Models for stakeholder engagement for post-mining land use change decisions in the Bowen Basin, Australia

Mining makes a major contribution to many regional communities, yet has major impacts on land use. At the close of mining operations, decisions have to be made about the standards of rehabilitation, choice of post-mining land use, and the processes to exit mining operations and achieve the transition to another land use or industry base. In Australia, there are strong regulatory requirements for end-of-mine planning and requirements for community and stakeholder consultation to ensure that rehabilitation standards and post-mining land uses meet community expectations. However there appears to be little information available about how to integrate the community into decision-making processes; the format and standard of consultation that would be appropriate; nor an evaluation of existing models in terms of their possible transferability to (or adaptation for), post-mining land use applications. The focus of this paper is on examples and processes to involve key stakeholders in planning around the resources sector in Queensland, Australia to help address these gaps. Five different models of stakeholder engagement relevant to post-mining land use decisions are presented, drawing on current engagement processes across the mining, agriculture and NRM sectors. The models of engagement are classified across a number of factors to help select and tailor their applications to different industry and planning needs.