broccoli, blueberries and garlic.

Delivering quality frontline services

• enhanced the online booking service for camping and vehicle access permits to improve customer experience and access to our unique environments
• implemented customer surveys to measure customer satisfaction with the online booking system and on park experiencesprovided high-resolution climate change projections for Queensland, regional workshops on climate change risks, and created the first Climate Change in Queensland map application, allowing Queenslanders to access projections about how climate change could impact on our regional communities and industries
• delivered the Brisbane River Catchment Flood Study in partnership with four local governments, the most comprehensive study of its kind in Australia, and Queensland’s first catchment approach to floodplain management
• used innovative digital soil-mapping approaches to produce a consistent set of spatial soil data for the entire Fitzroy Basin to inform better land management practices—information is now being delivered to land holders through web-based reporting mechanisms.

Protecting the environment

• commenced implementation of the Great Barrier Reef Water Science Taskforce recommendations through the $100 million Queensland Reef Water Quality Program, with over $27 million already committed, including on innovative projects to improve Reef water quality
• developed, in consultation with stakeholders, new regulations across all Great Barrier Reef catchments to reduce water pollution
• worked with industry to implement industry led landholder best management practice programs to ensure improved Great Barrier Reef water quality outcomes
• provided information to the community on the progress towards our Great Barrier Reef water quality targets through the Great Barrier Reef Report Card and partnering with local communities to develop local report cards to inform catchment management initiatives
• conducted an Advance Queensland SBIR challenge to develop and supply fine scale water quality monitoring sensors to deploy in the catchments of the Great Barrier Reef
• delivered a comprehensive response, undertaking shoreline clean-up activities associated with an oil spill off Fraser Island in October 2016
• established the Queensland Climate Resilient Council program in partnership with the LGAQ, supporting local governments to develop their own climate change responses
• released the Maintenance Dredging Strategy for the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area Ports, providing a framework for sustainable, leading practice management of maintenance dredging at ports in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area
• passed the new Planning Act 2016 and associated legislation which establishes ecological sustainability as a core principle and reinstates coastal land surrender provisions under the Coastal Protection and Management Act 1995 to ensure areas at high risk of coastal erosion are maintained development free
• supported several Arts Queensland funded Indigenous Art Centres to create environmentally and culturally significant ghost net sculptures which were later showcased at two international exhibitions hosted by the Asian Civilisations Museum in Singapore and the Aquarium de Paris
• delivered changes to the Environmental Protection Act 1994 and Water Act 2000 to strengthen effectiveness of environmental assessment and management of underground water extraction by resource projects
• repealed specific uncommenced provisions of the Water Reform and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2014 to explicitly reinstate the principles of ecologically sustainable development to the Water Act 2000 and remove water development option provisions in their entirety
• released the final guideline under the Environmental Protection Act 1994 which, together with chain of responsibility provisions, expands and clarifies the ability to ensure companies and their related parties bear the costs of managing and rehabilitating environmental sites, rather than the taxpayer
• signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Federal Government and other states and territories, adopting a common assessment method and a single list for threatened species
• released the Better Mine Rehabilitation for Queensland discussion paper, proposing reforms to achieve higher rates of progressive environmental rehabilitation and good rehabilitation outcomes
• released the Financial assurance framework reform discussion paper, proposing significant reforms to the financial assurance scheme, improving Queensland’s environmental and financial protections
• made the Liquid Fuel Supply Regulation 2016, finalising the regulatory framework supporting the production and sale of sustainable low carbon fuels under the Queensland biofuels mandate
• continued the protection of Queensland’s heritage, adding 16 places to the Queensland Heritage Register
• conducted a market sounding process as part of the Advancing Clean Energy Schools program, seeking ideas from the energy industry to reduce state school energy costs using solar and energy efficiency measures
• mitigated key threats to the Great Barrier Reef and national park islands, delivering $12.8 million in conservation and compliance actions as part of the $17.2 million jointly funded State-Federal Great Barrier Reef Joint Field Management Program, including responses to coral bleaching and Tropical Cyclone Debbie
• enhanced the fire management system (FLAME), supporting burn planning and wildfire response and incorporating pest management in parks and forests, committing nearly $9 million to deliver fire management, and upgrading and maintaining high priority urban interface fire lines across South East Queensland
• spent an estimated $8.4 million on pest management, including just over $900,000 for the Strategic Pest Management Program, supporting state-wide and regionally significant projects on parks and forests
• invested over $400,000 to deliver the first stage of a spatially enabled, web based IT system to support pest management, planning and reporting on parks and forests
• observed significant improvements to turtle hatching success in program sites as a result of
  $2.5 million Queensland and Federal funding for the Nest to Ocean Turtle Protection Program—16 projects reducing predation of marine turtle nests at priority rookeries along the Queensland coastline, including Cape York, Torres Strait and South East Queensland
• released the draft Protected Area Strategy for public consultation to guide ongoing expansion and effective management of Queensland’s protected areas
• released the Queensland Ecotourism Plan 2016-2020, setting a path for sustainable development of Queensland’s ecotourism industry and making it an internationally celebrated ecotourism destination
• released the Daisy Hill Koala Bushland Directions Paper and the Daisy Hill Koala Bushland Action Plan to guide management and use over the next ten year period, and deliver important improvements in the lead up to GC2018
• declared two new Fish Habitat Areas, the Balban Dara Guya (Leekes Creek) Fish Habitat Area at Great Keppel Island and the De-ra-li (Calliope River) Fish Habitat Area near Gladstone, to protect Queensland’s fisheries resources from the impacts of coastal development
• extended the Fitzroy River declared Fish Habitat Area, a State Government commitment of the Reef 2050 Long-Term Sustainability Plan (Reef 2050 Plan)
• ensured delivery of the Reef Vessel Traffic Services continues to enhance navigational safety within the Great Barrier Reef, minimising maritime accident risks and consequential ship-sourced pollution and damage to the marine environment
• completed the Conservation Management Plan for the heritage listed Queensland Cultural Centre
• undertook reef science projects to inform land management practices and understand water quality impacts on the Great Barrier Reef, monitoring the quality of water entering the Great Barrier Reef, modeling improvements in land management practice at the paddock and catchment scales, and using remote sensing imagery to assess key catchment indicators to evaluate progress against Reef 2050 Plan goals and targets
• invested more than $7.9 million on regionally-delivered natural resource management projects, including soil conservation, wetland and riparian restoration, improving water quality, reducing the impact of pests and weeds, improving land management practices and landscape resilience, and monitoring and reporting through the Queensland Regional Natural Resource Management Investment Program 2013–2018
• worked with irrigation industries to improve on-farm irrigation practices, the productivity and sustainability of rural industries, and deliver natural resource management outcomes through the Rural Water Use Efficiency – Irrigation Futures Program
• delivered on-ground practice change, improved agribusiness profitability and improved the health of the Great Barrier Reef through industry-led voluntary Best Management Practice programs operating in Reef catchments.