Claire Moore (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Women) Share this | Hansard source

Prior to the 2015 Queensland election, the Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk was very clear in her precommitment to the Queensland people that it has been long-standing ALP policy in Queensland to oppose the mining of uranium in Queensland. This has been long-standing policy, and a ban on uranium mining had existed in Queensland since the 1980s, providing certainty to Queenslanders and industry.

Former premier Campbell Newman also took this long-standing policy to the 2011 Queensland election, promising that he would not overturn the long-standing ban on uranium mining in Queensland. Despite the backflip by the former LNP government, the Department of Natural Resources and Mines in Queensland has not received one single application for a uranium mining lease since the previous LNP government's new framework started on 31 July. It should be noted that exploration has always been allowed in Queensland since the original ban on uranium mining in the 1980s. This frequently takes place in combination with exploration for other minerals such as gold, copper and rare earths.