Cindy Vogels flags fears on Gympie mining law repeal plan

A former council ambassador who designed for the likes of Lady Gaga has spoken out against a plan she believes will leave her gold-rush famous home city at the mercy of miners.

A proposal to repeal a blanket mining exploration ban across Gympie city could leave the region’s residents at the mercy of mining companies, some locals say.

A proposal to repeal a blanket mining exploration ban across Gympie city could leave the region’s residents at the mercy of mining companies.

This is the view of fashion designer and former Gympie Regional Council ambassador Cindy Vogels, who is not alone in flagging concerns about the plan, which has been touted as the key to bringing gold mining back to Gympie.

“Removing these protections could absolutely put home owners in the same vulnerable and weak position that rural landholders find themselves in when a gas, coal or mineral company comes knocking, with a permit to explore or mine on your land,” Ms Vogels said.

Under the State Government’s proposal, a blanket ban on new applications for coal, mineral or coal seam gas around Queensland urban areas across the Gympie city area would be repealed.

It would be replaced by new laws allowing submissions, subject to approval from Gympie Regional Council.

The applications would still be assessed under the Environmental Protection and Mineral Resource Acts.

Gympie’s Eldorado gold mine was shut down in 2008.

In 2020, international company Aurum Pacific said it wanted to reopen it as there was still a significant amount of the precious mineral in the ground.

Ms Vogels said resurrecting it under the proposal risked leaving ratepayers exposed.

“The adverse consequences of removing existing default prohibitions on mining activities in urban areas could burden (the) council, and therefore ratepayers, with the regulatory cost of defending the township’s liability against mining proposals,” she said.

“Is this in the community’s best interest?”

Resident Wendy Carr said there had not been enough public consultation.

She herself was still researching what it meant for the region, but said she was concerned a number of potential problems were being glossed over.

Of particular concern were the use of blasting at the mine, environmental pollution, and the possibility of Gympie becoming a Fly In Fly Out hub and thereby developing all the social ills that come with including rising domestic violence.

Private resource company Aurum Pacific wants to restart the Gympie Eldorado gold mine, Gympie which was shut in 2008. Pic Luke Marsden

She said a repeal could open the door to fracking and larger mining operations in the future, too.

“Mining is not the way forward for Gympie,” she said.

“Nor is it the way to address climate change.

“I understand why they need to get industry here but this is not the right one for Gympie.”

Ms Vogels said claims “Gympie was built on gold” and the ecosystems are fine were glossing over the fact that gold mining in the past “wasn’t pretty, safe or environmentally friendly”.

“Modern mining machines are far bigger than buckets and shovels,” she said.

The State Government is proposing repealing the mining ban across Gympie city that was put in place in 2011 in favour of a new system in which Gympie Regional Council would act as an assessing body.

Other options existed to drive Gympie’s economy on the back of its gold mining past, she said.

“Let’s capitalise on our mining history with more funding to our mining museum and more supported year-round festivals and experiences that attract drive traffic,” Ms Vogels said.

“Drive tourism relates to visitors who travel for leisure and use a vehicle to reach their destination. This includes both day trips and overnight.

“We don’t need to dig up our town to tap into the rich history of gold mining, we can celebrate it easily and keep our region the pristine environment people in more developed areas dream of visiting.

“Council is doing a fabulous job on our road quality, safety and maintenance, we just need to better understand consumer needs around the visitors we need to attract to our region through: revitalisation and development of signage; growth and rejuvenation in tourism accommodation and product; increase the use of technology to better promote tourism information, experiences and attractions; and cooperative marketing and promotion.”

Feedback for the proposal closes Friday, December 17.

Originally published as Cindy Vogels flags fears on Gympie mining law repeal plan