State govt tells feds to step aside for oil development
The state government is fast-tracking the assessment, development and delivery of the Taroom Trough, Australia’s first new prospective oil field in fifty years.
The Queensland Government says it has authorised a new Development Plan for the Taroom Trough to streamline roads and trunk infrastructure, claiming it would provide the industry with clarity needed for investment, and provide opportunities for regional communities through establishing a whole-of-basin framework.
A new Works Regulation (State Development and Public Works Organisation (Taroom Trough Development Plan Works) Amendment Regulation 2026) was approved overnight last Friday.
This step grants the Coordinator-General, Gerard Coggan, the power to drive whole-of-government planning and stakeholder engagement, focusing on expediting development, maximising investment and creating jobs.
Coordinator-General Gerard Coggan said his office is prioritising the governance and delivery framework for the plan without delay.
In practice, a whole-of-government plan that supports efficient and fast-tracked development will deliver stronger outcomes for regional communities, reduced impacts through shared infrastructure and greater investment certainty for delivery of these nationally significant outcomes,” Coggan said.
Next steps involve further exploration of the Trough’s subsurface potential, critical infrastructure planning, addressing tenure arrangements, establishing an approvals strategy and conducting essential baseline studies.
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The state government also continues to call for the Federal Government recognise the Taroom Trough as a project of national interest by streamlining approvals under the National Interest Fast-Track Assessment Pathway.
The Assessment Pathway will remove duplicated approvals already submitted at a state level, allowing oil to be produced without unnecessary delay.
Deputy premier and minister for state development, infrastructure and planning Jarrod Bleijie said the Taroom Trough represented a generational opportunity for Queensland and the nation.
“The Taroom Trough is a credible opportunity for Queensland to drive its own destiny again and ensure we’re no longer at the mercy of foreign nations and at the end of a global supply chain,” Bleijie said.
He added that the Taroom Trough was recognised as a key opportunity for Queensland long before the national fuel crisis.
“Coordinated development in the Taroom Trough ensures the most efficient and fast-tracked pathway for its development to bolster the nation’s long-term fuel security, and helps deliver regional investment and jobs for our rural and regional communities sooner.”
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Minister for natural resources and mines Dale Last said the approval gives the industry the official signal it has been waiting for.
“My message to industry is clear; I’ll sign, you drill,” Last said.
Last added that the Taroom Trough is already seeing 200 barrels of oil make their way into the local refinery at Eromanga each day for local fuel supply.
“The Taroom Trough has the potential to open up Australia’s first major oil province since the 1970s and we’re moving forward with our plan to streamline approvals so producers can get on with it,” he added.
“We’re doing our part, and now the Federal Government needs to put aside its political ideologies and recognise the national significance of the Taroom Trough by streamlining environmental approvals for the basin under a national interest exemption.”
Jenny Brown, climate lead at the Queensland Conservation Council, responded to the news, saying the state government’s fast tracking of oil, gas and coal projects shows a recklessness and lack of care about environmental impacts.
“Opening up the Taroom Trough to oil companies won’t bring down power bills, because prices are set on international markets. These projects take years to deliver and won’t provide relief to households facing high energy costs today,” Brown said.
She claimed the Taroom Trough will contribute to more emissions and climate damage, while impacting Queensland’s water resources, local ecosystems and the jobs they support.
“If the goal is to ease cost-of-living pressure, a far more direct solution is making fossil fuel companies pay their fair share, such as through a 25 per cent gas export tax, would be more effective,” Brown said.
“With tens of billions of dollars exported each year, that revenue could be returned to households to cut bills and invest in a mix of cheaper renewable energy.”
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