Govt review welcomed

Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Tom Koutsantonis recently announced the review and is seeking input in coming months.

Many stakeholders have cautiously welcomed the review, but fear the state government may be using it to streamline the approval process.

Mr Koutsantonis said SA’s expert regulators ensured community and environment safety, while also providing certainty to investors and landowners.

“But policy renewal is always important, and by doing this now, SA will be in the box seat to realise the enormous benefits that will inevitably flow from the next upswing in the commodities cycle,” he said.

“Listening to the community through comprehensive consultation is a basic requirement in ensuring any changes to our mining laws reflect what is important to all stakeholders.”

Greens MLC Mark Parnell said the Act was “well and truly overdue for renewal”.

“Present legislation devalues community opinion so we need to get back the balance between mining and competing land uses,” he said. The main area of conflict has been when mining encroaches on higher-value agricultural land.

“We have seen it on the Yorke Peninsula with the Hillside mine proposed on some of the state’s best barley growing land, in the Adelaide Hills with the proposal to re-open old gold mines and in the South East with the potential for fracking and other unconventional gas activities,” Mr Parnell said.

“The question is not should we have mining – of course we should and we need the products from mining – but should it be on some of the best farming land in SA? The system is stacked for the mining companies and it needs addressing.”

Mr Parnell said more checks and balances needed to be built into the Act and he wants to see a more rigorous environmental assessment process.

“While the government likes to promote it has in place world’s best practice regulations with mining, the reality is things can and do go wrong,” he said.

“Just five kilometres from Bird in Hand winery is one of the state’s most infamous mines – the Bruckunga Mine – which has cost 10 times the amount to rehabilitate as what was extracted.”

Family First MLC Robert Brokenshire also welcomed the review but was concerned changes may be pushed to further favour mining interests.

“So far I haven’t seen anything from this government that is encouraging about recognising the importance of farming in this state and building fairness into the Act for farmers,” he said.

“Having pushed amendments to the Mining Act 1971 several times and my Right to Farm Bill sitting in the Parliament, I will be watching closely the review and am putting the government on notice that they must look at the interests and rights of farmers.”

Mr Brokenshire also wants to see a Mining Ombudsman appointed to give farmers an independent arbitrator in their dealings with mining companies.

SA Chamber of Mines and Energy acting chief executive Nigel Long said they supported the state government’s “proactive, considered and risked based approach to the management of mineral resources development in SA”.

They are looking forward to a constructive discussion on this critical piece of legislation.

“SACOME is confident this review will continue the leading practice regulatory framework for exploration and mining and give industry the certainty and confidence to continue to invest in SA,” he said.

Discussion papers will be released later this month.