5 April, 2023
Inland Rail buys 2800ha at Canning Creek
A 2,800 hectare property at Canning Creek, between Millmerran and Inglewood has been purchased by ARTC Inland Rail to be used as its first biodiversity offset property.
Inland Rail acquired the property as part of its obligation to offset the damage caused by construction of the Border to Gowrie (B2G) section.
Acquiring the Canning Creek property will allow Inland Rail to use this property to offset a large portion of its offset obligation to protect and manage similar vegetation that will unavoidably be impacted by Border to Gowrie (B2G) section construction activity.
Under the terms of the purchase, Inland Rail is responsible for the ongoing management of the land to achieve biodiversity outcomes defined in the B2G project’s Environmental Impact Statement and subsequent State and Australian Government approvals.
This includes Inland Rail developing a 20-year land management plan that outlines measures to protect the land and improve its biodiversity values, including property fencing and conducting regular weed and pest control activities.
Inland Rail is currently seeking expressions of interest from businesses who offer land management services on properties identified for biodiversity offsets.
Interested parties can submit their interest via the ICN Gateway online supplier engagement platform available here.
Canning Creek is strategically located next to biodiversity corridors and conservation estates and supports a range of threatened plants, animals and ecosystems that may be impacted by B2G project construction.
Elsewhere on the alignment, Inland Rail has already made significant progress in biodiversity offset programs in New South Wales and Victoria.
In New South Wales, Inland Rail has secured credits from a range of landowners and successfully completed a large procurement exercise to purchase 20,000 species credits, so far securing 38,000 offset credits towards the program in the state.
In Victoria, state offset requirements have been fulfilled and assessments to meet the Australian Government’s offset require-ments are expected to be completed early next year.
Stephen Jones, Inland Rail Director Health, Safety and Environment, said this is an exciting and important achievement for Inland Rail in Queensland, with more offset properties expected to be acquired soon.
