Yumbarra Conservation Park De-Gazetted for Mining

Extract from Hansard

Legislative Council
23 November 1999

Sandra Kanck
Deputy Leader Australian Democrats
Member of the Legislative Council

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That this Council requests His Excellency the Governor to make a proclamation under section 43(2) of the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972 that declares that rights of entry, prospecting, exploration and mining under the Mining Act 1971 may be acquired and exercised in respect of that portion of Yumbarra Conservation Park being section 457, north out of hundreds, County of Way (Fowler).

The Hon. SANDRA KANCK: I think it is important that members recognise that we are voting on a motion and not the proclamation itself. I doubt that most members have seen what the draft of the proclamation says and does.

The Hon. SANDRA KANCK: Well, I am most surprised, but I congratulate the minister in that case. The important thing that one needs to recognise about the proclamation is that, once a majority of this parliament passes this motion today, basically all control will go to the Minister for Primary Industries, Natural Resources and Regional Development. Parliament will be sidelined from this day on this issue.

The Hon. SANDRA KANCK: No, the Democrats don't like that, because we believe that parliament is part of a representative democracy and we should be continuing-

The Hon. SANDRA KANCK: I certainly find it surprising that some members in this parliament support the sidelining of parliament, but that is something for which they will have to answer to their own conscience. My particular concern with the wording of this proclamation, amongst others, is that it does not simply authorise exploration as the motion before us indicates: it also authorises mining. Clause 5 of that draft proclamation provides:

5. Before granting an application for a production tenement, the primary industries minister must [and there are a couple of things the minister must do]-

It is implicit that the primary industries minister can grant an application for a production tenement.

The Hon. T.G. Cameron: So, we are authorising something before you lodge the application.

The Hon. SANDRA KANCK: Well, this parliament is authorising something before applications are lodged, and that is of great concern. Everything in this specific part of this national park will come under the control of the Minister for Primary Industries, Natural Resources and Regional Development. Sure, the minister can seek advice from the environment minister and even consider the advice but, having sought and considered the advice, the Minister for Primary Industries, Natural Resources and Regional Development can disregard it.

The Hon. SANDRA KANCK: I am not sure that making a decision based on someone being a `good bloke' is quite the way to do it, and the personnel do change from time to time. The Democrats are concerned about the precedent that the passage of this motion will have for other national parks in this state. For instance, we know that in the future there are likely to be moves on the Flinders Ranges National Park. Fundamentally, we are concerned that there has not been a proper biological survey and that, despite the protestations of some members in this place, what is planned is not a proper biological survey.

The Hon. SANDRA KANCK: It is absolutely true. The wording of this proclamation makes it very clear. Clause 6(a)(ii) provides:

6. A person (the miner) who exercises rights under an exploration authority must comply with the following requirements:

(a) (ii) to conduct during the low impact stage of exploration a baseline biodiversity study in a control area identified by the miner for future environmental reference purposes.

It is not even the minister: it is to be identified by the miner, who has an interest in being able to mine. That is who will do this-

The Hon. SANDRA KANCK: Mr Cameron, I am reading from the draft proclamation; that is where the truth lies. The miner who has an interest in mining this area is the one who gets to identify the control area where the baseline biodiversity study is to be conducted. So, at the same time as the miner is mining he will be doing the biodiversity study. This is really a case of putting the cart before the horse. That biodiversity study should be done before anything else occurs. Clause 4 provides:

Before granting approval under clause 2 and before determining what conditions (if any) the approval should be subject to, the Director of Mines must request and consider the advice of the Director of National Parks and Wildlife on reducing to a minimum the adverse effects on the environment of the proposed activities.

How will the minister responsible or the Director of National Parks and Wildlife be able to provide that information when the baseline biodiversity study will not be conducted until after the miner who is exercising the rights under the exploration authority does so? The decision will be based on no information.

The Hon. SANDRA KANCK: Exactly like agriculture. My other concern involves the powers that exist for a miner. Clause 6(a)(iii) of the draft proclamation provides that the miner must comply with the requirement:

to monitor the condition of the environment, in particular the effect on the environment of the exercise of rights to which this proclamation relates.

In other words, again, this company which has an interest in mining is self-reporting. This is self-defeating in terms of protection for the environment. The Hon. Terry Cameron says that we need to find out what is there geologically. The Democrats have been asking for a number of years what is there biologically.

The Hon. SANDRA KANCK: The Hon. Mike Elliott approached Ministers Kerin and Kotz in 1997 suggesting that a survey ought to be carried out and that, when that was done, we could then sit down and talk about whether or not a proclamation ought to be issued and exploration considered. However, as I have said, a decision is now being made in a vacuum. Nothing was done. Two years on, we make a decision without proper scientific information on which to base that decision. The Hon. Terry Cameron introduced the issue of Aboriginal people-

The Hon. SANDRA KANCK: It certainly is an issue. That is why I now want to reply to what the honourable member said. He implied that all Aboriginal people support the going ahead of this project. That is not the case.

The Hon. T.G. Cameron: That is the case. You are wrong. They've withdrawn that. Your letter is three months old.

The Hon. SANDRA KANCK: Some Aboriginal people support it. The Mirning people obviously spoke to Mr Cameron, but they do not represent all the Aboriginal people in that area. Again, the Hon. Mr Cameron is all too willing to be easily convinced. He seems to think that protections for Aboriginal sites will be there. Section 6(d) of the draft proclamation provides:

to ensure that objects, structures and sites of historic, scientific or cultural interest, features of scientific or scenic interest and any wildlife on the land are not unduly affected-

I do not believe that that will provide the protection for Aboriginal sites which the Hon. Terry Cameron has been led to believe will be given. I conclude by indicating that the Democrats are strong supporters of regional development, but decisions of this kind should not be made-

The PRESIDENT: Order, the Hon. Mr Davis! We have heard the same interjection over and over again.