A $2.6 BILLION mine – which has $900 million worth of contracts with Queensland companies – is one of the 100 projects other than Adani with a cloud over it because the Senate could not pass native title changes this week.
But it could have been put at serious risk if the legislation was passed as the Federal Government originally drafted it.
The Rio Tinto bauxite mine at Weipa, already in production and supplying refineries in Gladstone, is directly affected by the native title issues, which were left unresolved during political brinkmanship in Canberra.
The Rio Tinto bauxite mine at Weipa, already in production and supplying refineries in Gladstone, is directly affected by the native title issues.
Urgent changes to native title law, which have been needed since the McGlade Federal Court decision in February, are unable to be passed until June 13 at the earliest.
The McGlade decision changed previous interpretations of native title law by allowing a single disputing claimant to hold up indigenous land use agreements (ILUA), while the amendments will essentially reverse that.
While Labor now supports the legislation, it refused to sit an extra day to pass it yesterday, saying there needed to be more consultation.
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