Is Responsible Mining A Contradiction?

Save The Walsh River

Lorikeets drink water from the Walsh River and its tributaries, too.

The Twentieth Century saw the development of the Mighty Extractors, powerful machinery that harvests massive numbers of trees in forests, strips the ocean of fish and removes mountain tops to reach and extract ore bodies. Fast, efficient, relentless and driven by need to profit now, they devour resources like a plague of alien locusts. And then they move on, maybe pay a fine or two that seldom actually covers the costs of rehabilitation, to find other cheap pickings and cooperative governments.

Our current system favours these behemoths.

Recently, the new Queensland government, led by Premier Campbell Newman (LNP - Liberal and National Party), terminated the Environmental Defence Office which was dedicated to protecting the environment in the public interest.

Earlier this year I reported that the nearby mining operation went into receivership after an environmental order forced a cessation of operations after contaminated spillage flowed into Jamie Creek and then into the Walsh River. Latest report is that mining operations are resuming and an expansion is proposed. We have already experienced a failure of trust in the mining company's ability to mine responsibly in our region.

We are concerned because our household water supply comes from a creek that originates near the mining area. We are concerned for the endangered Northern Quoll. We are concerned about the habitat and quality of life for wildlife as well as for humans.

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Save The Walsh River

Post by M in JaM
Photo by J in JaM