Environmental Advocacy in Central Queensland (EnvA) is calling on the Queensland Government to overhaul its Financial Provisioning Scheme to ensure taxpayers and communities are not left footing the bill when resource companies fail.
In its submission to the State Government’s review of the Scheme, EnvA warns that the financial risks of mine rehabilitation are too great to leave the State exposed to company insolvencies, ownership changes, and volatile commodity markets.
The latest Financial Provisioning Scheme Annual Report reveals that the estimated cost of rehabilitation risk in Queensland has climbed to more than $14.5 billion.
“Queensland’s resource industry carries enormous rehabilitation liabilities. The community should not be the insurer of last resort when companies fail to meet their obligations,” said EnvA Director Dr Coral Rowston.
EnvA is calling for the Scheme to be strengthened through:
- Regular stress-testing of the State’s exposure to multiple simultaneous company failures.
- Stronger financial assurance requirements that are genuinely enforceable and readily available.
- Rigorous assessment of ownership transfers to prevent companies from offloading liabilities.
- Reassessment of projects if a company’s financial circumstances deteriorate.
The organisation highlighted the recent failure of the Bluff Coal Mine near Blackwater as a cautionary tale. Despite starting production as recently as 2019, the mine cycled through financial distress, ownership changes, and care and maintenance before its operator ultimately failed.
“The Bluff experience shows how quickly a young mine can move from operation to abandonment,” Dr Rowston said.
“When rehabilitation is delayed or mines are abandoned, it is the landholders, the local communities, and our environment that suffer.”
EnvA’s submission makes 14 specific recommendations, with a particular focus on coal and gas projects. The group argues that changing energy markets increase the risk of these projects becoming uneconomic before rehabilitation is complete.
“The financial viability of a project can vanish much faster than its environmental footprint,” Dr Rowston said.
“Queensland benefits economically from mining, but those benefits should not come with a hidden debt for taxpayers. The companies that create the mess must remain financially responsible for cleaning it up.”
