Wimmera growers’ ire at council ‘hiding’ critical sands submission

Wimmera growers are left “extremely concerned” after their local council contributed to a critical sands roadmap without community consultation.

Wimmera growers are left “extremely concerned” after their local council contributed to a critical sands roadmap without community consultation.

Horsham Rural City Council made its submission to the state government’s critical minerals roadmap, with no room for community consultation just four days after farming families protested at Bendigo.

Meanwhile, the beleaguered council’s chief executive resigned on Tuesday.

St Helens Plains farmer Keith Fischer, who is the fifth generation on his farm, said the lack of transparency at the council’s recent meeting generated fear for the region’s growers.

“With council not prepared to make the submission public, I’m concerned they have no consideration for sustainable food production.” he said.

“As soon as someone hides something, we get scared, why are they hiding it?”

The Weekly Times requested a copy of the submission, but HRCC did not provide one. It is understood the submission has not been made available publicly.

Councillors approved a submission at the August meeting for Resources Victoria’s critical mineral sands roadmap to align the sector, community expectations and government earlier in development processes.

Councillors were briefed in early August, and made a submission on August 26. The council said it was unable to engage with the community due to the time frame.

The Weekly Times asked the council whether it had considered any elements of the shire’s agricultural production in its submission.

A HRCC spokesman said “the submission is about community benefit sharing, not the impacts of mineral sands mining”.

It came one week after the region’s farming groups, including Mine Free Wimmera Farms, rallied at Bendigo to try and engage with Premier Jacinta Allan about their concerns.

Mr Fischer’s property neighbours a proposed Iluka Resources’ Wimmera Mineral Sands project, which called for 2600 hectares to extract roughly 9-10 million tonnes of ore each year for a projected 25 years.

“Food production should be a higher priority than unsustainable mining,” he said.

“I’m concerned in the end they’ll take our land, dig it up, and it’ll take 80-100 years to recover back to what it is now.”

Councillor David Bowe, who supported the roadmap submission, said it was crucial to safeguard farming and short-term gains “must not be allowed” to compromise the region.

“Our agricultural land is more than just a resource, it’s a lifeline for countless families and the foundation of our local economy,” he said.

Councillor Ian Ross said he hoped the roadmap was not an attempt at “greenwashing”, and called for funding for independent reviews of mining companies’ proposals.

The region’s growers also previously called on HRCC to disallow mineral sands processing from its Wimmera Agricultural Logistics Hub, which is next to a proposed 3600ha mining project, Avonbank Mineral Sands Project.

The state government’s vision for the critical minerals sector is to create regional jobs and community benefit, and unlock its “full economic potential”.

The council confirmed it received no royalties from mining.

UNION VISITS HORSHAM COUNCIL

Union officials recently submitted a formal complaint after visiting Horsham Rural City Council staff amid ongoing concerns on “poor workplace management culture”.

The council’s chief executive Sunil Bhalla announced his resignation on Tuesday, citing “a time for change”.

The Australian Services Union told The Weekly Times “several new allegations” surfaced during its recent visit to HRCC, after concerns about workplace conditions.

“The ASU will not allow its members to be intimidated and fear their jobs will be affected for speaking out about this ongoing problem at Horsham,” ASU branch secretary Tash Wark said.

The Weekly Times contacted Local Government Minister Melissa Horne’s office for comment, which provided information on raising issues on councils.

The state government passed reforms to improve council standards.

It meant there would be a uniform code of conduct, and any breaches would be “dealt with” by an internal arbiter as misconduct.

Councillors could face three-month suspensions and be prevented from acting as mayor or deputy mayor for 12 months, and mandatory training will start next council term for all Victorian councillors, with specialising training for mayors and deputy mayors.