1   Short title

                   This Act is the Galilee Basin (Coal Prohibition) Act 2018 .

2   Commencement

             (1)  Each provision of this Act specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table. Any other statement in column 2 has effect according to its terms.

Note:          This table relates only to the provisions of this Act as originally enacted. It will not be amended to deal with any later amendments of this Act.

             (2)  Any information in column 3 of the table is not part of this Act. Information may be inserted in this column, or information in it may be edited, in any published version of this Act.

3   Simplified outline of this Act

4   Application of this Act

             (1)  This Act applies in relation to the Galilee Basin and has effect despite anything in any other law of the Commonwealth (whether passed or made before or after the commencement of this section), including the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 , unless the law expressly provides otherwise.

             (2)  To avoid doubt, an authorisation, permit, title or other instrument that permits conduct that is inconsistent with the operation of this Act is taken to have no effect to the extent of the inconsistency.

             (3)  This Act does not apply to the extent (if any) that the operation of this Act would result in an acquisition of property (within the meaning of paragraph 51(xxxi) of the Constitution) from a person otherwise than on just terms (within the meaning of that paragraph).

5   Definitions

                   In this Act:

constitutional corporation means a corporation to which paragraph 51(xx) of the Constitution applies.

Galilee Basin means the Galilee subregion in western central Queensland identified by the Australian Government’s Bioregional Assessment Program map for the Galilee subregion, dated June 2018.

thermal coal means coal used primarily for the generation of electricity.

thermal coal mining operation means:

                     (a)  an operation or activity connected with, or incidental to, the mining or recovery of thermal coal or the production of material from thermal coal, including:

                              (i)  prospecting and exploring for thermal coal;

                             (ii)  milling, refining, treatment and processing of thermal coal;

                            (iii)  storage and disposal of material produced from thermal coal; or

                     (b)  the construction and use of towns, camps, dams, pipelines, power lines or other structures for the purposes of operations or activities described in paragraph (a); or

                     (c)  the performance of any other work for the purposes of operations or activities described in paragraph (a).

6   Prohibition on mining of thermal coal in the Galilee Basin

             (1)  A constitutional corporation commits an offence if:

                     (a)  the constitutional corporation carries out a thermal coal mining operation; and

                     (b)  the thermal coal mining operation is carried out in the Galilee Basin.

Penalty:  Imprisonment for 2 years or 1,000 penalty units, or both.

             (2)  Strict liability applies to paragraph (1)(b).