Mining regulation failure…Martin Ferguson, failure

Governments’ failure to regulate is costing mining industry, taxpayers and environment

Lionel Elmore, Crikey naturalist, writes:

ABORIGINAL LAND RIGHTS, MARTIN FERGUSON, MINING INDUSTRY, NATURAL GAS RESERVES, TONY ABBOTT

A failure to sensibly regulate the mining industry is compromising its productivity, the environment — and the electoral fortunes of the Labor government. A demonstration in Melbourne yesterday against the proposed James Price Point Gas Plant, near Broome (WA), highlighted this increasingly national issue. Tony Abbot’s support for farmers against the gasification of coal in Queensland also highlights the increasing opposition to poorly planned mining. State and federal governments appear to be using mining industry projects to “open access” to Aboriginal land and high conservation areas. As green groups, farmers and Aboriginal communities are drawn into conflict with the mining, there are increasing costs to industry and taxpayers from bad planning and conflict.The mining industry as far back as 2008 proposed an offshore floating platform to process gas from the Browse Basin as a cost-effective option that would avoid conflict with Aboriginal communities and others. This is still ignored by federal and state governments. They appear to want to force this development to “open up the Kimberly”, which they perceived as having environmental and Aboriginal significance that may slow or hinder development.

This political move may have significant costs electorally. James Price Point, or Walmadan as it is known locally by the Jabirr Jabirr people, already has an indigenous eco-tourism industry. This is based on Aboriginal culture, coral reefs along the shoreline, fossil dinosaur footprints and an extraordinary range of rare, small mammals that shelter in its rocky landscape. The international profile of the Kimberly for nature-based tourism was driven for decades by the work of documentary maker and naturalist, the late Malcolm Douglas — founder and director of Save the Kimberly. It ticks all the international tourism boxes and is already generating employment and export income from overseas tourist spending….read the rest

LNG Refinery

About Tom Harley

Amateur ecologist and horticulturalist and CEO of Kimberley Environmental Horticulture Inc.

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