It’s been a long road, but Member for Frome Geoff Brock MP has finally won his bid to begin the
process of protecting South Australian landowner’s rights.

Although he was unsuccessful in passing a Bill into legislation, Mr Brock has had a victory through
the establishment of a Select Committee.

Mr Brock first introduced a Bill into Parliament in July 2019 which would protect land access rights of
landowners against the mining industry, but the matter was deferred and then subsequently
defeated a year later.

“I introduced the Bill to bring clarity, because no previous Bill had been able to satisfy all parties
and I was asking for a Commission of Enquiry,” Mr Brock said.

“The Bill would have provided an opportunity to investigate best practice at a national and
international level, while at the same time balancing the rights of landowners and exploration, and
I was disappointed when it was defeated by a Government majority.”

Unwilling to give up, Mr Brock then asked for a Select Committee be established to look at the
issue.

“I originally had the motion to establish a Select Committee scheduled for debate on Thursday,
March 4, but we were able to suspend standing orders two days earlier and it was debated and
successfully moved that a select committee be established.

“It will report back to Parliament on November 18 this year,” Mr Brock said.

“I am very pleased with the outcome, which will look at the protection of land access rights for
South Australian landowners and bring some clarity to the issue – bringing a level of fairness to both
the mining and the agricultural industries.”

Mr Brock said he was disappointed that Liberal Energy and Mining Minister Dan van Holst Pellekaan
could not see the merit of providing further protections for landholders in this matter.

“The Commission of Enquiry will, among other matters, look at measures to achieve a best practice
model in South Australia which balances the rights of landowners and those seeking to access the
land to explore for or exploit minerals, precious stones and so on – and that should only be seen as
a positive outcome for all stakeholders.”