Kathy Newnam and Jon Lamb, Darwin
Federal resources minister Ian Macfarlane announced on August 4 that the federal Coalition government will seize control of the approval process for new uranium mines in the Northern Territory.
After meeting with NT mines mininster Kon Vatskalis, Macfarlane claimed that the NT government had "abdicated its responsibilities" and the federal government had to step in to establish "certainty" for the mining industry. Macfarlane said the government aimed to have a new mine up and running within five years.
The NT Environment Centre's Peter Robertson told ABC Radio on August 5 that the takeover is "a bit like putting the fox in charge of the hen coop" given the government's record of being "rampantly pro-nuclear and pro-uranium mining".
Arid Lands Environment Centre co-ordinator John Brisbin told the media, "We are looking at the new terra nullius being foisted upon us by a tragically misguided administration caught up in a dead-end dance with a miserable industry".
Brisbin rejected Macfarlane's declaration that the decision would free up the $12 billion worth of known uranium deposits in the NT, saying: "This is the market price for our pristine environment, for our peace of mind, for our children's right to a liveable world. Mr Howard, you'll need to do your sums again: our Territory is not for sale at that price ... in fact, it's not for sale at any price."
The NT government, while upholding the ALP's "no new mines" policy, had been under fire for its approval of uranium exploration licences. Vatskalis had told the Association of Mining and Exploration Companies' national congress in late July that it would be "really stupid not to conduct exploration for any mineral in any jurisdiction because of particular government policy". NT Chief Minister Clare Martin backed Vatskalis's comments, telling the ABC on July 29, "Like any policy, all policies are under review".
There are already 12 companies exploring for uranium in the NT and with world uranium prices doubling in the last year, the mining companies have a keen eye on industry expansion opportunities.
Robertson pointed to the successful protest movement against the Jabiluka mine when he told the ABC, "Any assumption the public is any more relaxed about approving uranium mines would be a very big mistake on the part of the Commonwealth".
Meanwhile, the federal government faces growing opposition to its plans for a nuclear waste dump in the NT. Two-hundred-and-fifty people attending an August 3 public meeting in Alice Springs heard Jayne Weepers from the Alice Community Alliance asking, "If this material is so safe then why is the federal government determined to dump it in remote Australia?"
In Katherine on August 3, Senator Nigel Scullion's "information session" about the nuclear waste dump attracted more than 150 residents, almost all opposed to the plan. Scullion's "information session" in Darwin on August 12 is expected to receive a similar response.
The newly formed Darwin No Waste Committee is holding a public meeting on August 31, at 7pm, at the Crowne Plaza. For more information, phone Justin on (08) 8945 4116.
From Green Left Weekly, August 10, 2005.
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