Donovan v Struber (No. 3)

[2012] QLC 28

LAND COURT OF QUEENSLAND

CITATION:

Donovan v Struber & Ors (No. 3) [2012] QLC0028

PARTIES:

Gary Awarua Donovan
(applicant)

v.

Stephen Roy Struber and Dianne Rose Wilson-Struber
(respondents)

Chief Executive, Department of Environment and Heritage Protection (formerly known as the Department of Environment and Resource Management)
(Statutory Party)

FILE NO:

MRA137-10, EPA209-10, MRA352-09, EPA351-09, MRA354-09, EPA353-09, MRA356-09, EPA355-09, MRA342-11, EPA352-11, MRA341-11, EPA353-11.

DIVISION:

General Division

PROCEEDING:

Applications for Mining Leases Environmental Authorities and Objections thereto.

DELIVERED ON:

15 June 2012

DELIVERED AT:

Brisbane

HEARD AT:

Mareeba/Atherton/Brisbane.

MEMBER:

Mr PA Smith

ORDERS:

1.   Taking into consideration all of the evidence before me and, in particular that evidence referred to above, and noting in particular the terms of settlement agreed to as between the miner and the landholders, I recommend to the Honourable Minister for Natural Resources and Mines that mining lease applications 20605, 20606, 20607, 20608, 20660 and 20670 each be granted over their entire application area, for the terms set out in paragraph 20 hereto, for the purposes sought by the applicant, subject to the inclusion of special conditions in the mining leases and draft environmental authorities consistent with the details as set out in paragraphs 30, 31 and 32 hereof.

CATCHWORDS:

Mining – applications for mining leases and associated environmental authorities – objections – Mineral Resources Act 1989 – Environmental Protection Act 1994

Jurisdiction of the Land Court – withdrawal of objections made under the Mineral Resources Act 1989 and the Environmental Protection Act 1994 following a negotiated settlement – whether the Court has jurisdiction to continue to make recommendations

Mining – recommendation under s.269 Mineral Resources Act 1989 – inclusion of special conditions agreed upon by the parties – whether condition requiring the Mining Registrar to provide the objectors with copies of the mining leases and environmental authorities appropriate

Mining – compensation for grant of mining leases – agreement reached between the parties – proceedings dismissed with no order as to costs

APPEARANCES:

Mr J Trevino of Counsel for the applicant;

Mr J Korn of Counsel for the respondent; and

Mr N Loos of Counsel for the Statutory Party.

SOLICITORS:

Preston Law for the applicant;
Bottoms English for the respondent; and
Legal Services, Department of Environment and Heritage Protection for the Statutory Party.

Background

1. Gary Awarua Donovan (“the miner”) has lodged nine mining lease applications with the Mining Registrar, Mareeba, seeking authority to undertake mining operations on land in the Palmerville area of Queensland. Each application is either wholly, or partly, over pastoral land owned by Stephen Roy Struber and Dianne Rose Wilson-Struber (“the landholders”). The landholders[1]lodged objections to the grant of each mining lease under the provisions of the Mineral Resources Act 1989 (“the MRA”). The landholders have also lodged objections under the Environmental Protection Act1994 (“the EP Act”) relating to each of the nine mining leases. The landholders` objections with respect to each mining lease relate to the environmental authority application, and for some matters also relate to the draft environmental authority…