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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2010-11-09 Daily Xml
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Ministerial Statement

WOOMERA PROHIBITED AREA

The Hon. M.D. RANN (Ramsay—Premier, Minister for Economic Development, Minister for Social Inclusion, Minister for the Arts, Minister for Sustainability and Climate Change) (14:11): I seek leave to make a ministerial statement.

Leave granted.

The Hon. M.D. RANN: The Woomera Prohibited Area (WPA) is a 127,000 square kilometre area of South Australia that has been defence-controlled since 1947 and is a vital part of the nation's defence infrastructure. However, it also takes in about 13 per cent of the state—I am told about the size of England—and is estimated to contain about 62 per cent of Australia's known copper deposits, as well as 78 per cent of the nation's uranium deposits. In other words, there is a huge bonanza of resources that is known, as well as, of course, an area yet to be fully prospected.

There is also potential for significant discoveries of iron ore, gold and other mineral and petroleum products. In other words, the WPA represents enormous potential for the South Australian mining industry and economy. There are currently only three operating mines in the Woomera Protected Area: Prominent Hill, Challenger and Cairn Hill. The Peculiar Knob iron ore mine is expected to follow soon. However, there are more than 120 active exploration leases in the Woomera Protected Area.

The South Australian government has been strongly advocating the commonwealth to provide more certainty and clarity in the rules for exploring and developing mines within the WPA so that both the defence and mining industries can better coexist. Concern over recent decisions affecting the Prominent Hill and Hawks Nest mining projects prompted the commonwealth government to establish the Hawke Review to give more certainty to coexistence.

I am pleased to say that the interim report released last Friday by the Minister for Defence, Stephen Smith, and the Minister for Resources and Energy, Martin Ferguson, supports the central argument put forward by the South Australian government. We have always maintained that there is substantial scope to increase the capacity for coexistence between mining and defence on the WPA, and that is what the interim report recommends.

Reaching such a conclusion was critical for the future of the South Australian economy as it is estimated that some $35 billion worth of resources could now be opened up to mining. So, this is about making sure that—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. M.D. RANN: —vast known deposits and potentially even greater deposits yet unknown are not locked up for all time because of the defence purposes of the WPA. The development of multiple mineral deposits across the breadth of the WPA—

Mr Goldsworthy interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! I warn the member for Kavel.

The Hon. M.D. RANN: —could transform it into one of Australia's most significant resource provinces. The Hawke review interim findings provide us with greater certainty that much of the potential $35 billion in mining projects can be unlocked without impinging on the defence industry's ability to use the WPA for Australia's national security purposes.

The review believes that the WPA should remain a defence-controlled area but found that there is merit in making small adjustments to the south-eastern boundary to allow resources companies to explore in this known region of high metallic mineral potential, similar to the Olympic Dam deposit.

The importance of the Woomera Prohibited Area for developing and maintaining Australia's military capability is also recognised within the interim report, but it proposes the adoption of a time-share arrangement between defence and non-defence users outside the core area of the defence operations that would unlock the Woomera Prohibited Area for exploration during set periods of time. The review has found that the introduction of an integrated suite of policy measures would:

substantially increase the capacity for coexistence on the WPA;

preserve it as an effective defence capability;

introduce legal protection and certainty for all users; and

meet the South Australian government's resource development goals and targets of the Strategic Plan.

The Hawke review also acknowledges that there is scope to open up part of the previously identified highly restricted core area of operations to resources and energy exploration to allow the underlying mineral potential to be fully evaluated.

The growth of both our defence and mining industries are key factors in driving South Australia's future economic prosperity and diversifying our job creation and export potential. The government welcomes Dr Hawke's interim findings, as they clearly identify the current and future resource potential of the WPA which will unlock countless wealth for the future.

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