Minister: Where is the transparency? Terry Long: Shree has a rehab plan

Stanley River mine site

Minister Green refuses to release Statement of Reasons. Where is the transparency?

Minister for Energy and Resources Bryan Green has told Tarkine National Coalition that he has refused their request for a Statement of Reasons requested under the Judicial Review Act. The request related to the Stanley River (Livingstone) mine lease granted 28th May, where just four hours after signing the lease the Minister gave erroneous answers to relevant questions in Budget Estimates, giving rise to the question of whether the requirements of the Mineral Resources Development Act were followed.

“The Minister needs to come clean here. Either the law was followed and the Statement of Reasons should confirm that, or the Minister needs to admit that the decision to grant the lease was invalid and explain the error,” said Tarkine National Coalition Campaign Coordinator, Scott Jordan.

“This is a serious matter. A parcel of land the size of 180 cricket grounds in the Meredith Ranges Regional Reserve has been handed over to an interstate open cut miner, and it is perfectly reasonable that the public be satisfied that the lease was granted in accordance with the law.”

In May 2012, the Minister granted the mining lease in the Meredith Ranges Regional Reserve, and then told House of Assembly Estimates that the lease was not in the reserve, and that it was scheduled for logging, despite it in fact being a buttongrass and heath site. The Minister also stated that it was a one metre deep strip mine not the actually planned 150m deep open cut mine, clearly demonstrating that he had confused the Stanley River proposal with a yet to be sought mine lease 15km away at Riley Creek. Two days later Minister Green admitted in Legislative Council Estimates that the site is in the Meredith Ranges Regional Reserve, but failed to correct his other factual misrepresentations.

Under the Mineral Resources Development Act the minister must be satisfied that there is an appropriate mine plan, that he has adequate information about environmental impacts and that the company has both the technical and financial capacity to carry out the mine plan. These requirements are impossible to fulfil if the Minister did not in fact know the location or the type of mine planned.

• Shree Minerals mine lease fails on rehabilitation. Minister Green misleads again and exposes taxpayers to more clean up risks.

Minister for Energy and Resources Bryan Green has today granted Shree Minerals’ Nelson Bay River mine lease in the Tarkine despite EPA permits not actually requiring a rehabilitation plan until 12 months after mine commencement.

“The Mineral Resources Development Act requires that a mine lease must be subject to a rehabilitation bond, but it is impossible to determine what the bond should be as the plan hasn’t yet been produced,” said Tarkine National Coalition Campaign Coordinator, Scott Jordan.

“Again Minister Green has thrown the rules out the window to push ahead with mining at any cost.”

“Mine lease rehabilitation deposits are far too low and there is a long history of the taxpayer being forced to wear clean up costs when inevitably the bond fails to cover the rehabilitation where mines cease to be profitable”.

Minister Green is quoted on The Advocate online as saying “The project must comply with environmental conditions that are among the most rigorous in the world together with stringent rehabilitation measures”.

“This statement is utterly deluded. How on earth can you say that the project will comply with stringent rehabilitation measures when you in fact have failed to set any.”

• RUSHED TARKINE LEASE APPROVAL LEAVES TAXPAYERS EXPOSED

Paul O’Halloran MP
Greens Mining Spokesperson
Thursday, 13 September 2012

The Tasmanian Greens today said that long-term, sustainable businesses operating in the Tarkine were being undermined in a desperate grab for profits as the resources boom loses steam.

Greens Mining spokesperson Paul O’Halloran MP said the Resources Minister’s rushed decision to grant a Shree Minerals a new iron mine lease in the Tarkine was another sign that sustainable jobs were losing out to mining.

Mr O’Halloran said that the lease should not have been granted before the full remediation plan had been signed off, including the payment of a rehabilitation bond, to ensure that the mine site was fully cleaned up.

“There are no guarantees that when the mining boom grinds to a halt, Shree Minerals won’t evaporate into insolvency and leave behind a massive scar on the land and an equally massive cleanup bill.”

“That’s the nature of an industry that relies so heavily on the boom and bust cycle of global commodity markets to generate employment.”

“These are not long-term sustainable jobs, they are a short term economic sugar hit that will only be around for as long as the resources boom continues.”

“The Minister is being extremely shifty about exactly what kind of rehabilitation requirements will be in place to prevent Shree Minerals leaving behind a terrible, expensive environmental legacy.”

“To grant this mine a lease without the final rehabilitation plan in place, including bond payment for the cleanup costs, is potentially exposing taxpayers to a massive cleanup cost if the company goes bankrupt or decides it doesn’t want to pay.”

“How many times have we seen mining companies swoop in and rip the minerals out of the ground, only to disappear and leave behind a shocking environmental legacy for future generations to deal with.”

“The Greens are concerned that this proposal is part of thousand cuts for the special wilderness values that make the Tarkine so unique.”

“Instead of supporting sustainable opportunities that are sympathetic to the area, they seem happy to compromise the Tarkine brand and its economic value with their all eggs in one basket approach.”

• Christine Milne: Burke must protect Tarkine urgently

“The Tasmanian Government’s approval of the Shree Minerals iron ore mine in the Tarkine now puts the ball firmly in Tony Burke’s court to protect the precious habitat of the Tasmanian devil.” Australian Greens Leaders, Senator Christine Milne said today.

“This destructive decision demonstrates again how Labor can’t be trusted on the environment and they are even prepared to jeopardise the survival of the Tasmanian devil.

“Now it’s up to federal Environment Minister Tony Burke to step in and fix this mess.

“Too often the community and tax payers have had to foot the bill for clean-up costs after polluting companies have destroyed the land. Without any rehabilitation measures and watered down environmental conditions, the Tasmanian Labor government has failed to stand up to vested interests for the sake of the environment and the community.

“The Tarkine, as one of our last remaining great wilderness areas, the largest cool temperate rainforest in Australia that home to more than 60 rare and threatened species, and home to priceless Aboriginal heritage, needs to be protected. It is too precious to lose.

“Global demand for our resources is falling, and as thousands of people are losing their jobs in mining around the country it shows us that we can’t put all our eggs in one basket.

“We need to diversify our industries, and take seriously the need to shift to a clean, green and clever economy. We need to think long-term and reflect on what we want to leave future generations.

• Terry Long: Shree has a rehab plan

The Tasmanian Minerals Council has dismissed a green group’s claims about permitting conditions for the proposed Shree Minerals mine in the north-west.

The Tarkine National Coalition’s Scott Jordan has claimed the company does not have a rehabilitation plan and the project has been rushed to avoid heritage-listing of the area.

The Executive Director of the Minerals Council Terry Long said today the plan can be found on the EPA’s website.

“Shree Minerals provided a preliminary mine closure plan in their permitting applications,” he said.

“The permit conditions require further mine closure plans for Stages one and two within 12 months of their commencement and at five-yearly intervals.

“Modern mining involves progressive rehabilitation, to minimise both financial exposure through bonds and environmental impact.

“Nonetheless, substantial environmental bonds are still required, set at the cost of remediation by a third-party contractor,” he said.

The Tarkine National Coalition is opposed to economic development of any sort, in order to reach their philosophical destination, he said.

“There’s not evasion of regulatory requirements and there’s no fast-tracking and the Tarkine Coalition knows that”.