Curran denies ignoring mining project pitch
Gympie election 2020: Mining plan sparks controversy among mayoral candidates
Gympie
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A PLAN to restore Gympie's historic goldfields to life turned into a verbal shooting match at the weekend, with accusations of political point scoring and untruths flying among the mayoral candidates.
International resource company Aurum Pacific announced their plans to return the old Monkland gold mine to life on Saturday.
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However Aurum director Scott Dodd said repeated efforts to secure council support had failed to secure assistance.
Outspoken candidate Glen Hartwig was the first cab off the rank.
"How can a company that would like to inject a minimum of $10 million in wages to the region be treated with such contempt by council?" he said in a social media post on Saturday.
He said he had been trying to help Aurum since 2017 by organising a meeting with council bit "neither the Mayor or CEO ever responded to that email and the meeting was not able to proceed".
However, incumbent Mayor Mick Curran said in a social media post any suggestions the council had not been supportive were wrong.
"I have not been contacted again by them, or any councillor or mayoral candidate since the date of (a 2017 email from Aurum's senior environment officer Adrian Thirtle) to progress their plan," Mr Curran said.
"Any suggestions otherwise is simply not true and can be verified by email archives."
Mr Curran said yesterday Aurum's plan is a "speculative proposal and it has to be approved by the state government".
He said he was unable to raise the issue with the state minister at any of their regular meetings, because it had not been raised by Mr Hartwig after the initial email.
"Why hasn't the councillor (Mr Hartwig) brought the matter to council by way of a notified motion?" he said.
"That's not happened."
Fellow candidate Tim Jerome called the announcement "political point scoring".
"Like most residents in the region I have not heard of this company and it seems very suspicious that we have this company coming out now and one candidate Mr Hartwig who has already had dealings with this company and is pushing for council approval," Mr Jerome said.
He said more information was needed.
But Mr Dodd said there had been several conversations between Aurum and the council in the past year alone.
This included a meeting between Aurum representatives and CEO Bernard Smith and corporate director Pauline Gordon in March last year, and a November 4 email to the CEO's office noting "numerous attempts" to engage with the council.
"To date we have not received the necessary commitment from council despite providing extensive responses to all questions posed," Mr Dodd said in the email.
He again asked for the council to make it a "priority matter" and asked for a "clear response to our request".
Mr Dodd said yesterday h e had received no reply to this last email.
Mr Hartwig's Mr Jerome's and Mr Curran's comments can be read in full below
G olden opportunity hits the wall
IT IS with sadness and frustration that I read (Saturday's) article regarding Aurum Pacific.
How can a company that would like to inject a minimum of $10 million in wages to the region be treated with such contempt by council?
What a wasted opportunity to bring high paying jobs to Gympie.
I have tried to assist this company for nearly three years but every effort is stifled.
This process for me started in August 2017, when I tried to organise a meeting between council and this company to facilitate growth for the region and to inform councillors of this wonderful opportunity. Neither the mayor or CEO ever responded to that email and the meeting was not able to proceed.
This company does not want any of your money through large council contracts, they do not want discounts, handouts or subsidies funded by your hard-earned dollar.
They just want a motion at a council meeting.
This motion would request the State Government to remove the Urban Restricted Area and allow mining to begin outside of the Gympie City Centre.
It has been so frustrating to watch the hindrance and lack of interest by some in council to bring back a wealth creation industry to Gympie.
One hundred jobs, high paid jobs.
Would you like to earn around $100,000 per year? It could have been you, except the current council leadership will not assist.
I have worked at the old Eldorado mine and can unequivocally say it was some of the most rewarding years of my working life.
If elected mayor I will facilitate a briefing with newly-elected councillors so the appropriate information can be used to move this project forward with a motion at a council meeting.
I absolutely support this company's efforts to create jobs for Gympie and if elected will be working with the necessary state government departments to make it happen.
A fresh approach that is centred around service and loyalty to the ratepayer is needed.
Glen Hartwig, Mayoral candidate Gympie Regional Council election
Jerome tells mining company 'give me a call'
LIKE out of nowhere we have a company called Aurum Pacific who are going to bring upward of 500 jobs to our region by gold mining.
Like most residents in the region I have not heard of this company and it seems very suspicious that we have this company coming out now and one candidate, Mr Hartwig, who has already had dealings with this company and is pushing for council approval.
What do we know about this company? No one from this company has approached me, so I have had to do my own research by doing a Google search.
When I do a Google search, it says the parent company is based in Hong Kong and is called Aurum Pacific (China) Group. This company seems to have two arms of operation that are tied in together - they are the software side and the mining side.
I am not giving this company a thumbs down but like anyone else who wants to make an informed decision I need more information. I would love to talk to this company one-on-one to find out more information.
If this company is truly not politically affiliated with Mr Hartwig, I would love for this company to get in contact with me. My picture and details are very visible at the moment. Give me a call.
Tim Jerome, Mayoral candidate Gympie Regional Council election
Curran: claims council unsupportive of plan simply not true
IT'S been suggested that council is not supportive of this project.
The below email copy is the last correspondence I have had with the proponents.
I have not been contacted again by them, or any councillor or mayoral candidate since the date of the email to progress their plan.
Any suggestion otherwise is simply not true and can be verified by email archives.
September 2017 email to councillors and staff from Aurum Pacific senior environment officer Adrian Thirtle:
"Unfortunately, at this time the Aurum Pacific Group P/L will have to decline your kind offer to give our presentation to Council on plans for the company in the Gympie regional.
"The company sincerely apologises for this late response. Due to crucial ongoing negotiations relating to tenement and property ownership at Gympie, we would be unable to give Council firm promises on the project until these minor legal obstacles have been resolved.
"The company have been working hard to get this issue finalised prior to Thursday's meeting, but unfortunately the conclusion of them is out of our hands.
"We hope that this has not disrupted you all in any way. The Aurum Pacific Group have a keen interest in investing to get this project up and running to the benefit of the Shire and regional population. We hope that in the near future that APG P/L will have the opportunity to present their proposals to you once all external factors have been secured."
Mick Curran, Mayoral candidate, posted on The Gympie Times Facebook page, Sunday, March 8.
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