Inquiry into Greenfields mineral exploration and project development in Victoria

That under s 33 the Parliamentary Committees Act 2003, the Economic Development and Infrastructure Committee is required to inquire into, consider and report no later than 8 February 2012* on the benefits and drivers of Greenfields Mineral Exploration and Project Development in Victoria and the Committee is asked to consider possible barriers to Greenfields exploration and development, as well as project attraction in Victoria in the context of a globally competitive industry, and to identify appropriate responses that government and industry may take - and the Committee is asked to do this through an examination of:

• Victoria's mineral endowment (often referred to as ‘prospectivity') across a portfolio of commodities (including energy earth resources and extractives products);
• the regulatory environment;
• fees, charges and royalties;
• national and international perceptions of Victoria's prospectivity and regulatory environment;
• the success and failure of projects in Victoria's mining development pipeline;
• different approaches and programs applied in other Australian and international jurisdictions to foster increased investment in Greenfields exploration for, and development of, minerals and energy earth resources;
• the different roles of government (this may include, but is not limited to, targeted industry engagement, facilitation and generation of geological survey information);
• opportunities to increase the net benefits from Victoria's minerals and energy earth resources, and to potentially provide for self sufficiency in low cost energy and extractive materials, consistent with the principle of economic efficiency; and
• consideration of the costs and benefits of Greenfields minerals exploration (economic, social and environmental), and whether there are opportunities to improve the management of potential conflicts between exploration and other land uses.