Key Points:
ICAC recommends transparent and fully informed
decision-making when it comes to allocating coal exploration
licences.
In the wake of damning findings about the grant of two coal
mining exploration licences during the term of the former NSW
Government, the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption has
issued a report recommending significant changes to the way in
which exploration licences are allocated, granted and renewed in
NSW.
The report's implications could also affect the way in which
planning approvals are granted for mining projects.
The ICAC report,
Reducing the Opportunities and Incentives for Corruption in the
State's Management of Coal Resources, was released on 30
October. Although the report focuses on the coal sector, and is
particularly relevant to that sector, many of the report's
recommendations could apply similarly to other resource sectors as
well.
