Jon Lamb, Darwin
There is mounting pressure from the federal government and mining companies for a new uranium mine in the Northern Territory. While the territory Labor government has stated it is opposed to a new uranium mine, how far it will go to block a new mine from going ahead is unclear.
Federal resources minister Ian McFarlane has criticised the NT government's opposition to a new mine, stating that it is hypocritical on the one hand to allow uranium to be freighted by train from South Australia to the NT for export and at the same time oppose a new mine in the NT. According to McFarlane, this is denying the NT an estimated $12 billion in export earnings.
Commenting on the NT and Western Australian governments' opposition to new uranium mines, Mc Farlane told the Australian on June 28: "While we cannot railroad state governments on mining developments, you can rest assured that we will not be letting the opposition of the two governments stop us from encouraging uranium exports to help meet the energy needs of China and India."
McFarlane has stated that his department is seeking legal advice in order to confirm the federal government's ability to override the opposition of the NT government.
Despite chief minister Clare Martin;s announcement prior to the recent NT election that Labor would not support a new uranium mine, there has been a flurry of exploration in the NT by mining companies in the last six months, buoyed by the steep rise in the world price of uranium (which reached a 23-year high in May).
There are at least 14 exploration leases in the NT specifically targeting uranium deposits. One example is the Deep Yellow concession in Central Australia, which covers some 60,000 square kilometres around Alice Springs. During budget estimates hearings on July 5, NT mines minister Kon Vatskalis refused to be drawn on questions about the scientific basis for Labor's opposition to a new mine, simply stating that it is "the policy of the government".
With resource analysts tipping the price of uranium to remain high, the mining lobby, aided by the federal government, will be increasing its efforts to ensure a new uranium mine gets the go-ahead.
From 91×ÔÅÄÂÛ̳ Weekly, July 13, 2005.
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