AUSTRALIA
aCCOUNTABLE MINING
Our work
For mining to fully benefit the Australian community and have a softer impact on our environment, its operations must be transparent and accountable.
We are working with the mining industry, government representatives and civil society organisations to reduce corruption risks.
Our work focuses on the very start of the mining value chain: the process of awarding mining permits. By ensuring mining permits are awarded in a way that is transparent and accountable, we better ensure the rest of the mining project operates with integrity.
Our research sheds light on how the process works in Queensland and Western Australia. We are working with mining companies, government representatives and civil society organisations to ensure decisions about mining approvals are transparent and accountable.
Transparency International Australia is part of global network of Transparency International Chapters working to improve transparency in the process of awarding mining permits.
Report: CORRUPTION RISKS: MINING APPROVALS IN AUSTRALIA
Our comprehensive report documents the system of checks and balances that require transparency and accountability in the exploration license, and mining lease, approvals regime in Queensland and Western Australia.
If corruption risks are identified and acted upon before mining activities get underway, better outcomes for impacted communities, the natural environment and all citizens, can be achieved.
This report is an essential resource for government, industry, civil society, and the public – those with an interest in ensuring mining contributes to economic, social, and environmental prosperity.
Factsheet series
For mining to fully benefit the public interest and minimise negative impacts on the environment and communities, its operations must be transparent, accountable, and participatory.
This factsheet series provides an overview of the key corruption risks identified in our research report and explains what government can do to address those risks.
It includes six factsheets, covering due diligence, environmental impact statements, undue influence and policy capture, state agreements and native title agreements.
Guide: when mining gets the green light
Before a mining company is given an approval to mine, it must conduct a thorough assessment of the proposed project’s environmental and social impact. The environmental impact statement is crucial for governments to decide whether to give a mining project the green light and how to protect the environment and communities from any harm that project may cause.
This guide examines why we need to strengthen the EIS process and how a certification scheme can be of benefit. It also sets out the foundational elements of a certification scheme, the regulatory changes needed to introduce a certification requirement and what industry can do in the absence of a mandated requirement to use certified environmental and social impact assessors.
Mining licence process maps
What is the process for awarding mining rights in Queensland and Western Australia? What steps must a company and the government follow?
These ‘maps’ present the process as a step-by-step guide. They shed light on a process that is often complex and complicated, rendering it more transparent.
Their purpose is to help stakeholders – whether they be from government, industry or civil society – to identify points within the process where transparency and public accountability need to be strengthened, if corruption risks are to be reduced.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT PROCESS
The coordinated project process is an efficient way to coordinate whole-of-government approval processes. However, the broad discretionary decision-making powers available to the Coordinator-General in Queensland to facilitate state development can also create risks if those powers are not exercised in a highly transparent and accountable manner.
We have developed a ‘map’ to identify points within the environmental impact assessment process for coordinated projects where transparency and public accountability need to be strengthened.