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Greens urge transparency on Mitchell Plateau mining plans


WA Greens Senator Rachel Siewert has reacted strongly to the announcement by United Minerals Corporation that a massive bauxite mine is again on the cards for the far-north Kimberley at Mitchell Plateau.

"We suspected all along that the State Government's support for the construction of large gas plants along the Kimberley coast had everything to do with opening the area up to mining interests. This announcement confirms that the Kimberley is now firmly in the crosshairs of heavy industry," Senator Siewert said.

Senator Siewert questioned the degree to which the Carpenter Government was pushing these developments behind the scenes, while leaving Kimberley people in the dark.

"Will there be even the pretence of consultation, or is open slather mining in Australia's last frontier going to be presented as a fait accompli?

"The tragedy of the Burrup Peninsula illustrates what happens when the interests of heavy industry are driven over the cultural, social and environmental values of people living in the region,” Senator Siewert said.

"The Greens stand behind the Kimberley community in demanding an open and transparent say in the future of their region, within the framework of a regional planning policy, so that the mess on the Burrup is not replicated on a larger scale across the north of our state," she said.

- 18 May 2007