Greens call for uranium mining be reinstated

The WA Greens will move an urgency motion in the Upper House calling on the Government to immediately reinstate the ban on uranium mining in Western Australia.

The Premier, Colin Barnett, announced the ban had been formally lifted last week, and that mining leases would no longer contain a clause excluding uranium mining.

Greens MP Giz Watson says the Government does not have a mandate for its position, given that the Liberal Party only won 24 seats in the Lower House, compared with Labor's 28.

"They didn't win the election, let's get this clear.," she said.

"They formed a minority Government with the Nationals. Now the Nationals didn't run on a policy of open slather uranium mining in this state. The Nationals ran on a policy of royalties to regions."

Secrecy over Mount Isa children's lead levels

Mt Isa children still at risk for lead

AT least 12 children in Mount Isa still have dangerously high lead levels but the State Government is refusing to give details of the cases.

Health Minister Stephen Robertson was yesterday forced into a partial backdown by releasing test data - only a day after claiming the information could not be made public for legal reasons.

The State Government was still refusing to release case progress reports amid claims it was not being open and accountable with residents and was dragging its heels on the issue.

Several families have already begun legal action against the Government and Swiss mining giant Xstrata, which owns the town's mine, over allegations of negligence which resulted in lead poisoning among children.

A Queensland Health report in May found 45 children - about 11 per cent of those tested - had elevated blood lead levels.

It has also emerged five of another 36 children tested since June also had dangerously high levels.

New figures released in State Parliament yesterday by Mr Robertson showed only 22 of the original 45 children underwent re-testing in recent months.

Twelve still had levels higher than 10 micrograms/decilitre - the point where intellectual and behavioural problems could occur - while 10 had levels that were now below 10 micrograms.

Slater & Gordon lawyer Damian Scattini, who is acting on behalf of families engaged in a class action, yesterday said the results showed education such as glossy pamphlets was failing.

"The Minister should be releasing all the reports (even with names censored)," Mr Scattini said. "They promised they would be open and accountable. How many (children poisoned) is too many for this Government?"

Mr Robertson acknowledged the huge public interest but said the current legal action could not be compromised.

"Each of the families of the children with elevated lead levels has been given advice on methods to reduce their child's exposure to lead," Mr Robertson said. "Detailed environmental audits have been conducted on the households that have children with elevated lead levels."

Farmers protest coal mine plans

Hundreds of farmers in the north-west of New South Wales are protesting about mining expansions outside a coal industry conference in the Liverpool Plains.

About 200 farmers travelled from throughout the region to met outside the annual coal conference in Gunnedah to protest BHP Billiton's Caroona Basin exploration plans.

They want an independent study into the effect this could have on local water supplies in one of the state's biggest food producing areas.

The federal MP for New England, Tony Windsor, has been asked to speak to the conference.

He says local landholders stand to lose their livelihoods if mining destroys inter-connected water tables.

"They have no idea what slashing these arteries can do in terms of potential downstream impacts," he said.

He says the industry should contribute financially towards the study, but he says they will have to overcome their own fears of what a study might find.

"At a government level and at an industry level they know they can't prove you can successfully longwall mine in that sort of flat alluvial plain that's underpinned with underground water systems," he said.

"They know you can't assure the community there is no risk."

The farmers have vowed to take their concerns to Sydney.

China coal rights above climate change fears

The giant state-owned China Shenhua Energy group has won the right to explore for coal in a northern New South Wales section of the Murray-Darling river system.

The $600 million tender, which will cover 190 square kilometres of the Gunnedah Basin, has fuelled concerns about the effects of mining on rich farmland and groundwater reserves [and climate change fears.]

The area, south-east of Gunnedah, is next to BHP Billiton's Caroona coal exploration site - the focus of a battle with farmers over the effects of a potential mine.

NSW Primary Industries Minister Ian Macdonald says he is not concerned that the company is owned by the Chinese Government.

"I'm not worried about state-owned companies like some people are," he said.

"Many of the major corporations in South Korea that already have investments in Australia are state-owned.

"Over many years, we've had many countries invest in Australia that are essentially state-owned."

Mr Macdonald says money was a key factor in the Government's decision.

"But also, there's a number of other factors relating to the mining - the strength of the company, which is the world's largest and clearly, a very solid foundation."

Both the state and federal governments have rejected a call from local communities for an independent study on the effects of mining on groundwater reserves.

The federal MP for New England, independent Tony Windsor, says the Gunnedah basin decision is a sign of hypocrisy the over future of the Murray-Darling river system[ and climate change fears.]

"We have the Federal Government in South Australia saying, 'Oh, we made short-term decisions without long-term knowledge in terms of water resources and now we're going to have to rectify that,'" he said.

"I think the real motivation here is both the state and the Commonwealth have refused to be part of an independent study because they're more interested in the short-term cash."

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Radiation checks lessened at mine: Greens

The Greens say standards for radiation monitoring at the Olympic Dam mine owned by BHP Billiton have been watered down by the South Australian Government.

SA Greens MP Mark Parnell says documents he has obtained under freedom of information raise serious concerns about how often testing for radiation occurs at the mine in outback SA.

He says reports provided to the Environment Protection Authority by BHP Billiton lack detail about radiation exposure for people working in areas of the uranium and copper mine where the risk is highest.

Mr Parnell says tougher reporting standards are needed.

"Our criticism here is of the Government because it's the Government that sets the standards for radiation monitoring," he said.

"BHP Billiton will only do what the Government makes them do. If the Government waters down the standards then it's their responsibility if workers are being put at risk."

Qld Govt accused of Mt Isa lead 'cover-up'

The report followed fears about contamination from Xstrata operations.

The Queensland Government has been accused of trying to play down health concerns involving children at Mount Isa.

A new report has confirmed that 11 per cent of the 400 children who were tested in the north-west Queensland mining town have high levels of lead in their blood.

But Queensland Health concedes the exact source of the lead has not been determined.

The State Opposition's health spokesman John Paul Langbroek says the Government held onto the report for too long and orchestrated today's release.

"There are concerns that this could be a cover-up," he said.

"This is something that we've expressed in the Parliament some time ago, that an environmental protection officer quit his job because he tried to express his concerns about these testing results and nothing came of it.

"That was a few years ago and clearly the Government, by saying 'we're just going to test in 2010', is saying we just hope this goes away until 2010.

"They haven't answered what they're going to do for now apart from telling people they shouldn't be playing the the dust."

Mr Langbroek says further investigation and testing is needed.

"I definitely think it should be widened," he said.

"I think that testing is for children between age one to four, and clearly there are about 5,500 children up to 14 and if the results were extrapolated you could have up to 600 children up to the age of 14 who may also have increased lead levels.

Public meeting stacked in favour of Xstrata: lawyer

A lawyer representing a six-year-old girl allegedly exposed to lead in Mount Isa says last nights public meeting was stacked in favour of the mining company.

Damian Scattini's firm, Slater and Gordon, has commenced legal action against mining giant Xstrata, the Queensland Government and the Mount Isa City Council, after his client suffered injuries to her brain and nervous system.

Mr Scattini says some of the residents who spoke at the meeting do not realise the extent of contamination levels in the region.

"Unfortunately as expected it was a PR exercise and really for once they are being accurate," he said.

"They are saying 'living with lead alliance' because that's their solution ... the population should just live with it, just suck it up, that's just a recipe for another generation of children being poisoned, left with brain damage."

MP Betty Kiernan has defended the State Government's handling of the issue, rejecting claims that the Government is working too closely with the mining company.

"We identified that we wanted to work together, more importantly, we do work together," she said.

"That means we have to have an open, honest exchange of information.

"The very mining that is part of our community, is our community, our community works over there at that mine.

"We're not standing back from the fact that we have formed an alliance."

Greens condemn wilderness mining penalty

Bags of waste were found in shallow trenches at the Mount Gee uranium site in the SA Flinders Ranges.

The Greens say Marathon Resources has only been given a slap on the wrist for breaching its uranium exploration licence at Mt Gee in a sensitive part of South Australia's Flinders Ranges.

The mining company was found to have incorrectly disposed of mining drill samples and rubbish in two large trenches in Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary.

A report tabled in the SA Parliament said the company had been told to clean up the unauthorised disposal sites.

MP Mark Parnell thinks more should be done.

"So far all the Government has said is that it's going to supervise the clean-up. That's just a slap on the wrist," he said.

"This company has behaved appallingly in an important wilderness sanctuary and the Government needs to throw them out and for good."

Mr Parnell had argued the company should lose its right to explore, while the Australian Conservation Foundation had accused the SA Government of being too close to the mining industry.