ALIENATION OF LAND FROM EXPLORATION—A SOUTH AUSTRALIAN EXAMPLE

Abstract

The mineral and petroleum industry has played a vital role in the development of South Australia, historically, culturally, and economically. In 1985 more than $1 billion worth of production contributed over $50 million in royalties to the state's revenues plus a range of taxes to the Commonwealth. Other benefits included infrastructure establishment, employment, and the training and development of expertise in the workforce.

Access to the land surface for exploration is vital if the state's subsurface resources are to be discovered and developed. Over the past ten years, however, there has been a major increase in limitations on access to land for exploration in South Australia. Currently, access to 29 per cent of the state is restricted to some extent, mostly due to National Parks, Aboriginal land, and both Commonwealth and State heritage legislation. Proposals are in hand which could result in the restricted area increasing to over 40 per cent.

Less than 0.1 per cent of the area of the state has been directly involved in resource exploration and development. Despite this, and despite successful introduction of codes of practice to limit the effect of exploration activities and to speed rehabilitation of access tracks and drillsites, the industry is generally and erroneously perceived to be a major land user. This is evidenced in community attitudes and reflected in recent legislation. A greater effort is required to ensure that exploration is not stifled by excessive limitations on the right of access to land.