Rachel Siewert (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate—

(a)

notes:

(i)

that on 23 February 2006 the Northern Territory Minister for Natural Resources, the Environment and Heritage, Ms Marian Scrymgour, recommended against the proposed expansion of the McArthur River mine proposed by Xstrata Plc.,

(ii)

the potential impact on the environment, tourism and fisheries industries dependent on local ecosystems, should the mine be approved,

(iii)

the strong opposition of local Indigenous communities to the contamination of traditional fishing grounds and living areas,

(iv)

the impossibility of conducting open cut mining in a waterway without serious environmental consequences, and

(v)

that Ms Scrymgour recommended against this proposal on the grounds that it failed to meet the tests of science or sustainability; and

(b)

commends Ms Scrymgour on this decision.

Question put: