ID :
17950
Wed, 09/03/2008 - 21:24
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/17950
The shortlink copeid
Land court favours miner over Irwins
A mining company that won a court victory over Steve Irwin's widow Terri has accused her of having a secret agenda to expand cattle farming on a Cape York property set aside as a wildlife reserve.
Queensland's Land Court has ruled that Cape Alumina is entitled to access a portion of the 135,000 hectare Bertiehaugh Station leased by the family of the late crocodile hunter.
Cape Alumina owns a mining lease that covers about 15 per cent of the property, known as the Steve Irwin Wildlife Reserve, or Steve's Place. It had sought access to conduct an environmental impact statement for a bauxite mine.
Test drilling for the company's Pisolite Hills Project has revealed a bauxite deposit of more than 100 million tonnes, and it hopes to mine more than seven million tonnes a year from the site, starting in 2011.
Chief executive Dr Paul Messenger said Wednesday's decision validated Cape Alumina's position, and the company would now press ahead with an environmental impact statement on the mining plan, to be presented to Queensland's Environmental Protection Agency next year.
"After eight months of attempting to negotiate and consult with (Irwin family company) Silverback we were left with no alternative than to have this matter determined by the Land Court," he said outside the court.
Dr Messenger said freedom of information searches showed that Terri Irwin planned to substantially expand cattle farming on the property.
Ms Irwin has said the property is home to vulnerable plant and animal species and has vowed to fight the proposed mine. But Dr Messenger said expanded cattle farming on the property would be far more
damaging than bauxite mining, which would take up only two per cent of it.
"We understand that despite her conservation efforts, she plans an extension of the intensive cattle grazing operations through the construction of 31 dams and over 100km of barbed wire fencing and an airport funded by millions of dollars of taxpayers' funds," he said.
He challenged Ms Irwin to explain how she would protect "the important Bertiehaugh dry vine forests from potential land degradation, overgrazing, erosion, changes to vegetation and surface water run-off caused by her intensive cattle grazing plans without any detailed environmental impact assessment".
Dr Messenger also said his company would also fight any moves by Ms Irwin to appeal Wednesday's court decision. He said he did not believe it was the previous federal government's intention, when it granted Silverback Properties $6.3 million to purchase the cattle station, to then prevent economic development in the region.
The Wilderness Society on Wednesday called for the state government to scrutinise bauxite mining activity on Cape York. Society campaigner Glenn Walker said bauxite mining was growing on the peninsula, threatening species and habitat. "It's a strip-mining process where forests are bulldozed, then burnt and about two to 10 metres of ground is taken away, so essentially you are left with squares of sunken ground which affects the way water flows and affects some critically endangered species," Mr Walker said. "We want the proposal of all bauxite mining in Cape York to be scrutinised carefully by the government and for a regional plan for the area."
Comment was being sought from Terri Irwin.
Steve Irwin died two years ago tomorrow after being speared in the chest by a stingray barb while filming a documentary off north Queensland.
Queensland's Land Court has ruled that Cape Alumina is entitled to access a portion of the 135,000 hectare Bertiehaugh Station leased by the family of the late crocodile hunter.
Cape Alumina owns a mining lease that covers about 15 per cent of the property, known as the Steve Irwin Wildlife Reserve, or Steve's Place. It had sought access to conduct an environmental impact statement for a bauxite mine.
Test drilling for the company's Pisolite Hills Project has revealed a bauxite deposit of more than 100 million tonnes, and it hopes to mine more than seven million tonnes a year from the site, starting in 2011.
Chief executive Dr Paul Messenger said Wednesday's decision validated Cape Alumina's position, and the company would now press ahead with an environmental impact statement on the mining plan, to be presented to Queensland's Environmental Protection Agency next year.
"After eight months of attempting to negotiate and consult with (Irwin family company) Silverback we were left with no alternative than to have this matter determined by the Land Court," he said outside the court.
Dr Messenger said freedom of information searches showed that Terri Irwin planned to substantially expand cattle farming on the property.
Ms Irwin has said the property is home to vulnerable plant and animal species and has vowed to fight the proposed mine. But Dr Messenger said expanded cattle farming on the property would be far more
damaging than bauxite mining, which would take up only two per cent of it.
"We understand that despite her conservation efforts, she plans an extension of the intensive cattle grazing operations through the construction of 31 dams and over 100km of barbed wire fencing and an airport funded by millions of dollars of taxpayers' funds," he said.
He challenged Ms Irwin to explain how she would protect "the important Bertiehaugh dry vine forests from potential land degradation, overgrazing, erosion, changes to vegetation and surface water run-off caused by her intensive cattle grazing plans without any detailed environmental impact assessment".
Dr Messenger also said his company would also fight any moves by Ms Irwin to appeal Wednesday's court decision. He said he did not believe it was the previous federal government's intention, when it granted Silverback Properties $6.3 million to purchase the cattle station, to then prevent economic development in the region.
The Wilderness Society on Wednesday called for the state government to scrutinise bauxite mining activity on Cape York. Society campaigner Glenn Walker said bauxite mining was growing on the peninsula, threatening species and habitat. "It's a strip-mining process where forests are bulldozed, then burnt and about two to 10 metres of ground is taken away, so essentially you are left with squares of sunken ground which affects the way water flows and affects some critically endangered species," Mr Walker said. "We want the proposal of all bauxite mining in Cape York to be scrutinised carefully by the government and for a regional plan for the area."
Comment was being sought from Terri Irwin.
Steve Irwin died two years ago tomorrow after being speared in the chest by a stingray barb while filming a documentary off north Queensland.
