The
CLERMONT RAG Community Newsletter Friday March 17, 2017
Mayor says communities’ fight for a future in hand of Bill The future of resource communities is in the hands of the Strong and Sustainable Resource Communities Bill 2016 according to the Mayor of the largest mining region in Queensland. Mayor Baker said Council fundamentally supports the intent of the Bill. “When we read the objective of the Bill we were genuinely moved. “We felt for the first time in a long time that the state government and our communities were on the same page.” “As I said at the public hearing, we cannot continue to remove choice and divide families and communities. “The objective of this Bill, ‘to ensure that residents of communities in the vicinity of large resource projects benefit from the operation of those projects’, was and remains very encouraging for us. Mayor Anne Baker said she acknowledges the Queensland Government’s commitment to regulating mining projects and improving the Bill. Mayor Anne Baker said it’s encouraging that the voices of regional resource communities were reflected in a Committee report tabled this week examining the Bill.
“Council’s submission and participation in the public hearings provided practical and meaningful ways the Bill should be strengthened to get the job done which has been clearly documented in this report.
“It’s a clear demonstration of what can be achieved when Council and community refuse to give up until they’re heard.
“Council looks forward to seeing the Bill progress through Parliament.”
“The penny has dropped - what we’ve known and understood to be the reality on the ground for many years, and our fight for a future, was listened to, acknowledged and recognized in this report.” The Infrastructure, Planning and Natural Resources Committee Report Strong and Sustainable Resource Communities Bill 2016 was tabled in Parliament this week.
For more details on Council’s submission for the Stronger and Sustainable Resource Communities Bill 2016 visit www.isaac.qld.gov.au/advocacy. To view the Committee’s report visit http://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/Documents/ TableOffice/TabledPapers/2017/5517T370.pdf
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