Pic: Nicole Anderson
The Wilderness Society, Tarkine National Coalition and GetUp! joined forces today (Sat) in the campaign to protect the Tarkine from out-of-control mining development by unveiling massive banners in front of a proposed Venture Minerals’ open cut mine in the Meredith Ranges, part of the Tarkine wilderness recently assessed by the Commonwealth and Tasmanian Governments as having National and World Heritage values.
“Tasmania’s Tarkine wilderness has recognised National and World Heritage values. But many of these values are under direct threat from new open cut mines, some proposed in existing conservation reserves that have been watered down to allow mining and exploration,” said Liz Johnstone, Tarkine Campaigner for The Wilderness Society.
“This region has a long standing National Park proposal, has twice been recommended for National Heritage listing, is recognised as of World Heritage value in a recent Government auspiced report and consistently attracts strong community opposition to destructive proposals.
Venture and a range of other companies have plans to build strip and open cut mines in the region, ahead of the findings of an Australian Heritage Commission assessment of the environmental significance of the area.
“The Tarkine has evolved over 40 million years to be what is now one of the few last remaining wild places on the face of the planet, yet Venture Minerals wants to go into what is currently a conservation area and strip mine it for just 2-8 years,” said Paul Oosting Campaigns Director for GetUp.
“Today we have seen the Tasmanian community stand up and take action to not let this happen and we know that they have the support of people from around the country who want to see this area properly protected,” said Mr Oosting.
Wilderness Society Tasmanian Campaign Manager Vica Bayley said that the event signals an escalation of the community campaign and a counter to the provocative actions of the Australian Workers Union and the mining industry who are pre-empting the current national heritage assessment and pushing ahead with risky mining proposals.
“The AWU, the mining lobby and companies need to back off and allow due process and the heritage assessment to conclude before locking in destructive proposals that threaten the values of the area and impact on the heritage listing that previous assessments prove this region deserves,” said Mr Bayley.
The action comes two days before Monday’s Extraordinary General Meeting of Venture Minerals’ shareholders in Perth, where a decision will be made on capital raising needed to kick start its mines in the Tarkine.
“The company, its shareholders and financial backers must realise that mining World Heritage value wilderness is a risk not only to the environment, but also to their investment,” said Mr Bayley.
Mining exploration, Stanley River. Picture: Rob Blakers, http://www.robblakers.com/
The three pictures below are nearby at the proposed site of the 1.3km long, 250metre deep, open-cut mine at Mt Lindsay:
• Venture shareholders told ‘mining World Heritage values – not worth the risk’
The Wilderness Society and Tarkine National Coalition will today mingle with Venture Minerals’ shareholders at the company’s Extraordinary General Meeting in Perth, telling them clearly that mining in Tasmania’s World Heritage-value Tarkine wilderness poses a serious risk to both the environment and their investment.
Venture is seeking shareholder support for a $17m capital raising effort to bankroll open cut and strip mine proposals in the Tarkine. The issue is attracting nationwide interest thanks to an escalating community campaign to protect the area and an AWU push to promote mining.
Tasmanian shareholder activist and Tarkine National Coalition spokesperson Scott Jordan will be participating in the EGM in Perth. Wilderness Society supporters will be distributing a letter to shareholders on the issue.
• Vica Bayley, Scott Jordan: Shareholders told ‘mining World Heritage values – not worth the risk’
The Wilderness Society and Tarkine National Coalition today mingled with Venture Minerals’ shareholders at the company’s Extraordinary General Meeting in Perth, telling them clearly that mining in Tasmania’s World Heritage-value Tarkine wilderness poses a serious risk to their investment.
Venture is seeking shareholder support for a $17m capital raising effort to bankroll open cut and strip mine proposals in the remote region that has documented National and World Heritage values. Several of the company’s mine proposals fall within an existing conservation reserve that has loopholes to allow mining.
Venture shareholder and Tarkine National Coalition spokesperson Scott Jordan attempted to participate in the EGM to tell the board and shareholders of the mounting community opposition to their risky proposals, but was denied entry despite being a valid shareholder.
“The management and directors of Venture Minerals are desperate to keep the truth from their investors,” said Mr Jordan. “They have never disclosed that they are operating in an area that has been nominated for National Heritage listing and recommended for World Heritage nomination.”
“Destructive proposals like road building and logging in Tasmania’s Tarkine wilderness have consistently attracted widespread community opposition and shareholders must realise that mining World Heritage-value rainforest is a serious risk to their investment,”
“Leading economists warn against repeating the ‘cargo-cult’ mistakes of bulldozing ahead in advance of proper process and in the face of community opposition. Here we see Venture pre-empting a National Heritage assessment of the Tarkine and pushing ahead in the face of controversy”.
Local Wilderness Society volunteers joined Mr Jordan outside the meeting distributing a letter to shareholders and highlighting the risk to their investment.
“With over 10 strip and open cut mine proposals for the Tarkine the scale of development is more akin to the Pilbara in Western Australia than a wilderness area of rainforest, button grass plains and pristine rivers,” said the Society’s Tasmanian Campaign Manager Vica Bayley.
“This region has documented National and World Heritage values, is home to a disease-free population of the now endangered Tasmanian devil and is an emerging eco-icon fundamental to the clean, pristine Tasmanian brand. Mining here is simply not worth the risk.
The groups are urging shareholders and the broader financial community to avoid environmentally destructive projects. Last week the Tarkine National Coalition and peak environment body Environment Tasmania indicated their support for alternative mining proposals in the Tarkine, which offer a win-win by processing legacy tailings from past mining operations. On the weekend massive banners were unveiled in front of Venture’s Tarkine mine precinct saying STOP VENTURE!
• GREENS DEMAND TARKINE MINE LEASE EXPLANATION
Paul O’Halloran MP
Greens Member for Braddon
Tuesday, 25 September 2012
The Tasmanian Greens today called on the Resources Minister Bryan Green to provide a formal statement of reasons to the Parliament explaining his decision to grant a contentious mine lease at Stanley River in the Tarkine.
Greens Mining spokesperson Paul O’Halloran MP said serious questions remained over the Minister’s decision to approve Venture Minerals’ Livingstone mine lease in the Meredith Ranges Regional Reserve.
“When this issue was raised in Budget Estimates earlier this year, it was clear that Mr Green was confused about the location of the lease and mistakenly referred to a lease some fifteen kilometres away,” Mr O’Halloran said.
“To many people it appeared that the Minister’s decision to grant a lease was done in such unseemly haste that he had no real knowledge about its location and the status of the land it will cover.”
“It would be in the interests of public transparency to at least provide the Tasmanian public with an explanation for this decision via the Parliament.”
“There is a desperate scramble on mining applications happening in the Tarkine right now, in an apparent attempt to subvert the long-overdue national heritage values assessment that’s currently underway.”
“The Greens are demanding that Federal Minister Burke intervenes and requires that any new mining lease application within the Tarkine region is put on hold until the completion of the national heritage assessment.”
“We should be focusing on economic projects that unite the community instead these divisive, short-term projects that undermine the heritage and conservation values of the region,” Mr O’Halloran said.
• TOURISM: THE TARKINE’S SECOND CLASS CITIZEN
Tourism Operators Shoved Aside By Mining
Paul O’Halloran MP
Greens Member for Braddon
Thursday, 27 September 2012
The Tasmanian Greens today raised concerns that existing tourism operators in the Tarkine were being shoved aside in favour of speculative mining ventures.
During Question Time in Parliament today, Greens Member for Braddon Paul O’Halloran MP called on the Resources Minister Bryan Green to investigate the impacts of current practices that see mining or logging applications take priority over existing tourism operations already established in the vicinity.
“My office has received representations from small business and tourism operators in the Tarkine who have been forced to move their business operation when an application for a mining is applied for,” Mr O’Halloran said.
“Tourism businesses seeking to operate in the Tarkine are entitled to a level playing field and should not be pushed aside by sectors like forestry and mining, who so readily demand and secure ‘resource security’.”
“This creates a negative investment climate for tourism industry, a sector that will be delivering jobs in the Tarkine long after the mining industry has decided that it’s time to move on to the next mineral prospect.”
“The Greens are calling on the Resources Minister Bryan Green to guarantee the same security to the jobs-rich tourism industry springing up around the Tarkine as he wants to guarantee the resource extractive sector.”
“This double-standard could be addressed by equivalent recognition and support being provided, instead of automatically treating the tourism sector as a second class citizen.”
