Read This: How can Whitehaven reconcile their business proposition of being a low-cost producer with the fact that they have a raft of challenging and expensive conditions like the biodiversity corridor, extensive (and flawed) offsets, and rehabilitation of mined land over the life of the mine? The answer has emerged with startling clarity. According to the recent history and actions of the company it would appear to have no intention of ever fulfilling the conditions. This is becoming clear from the way it has side-stepped and avoided all attempts by regulators to date to make them do so until now. Key deliverables in respect of future rehabilitation and biodiversity protections have been left in abeyance, while the mine construction proceeds. This is the story of how Whitehaven has been able to proceed with the Maules Creek mine, despite crucial plans being over one year late according to the mines conditions. It is the story of approval creep, a technique for effectively neutralising conditions of planning approval, which they have expertly deployed. It is also a technique used to stymie community opposition until the mine has cleared the forest and condemned the local community to subsisting with the impacts of the mine. Documents obtained through freedom of information legislation demonstrate that the miner has consistently declined to provide more detailed and enforceable plans for the future environmental rehabilitation and biodiversity management of what will remain of the Leard Forest after the miners have finished with it. - See more at: nofibs.au/2014/11/25/maules-creep-coal-mine-leardblockade-whos-the-umpire-asks-greekmcchic/#sthash.VUGvPqYm.dpuf
Posted on: Mon, 01 Dec 2014 10:40:36 +0000
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