Environmental Defenders Office (EDO) welcomes the opportunity to comment on the draft North Queensland Regional Plan and Infrastructure Plan 2026 (Draft Plan).

A regional plan is a state planning instrument developed to protect or give effect to state interests. The Draft Plan, as currently drafted, does not reflect the state interests identified in the 2017 State Planning Policy (SPP) by failing to address climate change as a major planning issue. Directly addressing climate change will provide guidance to reduce the future impact of climate change on communities and infrastructure and assist decision makers in considering the impact of human rights on their decisions are required by the Human Rights Act 2019 (Qld).

North Queensland region contains several internationally recognised environmental areas, including the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area, the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area, and Ramsar Wetlands, with the environmental values providing inherent benefit across the region. The Draft Plan focuses on achieving economic strength through tourism, housing opportunities, agriculture and investments but fails to provide for the regional need to protect the natural environment and build climate-resilient communities. Protecting the environment should be a priority throughout the plan to ensure ecologically sustainable development. The Draft Plan should maintain existing environmental protects unless higher protections are afforded to the existing Strategic Environmental Areas through other legal mechanisms.

The Draft Plan appears to have been prepared in the absence of meaningful and effective engagement with affected First Nations communities in North Queensland, contrary to their rights under the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). UNDRIP mandates that States engage in genuine consultation and cooperation with First Nations peoples and their representative organisations to secure their Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) before taking action that affects their lands, territories, resources and rights.