First Nations people have been fighting to protect our land from the impacts of development in Queensland for more than 250 years. It’s always been a battle where the scales have been tipped against us. Now things are set to get even harder, with the Queensland government proposing to concentrate power in the hands of a few senior decision-makers.
The Queensland government is rushing through laws that would give Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie and the Coordinator General sweeping powers to fast-track major development projects.
The misleadingly titled State Development and Public Works Organisation (Critical Minerals) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2026would allow any major development project – coal, gas, critical minerals or infrastructure – to be declared a ‘state strategic project.’ The project could then be fast-tracked through modified approval processes, with reduced cultural heritage assessments, no meaningful public consultation, and no third-party challenge rights.
The Queensland Law Society has warned that this law could be used to remove the requirement for companies to sit down with Traditional Owners to discuss native title and cultural heritage before land is compulsorily acquired.
The government didn’t consult with Traditional Owners or the wider community before they introduced these laws to Parliament in June. Nor have they given much of an explanation for why such drastic, overreaching powers are needed.
I’ve seen firsthand the difference community objection rights can make. In 2022, Youth Verdict had a landmark win against Clive Palmer’s proposed Waratah coal mine in central Queensland. The Land Court of Queensland found that the human, climate and environmental impacts were too big to ignore when the merits of the proposal didn’t outweigh the cost to the people of Queensland.
It was critical that Youth Verdict could represent the community and challenge the coal mine’s environmental and mining approval applications. Although Clive Palmer’s Waratah tried to deny that the impacts of pollution on human rights must be considered when approving coal mines, Youth Verdict presented critical evidence that coal mined in Queensland would impede the rights of First Nations peoples and young people here and around the world.
The Queensland government has been relatively quiet about the reasons behind the bill, but they announced it in a media statement in June, saying that unlocking critical minerals projects was a priority as it “seeks to continue strengthening the state’s economy”.
Queensland’s Resources Minister Dale Last recently told an industry conference he wanted to halve the approvals time for new coal mines.
This is not the first time that Australian governments have tried to frame human and environmental rights as obstacles to economic development. In the aftermath of the landmark 1996 High Court case Wik vs Queensland, the Howard government tried to take land rights away and pitted Aboriginal people against farmers.
In 2026, the pendulum has swung so far in favour of ultra-rich developers and mining companies that farmers, Traditional Owners and regional residents are all calling for landholder, cultural heritage and environmental safeguards to be kept in place.
A rushed parliamentary committee process has sparked outrage from the agriculture industry and civil society alike. Nearly 90% of 90 submissions asked the Queensland government to go back to the drawing board. Private property rights groups, farming bodies, and the Queensland Law Society have all raised the alarm.
Nagana Yarrbayn Wangan and Jagalingou Cultural Custodians say the bill is “incompatible with the human rights of First Nations peoples and with Queensland’s obligations under United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.”
The Northern Land Council says the bill risks sidelining First Nations people in decision-making processes that directly affect their rights, interests and connection to Country.
Meanwhile, farming groups such as the Queensland Farmers Federation and Cotton Australia have voiced concerns that handing unchecked power to major developers would threaten the futures of Queensland’s food bowls. Members of the Katter Party and federal LNP MP Colin Boyce have warned the laws risk trampling on landholders’ rights.
The parliamentary committee’s report was handed down last Friday, recommending the bill be passed. There is no evidence that these laws are needed. It is a huge problem for our democracy that they are being considered and rushed through without meaningful consultation.
Traditional Owners, farmers and regional landholders have been desperately urging local MPs to put a stop to this unreasonable power grab by the Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie.
This proposed unwinding of democratic rights is a serious concern for Queenslanders and landholders who face threats they have never experienced before. For First Nations folk, it’s terrifying to think that weakened safeguards might mean we are cut off from the little access we have to legal and political pathways of protecting our sacred sites and Country.
And as Queensland is home to much of the country’s coal and gas production, this proposal also poses a tangible threat to the rest of Australia. Queensland is already responsible for nearly a third of Australia’s emissions. If a small number of legislators seize the power to wave through giant projects in Australia’s most fossil-fuel-rich state, the climate impacts will be felt everywhere, with little to no intervention point to remedy climate disaster.