Traditional Owners take Deputy Chief Minister to court over McArthur River Mine security bond reduction
DEPUTY Chief Minister Nicole Manison is being sued for cutting the security bond for the McArthur River Mine, a decision the plaintiffs say was not publicly stated and could leave taxpayers in a ‘really vulnerable position’
Northern Territory
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DEPUTY Chief Minister Nicole Manison is being sued for cutting the security bond for the McArthur River Mine, a decision the plaintiffs say was not publicly stated and could leave taxpayers in a “really vulnerable position.”
The motion, which was filed in the NT Supreme Court in January, lists traditional owner in the area of the mine Josephine Davey, Jack Green and the Environment Centre of the NT as the three plaintiffs, with Mining and Industry Minister Nicole Manison as the defendant.
It comes after Ms Manison approved a “mining management plan” from Glencore, the company which runs the McArthur River Mine, in November which also reduced the mine’s security bond from $520 to $400 million.
Co-Director of the Environment Centre NT Dr Kristy Howey said that decision was “incomprehensible.”
“There have been 400 cattle killed because of elevated lead levels, fish have been found with elevated lead levels,” she said.
“Acid mine drainage is seeping into the river and groundwater.
“The impact of that can take 1000s of years to reveal itself … and is very expensive to fix.”
Dr Howey said one independent report found the damage caused by the mine would cost a “minimum of $1 billion.”
She claims there has been a lack of transparency around decisions about the mine.
“A problem with this mine is it is so far away from major centres, it has been a case of out of sight, out of mind,” Dr Howey said.
“When Minister Manison made the decision to reduce the security bond she didn’t actually publicly state that she’d made that decision.
“It was only when we went digging in the authorisation documents that we found it.”
Dr Howey also claims no one from the NT Government had visited Borroloola to “advise them of this very significant decision.”
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When asked to comment, Minister Manison said: “The security bond underwent rigorous independent assessment and will continue to be reviewed throughout the life of the mine.”
The matter will be mentioned in the Darwin Supreme Court in April.
Originally published as Traditional Owners take Deputy Chief Minister to court over McArthur River Mine security bond reduction
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