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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2013-11-27 Daily Xml
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NATURAL RESOURCES COMMITTEE: WHYALLA REGION

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY (20:15): I move:

That the report of the committee, on the Whyalla Region Fact Finding Visit 23 to 24 October 2013, be noted.

The Natural Resources Committee visited the Whyalla region in late October 2013 at the request of the Hon. Robert Brokenshire MLC. Mr Brokenshire had for some time been urging committee members to make the visit following the raising of a number of concerns by landholders adjoining the Iron Duke open-cut mine south of Whyalla. Mr Brokenshire visited the landholders early in the year and reported back to the committee about dust from the mine impacting on native vegetation, crops and sheep.

Members heard that, as well as financial and environmental impacts, the mine was reportedly also affecting the health and wellbeing of some nearby landholders. Other concerns raised related to access by mining exploration companies to farming land, inadequate compensation for the use of land for exploration and mining, the impact of the mine's tailing dam on groundwater, and the destruction of habitat as a consequence of the dumping of waste rock.

The committee visited Arrium's Iron Duke mine on Wednesday 23 October and received a detailed presentation by staff. Mine staff rejected landholders' concerns, asserting adequate community consultation at all stages of the operation. Arrium staff reported to the committee that they had tried hard to address landholder concern but had been unable to do so and had consequently reached an impasse. Arrium also alleged that landholders had provided no proof to support claims about dust impacts, although acknowledging that dust monitoring by Arrium had commenced only 12 months previously.

From Arrium's perspective, the region was an inherently dusty place, with the mine only partly responsible for dust. Mining staff openly acknowledged problems with their tailings dams, which had leaked and overflowed, resulting in groundwater mounding and native vegetation dieback. Arrium appeared to be addressing this issue, which was also being monitored by the Department for Manufacturing, Innovation, Trade, Resources and Energy. Revegetation of the area affected by the tailings dam was occurring and would continue to in accordance with the Program for Environmental Protection and Rehabilitation.

After visiting the mine, the committee visited landholders at the Turnbull family's Moonabie Homestead, south of Iron Duke mine. The committee heard allegations of poor practice and compliance by a number of resource companies in the region. Landholders alleged that some mining companies were more concerned with extracting wealth from the share market than extracting minerals from the ground and alleged unscrupulous practices, such as illegal access and damage to farm properties.

After the landholder meeting, committee members travelled through grazing properties with significant stands of native vegetation adjacent to the Iron Duke mine and the long-abandoned Iron Baron township. Members were shocked at the obvious damage to native vegetation, much of which is dying or in the process of dying, apparently as a result of being smothered by red dust, which could be seen coating foliage. Members also observed that compared with locations further away from the mine, and not impacted by dust, there was a marked difference in the vegetation and ground cover. In the badly impacted areas, only Mallee and saltbush appeared to be unaffected. This contrasted starkly with the less impacted areas, where there was a continuous and healthy cover of native and pasture grasses between the bushes and trees.

In conclusion, the committee understands that mining in the Whyalla region is an important contributor to the local economy, employing many local people. It is obvious to the landholders and to the committee that the mines will remain operational for at least the next couple of decades and no-one seems to be suggesting that the mine should close.

What landholders say they want is for impacts to be acknowledged and for landholders to be compensated. Landholders also want the mining companies to implement best practice and comply with all relevant legislation and regulations. The landholders the Natural Resources Committee spoke with suggested that the Mining Act should be amended to provide for a much more robust environmental impact and monitoring program.

I acknowledge the valuable contribution of the committee members—the presiding member, the Hon. Steph Key MP; Mr Geoff Brock MP; Mrs Robyn Geraghty MP; Mr Lee Odenwalder MP; Mr Don Pegler MP; Mr Dan van Holst Pellekaan MP; the Hon. Robert Brokenshire MLC; the Hon. John Dawkins MLC; and the Hon. Gerry Kandelaars MLC—who have all worked well together on this report. Finally, I would like to thank the members of the parliamentary staff for their assistance. I commend this report to the house.

The Hon. J.S.L. DAWKINS (20:21): I will be brief. I commend the motion on behalf of the Hon. Mr Wortley. Certainly, once again the committee had a valuable site visit to the Middleback Ranges area. We did hear some conflicting reports from, first, the people in the mining industry, but also from some of the pastoral and cropping operators in the adjacent area. My hope—and I expressed this to both parties—was that those parties could get around the table and work through some compromises. I was quite confident that would be the case, and I hope that will happen.

Certainly, there were some environmental issues that needed to be looked at but, as the Hon. Mr Wortley said, mining is such an important part of that region of the state—and no-one can attest to that more than the Hon. Terry Stephens—so it is important that the three industries, pastoral, agricultural and mining, can coexist in the region. It is important because the Arrium mine is important for Whyalla, on an employment basis, but also for the town of Cowell and the District Council of Franklin Harbour, which have quite a lot of employment at the Arrium mine. With those remarks, I commend the motion to the house.

Motion carried.

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