Queensland Farmer's Activism Leads to Quarry Application Withdrawal

Daniel Storey never wanted to be an activist.

Mention the word and the 29-year-old regional Queensland landholder still pictures people blocking city streets.

"I'd still think of an activist as a person going off for something they do believe in, but in a way that's not productive," Mr Storey said.

But last month he became one after the community consultation period opened for a mining lease application covering part of his family's Junction View farm in the Lockyer Valley.

"I don't think I would have been as vocal if it was happening somewhere else, because it is on our place," he said.

Rosehill Sandstone wanted approval for a 62-hectare quarry, including 21 hectares of the Storey family's property, first farmed by his mother's family in the 1920s.

Mr Storey feared the quarry would create noise, alter the landscape and affect the farm's future.

Under Queensland law, the state owns the minerals beneath private land, and landholders cannot simply refuse mining access, leaving them to negotiate compensation or challenge applications through the Land Court.

So, Mr Storey embodied his idea of activism — a bloke drafting objection letters at the kitchen table and speaking publicly to the media.

The tiny community of about 60 people rallied behind him.

Then last week, Rosehill unexpectedly withdrew its mining lease application.

"We all felt very relieved," Mr Storey said.

"Without this mining lease application over our heads, we've got a bit more … ability to plan and to be excited about what could happen."

Neighbouring grazier Danny D'Andilly, whose property was also within the proposed lease, said the decision brought certainty.

"It came as great relief to me because my plans were all up in the air," he said.

"It's a win for the small guy."

He said he did not oppose mining itself, only projects imposed without community support.

When the developer changed course

The former applicant, a small family-run business based in the state's Southern Downs, was seeking additional sandstone supplies beyond Rosehill's existing quarry near Warwick.

For cattle producer and manager John Doherty, the reason for walking away was unusually candid.

"It was only after the objection responses came in that things came to light as to what people were actually thinking … particularly the young farmer [Daniel Storey] on one of the lots," he said.

"He's happy in doing what he's doing and really didn't want to upset him."

Mr Doherty believed the company may have ultimately succeeded in the Land Court.

But he decided that was not enough.

His decision was also shaped by experience.

Mr Doherty said his own family once had a sandstone mine imposed on their grazing property.

"I don't want to force a business onto somebody's property that they don't want," he said.

"The money's not the end of the world. You've got to work with the people that surround where you're working."

While this community claimed a win, similar battles could become harder.

A bill before the Queensland Parliament would expand compulsory acquisition powers for some critical minerals projects, with lawyers warning it could weaken Land Court rights that communities have used to challenge developments.

A lesson playing out across rural Australia

Junction View is a small dispute, but it reflects a much broader trend.

Community opposition has influenced projects ranging from the rejection of Waratah Coal's proposed Galilee Basin mine to the High Court ending KEPCO's long-running bid to develop a coal mine in New South Wales' Bylong Valley.

More recently, Queensland's deputy premier cancelled the proposed Moonlight Range Wind Farm after widespread local opposition.

University of Sydney emeritus professor of anthropology Linda Connor said major resource projects could turn ordinary rural landholders into activists.

"Well organised community opposition can be quite effective."

Prof Connor said resistance was usually driven by a deep attachment to place, not blanket opposition to mining or renewable energy.

"People who are confronting really big changes in their local environment, where often they've lived for generations … [they] are confronting what is for them an existential problem.

"I don't think it's a sham view at all."

While acknowledging that many developments brought significant benefits for willing landholders, she questioned whether government approval alone was sufficient.

"They [governments] have not enough meaningful connections or provisions within their planning regulations in particular to really make sure that the developments that do take place in rural Australia … do the right thing by the rural communities."

Returning to southern Queensland, the outcome is a reminder that for one developer, earning a social licence mattered as much as securing government approval.

"The emotions have come out, and we know what people think," Mr Doherty said.

"I accept that and respect that.

For Mr Storey, it means returning to ordinary life.

Driving through the sandstone hills, checking cattle and getting back to the work that first drew his family to the land.