A study of participant experience of public participation in the EIA processes for proposed coal mining developments in the Galilee Basin.

Abstract

Alpha, located in Queensland's Central West, is a small remote cattle grazing community at the centre of proposed coal mining developments in the Galilee Basin. Alpha will bear the brunt of immediate economic, social and environmental impacts of a number of these mines such as inflated living costs, dust, noise, lights, traffic, a fly-in fly-out workforce, and changes to the landscape and essential groundwater supplies. Queensland and Australian regulation demands that, as part of the mining assessment process, mining companies ensure understanding of the community view as part of their environmental and social impact assessment by conducting public participation processes. As well, the Queensland Government must conduct review and comment periods to inform their assessment of applications for approval and the submitted Environmental Impact Assessment documentation.This doctoral project examines how citizens experienced the public participation undertaken for four proposed mines through the lens of fairness and competence in environmental decision-making. This lens asserts that, for public participation to be fair and competent, the public need opportunities to participate and access to information. To gain insight into citizen experience, this project asked two research questions: how did the EIA process for four proposed coal mines in the Galilee Basin provide opportunities for fair and competent public participation?, and how do interviewees describe their experience of fairness and competence of public participation in the EIA process of one or more greenfield mines? The case study research methodology used 25 semi-structured interviews and document analysis of relevant sections of the Terms of Reference, Environmental Impact Statement and Supplementary Environmental Impact Statements submitted by each mining company, and the Queensland Government's Coordinator-General's Report for each mine.The study found that while the community of Alpha welcomes the opportunity to develop their region and is mindful of the contribution that mining makes to the Queensland and Australian economies, participants identified negative aspects of the mining companies'and Queensland Government's public participation activities. Major findings are grouped into two categories: fairness and competence. In relation to fairness, stakeholders experienced: inadequate notice periods and too few opportunities to attend public participation events; inopportune timing of public participation activities giving stakeholders a limited window to discuss concerns with the mining company; and, the perception that public participation was completed to comply with regulations and not with the intent of including stakeholders in environmental decision-making. In relation to competence, stakeholders experienced difficulties in engaging with the significant volume and complexity of information about each proposed mine within the allocated timeframe; stakeholders' lacked resources, namely time and expertise, to challenge information and compare and con...