McArthur River Mine fighting to keep environmental bond figure secret

MCARTHUR River Mine will take action in the Supreme Court in a bid to block the government revealing the size of the environmental bond it is holding in case of environmental catastrophe.

Aerial shot of McArthur River mine.

MCARTHUR River Mine will take Supreme Court action in a bid to block the government revealing the size of the bond it is holding in case of environmental catastrophe.

Lawyers for the mine have filed applications before Court Master Vince Luppino in their appeal against Borroloola artist and anti-mine activist Jacky Green’s recent legal victory to have the bond figure released.

Environmental Defenders Office NT principal lawyer David Morris is also a party in the claim, having inadvertently sent letters relating to Mr Green’s freedom of information request under his own name. Court staff did not respond immediately to a request to inspect documents outlining the company’s grounds of appeal.

The case stems from an October 2015 Freedom of Information request lodged by Mr Morris on Mr Green’s behalf, requesting documents about the clean-up bond being held by the government for the mine. The mine at the time was embroiled in a war of words with the CLP government, which had threatened to close the mine if it didn’t lodge an increased bond.

A letter from mine boss Sam Strohmayer to former Mines Department chief executive Ron Kelly was released, with the figure of the current bond redacted, but revealing the government previously held more than $111 million in security. The mine had opposed the release of the letter, even redacted, claiming it would be “contrary to the public interest.”

The department blocked the release of the new, increased bond figure, saying in a letter to Mr Green: “It cannot be said that the disclosure of the amount of the security bond would add substantially to the benefit of the community to the extent that it would override matters of commercial sensitivity.”

Mr Morris and Mr Green successfully appealed the government’s internal information processes to the NT Civil and Administrative Tribunal.

However the figure was withheld for two months to give the mine time to appeal.

A decision approving the release of the mine’s bond figure would effectively clear a path for a new era in environmental transparency in the Northern Territory, where legacy mines have long been a major environmental concern for some.