I rise today to speak in strong support of the Planning (Social Impact and Community Benefit) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2025.
A key objective of the Bill is to amend the Planning Act 2016 to introduce a community benefit system into Queensland’s planning framework.
This Bill is about making sure Far North Queenslanders have a real say in how major large-scale wind and solar projects affect their communities and ensuring they benefit, not just bear the burden of these visual monstrosities in their region.
I live and represent one of the most biodiverse regions in the world.
The Chalumbin wind farm was a major wind farm development project which was proposed on the border of the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area, close to Ravenshoe on the Atherton Tablelands.
Clearing forests to build wind turbines is an oxymoron.
The Chalumbin Wind Farm, would have cleared more than 500 hectares of forest next to the Wet Tropics World Heritage area.
It would have murdered birds, bats, and many other species of animals that accidentally flew into the turbines, let alone the ones that lost their habitat from the clearing. Thankfully the community rallied, advocated, and won. But they should not have had to go through this fight and the stress of this-but thank you to all that stood up for this. The communuty should have been consulted with, and this is what this bill does. It makes it law, that all new renewable projects are subject to the same rigorous approval processes as other resource projects have to go through.
This Bill recognises that regions like Far North QLD are no longer willing to be the silent host of large-scale projects while the benefits go south and the impacts stay local.
Wind farms are popping up in regional Queensland that are taller than a 40-floor building, that’s higher than any building in Cairns-over 280 metres to the tip of the blade. They are massive.
No one in Brisbane or Southeast QLD would want these forced on to them in their back yard. The City Green voters may think these projects are great for the environment and that they are being good citizens- but they have no idea on the impact of these projects have on regional QLD. I’ve had many greens voters in Far North Queensland tell me that they have switched parties as they realise how detrimental these projects are. This new legislation is for you.
This system will involve conducting social impact assessments and establishing community benefit agreements.
Under this Bill, developers will be required to engage with local communities before a single application hits a planning desk.
They will be required to conduct a Social Impact Assessment, and they must enter into a Community Benefit Agreement with the local council.
This gives councils across Far North Queensland — from Cairns to Cooktown, from the Tablelands to the Torres Strait — a real seat at the table.
It means the voices of our regional towns, our remote communities, and our Traditional Owners will no longer be an afterthought.
Far North Queensland has always done its part. We host industries that drive the economy — tourism, agriculture, resources, and for a long time clean energy like the Barron River Hydro.
We are leading the state in renewable energy investment. And we welcome it — but we want it done with us, not to us.
This Bill ensures that energy developers will no longer be able to drop massive projects into our communities without first building social license.
Developers will need to engage Far North QLD communities up-front and negotiate Community Benefit Agreements (CBAs) before projects can proceed.
Local councils will have greater leverage in negotiating outcomes for their communities.
This is about working together, as a community, to achieve positive solutions for our region.
Regional Queensland — including Far North QLD — has hosted wind and solar farms for over a decade without a say in how these developments affect our communities. Labor had ten years to right these wrongs, we’ve done it in our first 100 days.
Communities like those across the Tablelands, Mareeba, and the Cassowary Coast have been denied the basic rights of consultation and appeal.
If residents in Ravenshoe, Tolga and Dimbulah express opposition, the Government must take notice—underpinned by legislation.
This bill gives our rural communities a voice, a say and the power to stand up for what they want in conjunction with the government.
This speaks volumes about our government.
We don’t just act.
We plan.
We consult.
We listen.
We act accordingly.
And we deliver.
We’ve seen too many communities wear the costs of development, strained services, housing pressure, social disruption with little to show for it.
This Bill gives us tools to change that.
It ensures renewable energy developments contribute to infrastructure, community wellbeing, and long-term legacy — not just short-term profit.
This bill isn’t just about wind and solar farms. It’s about planning and delivering our infrastructure in the lead up to the Games.
It’s about removing the red, green and gaffer tape holding back progress so that we can get the games infrastructure under way.
Although the Games venues will be concentrated in the southeast, the Crisafulli Government’s 2032 Delivery Plan guarantees infrastructure and tourism legacy across all of Queensland, including in Cairns.
We’ve got soccer and basketball Olympic games proposed to happen in Cairns and upgrades committed for Barlow Park. Far North Queensland is also the prime humidity training location for pre-Olympics opportunities and additional competitions.
Far North QLD stands to benefit from the 20-year tourism strategy that will flow from the Games — and, under the amendments, planning laws are being streamlined to ensure the entire state is part of the Olympic opportunity.
Under the amendments, there will be transparency in planning decisions, enhanced administrative flexibility for Economic Development Queensland, and it replaces outdated groups with new Games Leadership and Executive Groups for unified decision-making.
After years of dysfunction and delays under Labor, we are delivering – not just planning.
We are planning not just for an epic Olympic Games – the best the world has ever seen – but also for a legacy that will serve Queenslanders for generations.
The venues, villages, and infrastructure we build will not be temporary showpieces — they’ll be lasting assets for our communities.
In closing, this Bill is about restoring fairness and trust in Queensland’s planning framework – because as it is right now – it’s not working.
This bill serves everyone — local governments, the construction industry, and the tax payer.
This Bill ensures that our communities are not just hosts to development — but partners in shaping it.
I fully support this bill and commend the tireless work of the Deputy Premier and his team.
Thank you Mr Speaker.
