Central Eyre Iron Project

Mr HUGHES (Giles) (14:24): Thank you, Mr Speaker. My question is to the Minister for Mineral Resources and Energy. Can the minister inform the house about the progress of consultation on the Central Eyre Iron Project and the government's role in assessing the proposed mine and supporting infrastructure?

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens—Treasurer, Minister for Finance, Minister for State Development, Minister for Mineral Resources and Energy) (14:24): Thank you very much, and I thank the member for his question and note the member for Giles' ongoing support for the resources sector, an industry that remains one of this government's key economic priorities. An extended public consultation period of more than 10 weeks ran from 19 November to 2 February as part of the ongoing assessment of Iron Road's Central Eyre Iron Project. The government wanted to ensure that the local community had sufficient time to work through a large series of documents related to the mining operations, the rail link and the proposed port at Cape Hardy.

This is a major investment on the Eyre Peninsula that is being proposed, so it was only fitting that we provided the community with one of the longest consultation periods for a mining and infrastructure project of this kind. Ten weeks of consultation took into account that the applications for this significant project were lodged during the grain harvest and close to school holidays. These are very busy times for regional communities, and we think that the local community had time to fully consider these important documents, seek advice and raise any concerns with issues, such as the environment, dust, noise, social impacts and a range of other risks that Iron Road will have to demonstrate to the government that it can manage.

The consultation related to both Iron Road's mining lease proposal for a magnetite mine and processing facility near Warramboo on the central Eyre Peninsula and the environmental impact statement for the associated infrastructure, which includes a rail link from the proposed mine to a deep sea port at Cape Hardy. The potential for the impact of shipping movements on the Spencer Gulf marine mammals will also be considered by the commonwealth environment minister under the provisions of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, and I have great confidence in Greg Hunt to do his job admirably.

To simplify the process for the local community, the state government is running the public consultation for the EIS and the mining proposal in parallel so that people can make comment either about the mine or the associated infrastructure. Public meetings were held across the Eyre Peninsula so that local communities had the opportunity first-hand to find out more about the aspects of the project that have the most relevance to them. Meetings at Port Neill, Cleve and Wudinna used a five-hour open-house format so that people could discuss the project with the company and government agencies and learn how to make a submission.

Over 100 submissions were received from a range of stakeholders, including community members, business and local government. About half the submissions received were submitted online through a dedicated website and relate to a broad range of aspects detailing both concerns and support for the project. These submissions are in the process of being handed over to Iron Road and will then be uploaded to the stand-alone website www.ceipconsultation.sa.gov.au. Unless for legal reasons a submission is not fit for publication, the South Australian community will be able to read online all the views submitted as part of this transparent process.

The company's responses will also be made available to the public and uploaded to the state government website for viewing in due course. Our technical experts within government will also be providing their input into the comprehensive assessment of the project. The applications lodged under the Mining Act and the Development Act, submissions received from the public and Iron Road's responses will then be used to undertake a comprehensive assessment of the project.

The assessment will inform a decision on whether or not to approve the project and, if approved, the terms and conditions to be met by Iron Road. It is an important project but, of course, what is most important are the views of the community on which it will impact the most.