You have to see it from THREE SIDES (those FOR, Those Against) and from the Government's Perspective - what would be the most popular decision?
PLUS there's a difference when you have a dog in the fight..
The case AGAINST When you look at this Facebook page you can see a distillation of the angst felt by a percentage of the NIMBY community.... https://www.facebook.com/KeepWoodsideMineFree There's some pretty nice work done on that Facebook page. Would have cost a fair bit.
The case FOR the mine And the case put by Terramin for why the mine was going to be minimal impact. Also cost a fair bit.
The problem is Governments want to have an each way bet. They want to be seen as economically responsible and pro-development while also being green and community minded.
In reality, the government could have had it both ways - they could have been seen to have pushed Terramin to develop a highly community and environmentally compatible mine plan that addressed ALL CONCERNS in great detail (which they did). Responsible government doing what good governments do. A missed opportunity.
Personally, I think Woodside would have been better off - they could have had the economic benefits of a working mine (local jobs and local businesses benefiting) WITHOUT any downside - at all.
That was the plan.
Fly meets ointment.
TZN Price at posting:
2.3¢ Sentiment: None Disclosure: Not Held
