Scott Ludlam (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

asked the Minister representing the Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities, upon notice, on 12 April 2011:

(1) Has the Office of the Supervising Scientist (OSS) provided any advice on prospective uranium mining in Western Australia; if so: (a) to whom; and (b) on what issues and discrete areas of expertise.

(2) Have OSS personnel visited the site of the Kintyre uranium project of Cameco Australia and Mitsubishi Corporation in the Great Sandy Desert region of Western Australia; if so: (a) who directed the OSS to visit the site and on what basis; (b) who received any reported outcomes and findings that arose from the visit; and (c) what were the outcomes and findings of the visit.

(3) Has the OSS found similarities between the ephemeral river at the Ranger uranium mine and that surrounding the proposed mine at Kintyre.

Stephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities has provided the following answer to the honourable senator's question:

(1) Yes.

(a) The Supervising Scientist Division has provided technical advice to the Approvals and Wildlife Division within the Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities.

(b) Advice has been provided on the Kintyre, Yeelirrie and Wiluna uranium projects.

The advice focused on the technical competency and completeness of information contained in documents submitted by the proponents as part of the assessment process under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.

(2) No.

(3) The Supervising Scientist Division has not conducted a comparison between the Magela Creek and water courses surrounding Kintyre.