ABC News Breakfast 22 Aug, page-71

A copy of my letter to the ABC.

I refer to the news item on ABC News by David Lipson. The focus of his report was on the activists campaign against Lynas because of the low level radioactive waste stored at the plant. This was a one sided report against Lynas that cast the company as being environmentally negligent, with no factual evidence to confirm that claim. Lipson should have been aware that this is a highly political issue in Malaysia with a long history of largely false claims by politicians seeking electoral favours.

It should be understood by Lipson that the laws in Malaysia in regards to radioactive waste are ten times lower than those in Australia and in international standards. Hence, while the waste at the Lynas plant is considered radio active in Malaysia, it not considered so by Australian and international standards.

Lipson should also be aware that Lynas is the only competitor to China in the rare earth minerals market. China has used rare earth as a threat to the western world in the trade war currently dominating world markets. It would be in China’s interests to have Lynas shut down. It is worth considering what influence China is having on the activists in Malaysia and are there more sinister agendas at play in this whole Lynas saga.

During Lipson’s report, he did not present any response from Lynas in regards to the activists claims, nor did he present any evidence to support the activist claims. He should be aware that these unsubstantiated claims have an impact on people who either employed directly or indirectly by Lynas and the many investors who have the life savings invested in the company.

To date, Lynas has complied with every requirement of the Malaysian regulatory bodies. They have an exemplary record for worker safety and environmental conformity. The anti Lynas activists have never been able to produce one item of evidence to show that Lynas is not completely compliant with Malaysian laws.

It should be noted that Lynas has been reviewed six times by Malaysian regulators and international standards organizations. In each case, Lynas has been found to be fully compliant to all regulations and standards. It is interesting to note that the most recent review of Lynas by the Malaysian Government also found that the Lynas processing plant was a safe and compliant. The minister responsible for the report, then buried the report and silenced the review committee from making any public comments about the review. Surely an act worth investigating further.

In keeping with the ABC Charter and the obligations for fairness in news reporting, I would ask that the ABC do another report on the Lynas issue, with all the facts and figures provided by informed people. An interview with the Lynas CEO would be a good start and a few probing questions to the Malaysian Minister, Yeo Bee Yin, would be a good start. I would be surprised if you could even get close to that Minister, such is her anti Lynas convictions.

This whole Lynas saga would make an excellent subject for a Four Corners program. It is a case full of political, environmental, economic and trade intrigue. With current world trade war and the Chinese ambition for world dominance in the rare earth market, this would be a very interesting investigation to follow.I look forward to your response.