Buckingham speaks out in defence of NSW North Coast communities. Where is Cansdell?

Looking towards upper reaches of the Nymboida River

The Greens Jeremy Buckingham MLC speaks out for the Clarence Valley, Coffs Harbour and Belligen local government areas, as well as the Clarence River catchment in this foreshadowed motion NSW Parliament Legislative Council.

Legislative Council Notice Paper No. 24

147. Mr Buckingham to move

1. That this House notes that:

(a) Anchor Resources Ltd have conducted scoping studies that indicate a resource of 17,500 tons of antimony have been found at both Wild Cattle Creek, near Nymboida and the Blicks River to the northwest of Dorrigo on the mid north coast of New South Wales,

(b) Anchor Resources Ltd has recently been subject to a majority takeover by the Chinese minerals company China Shandong Jinshunda Ltd which now owns over 90 per cent of the company,

(c) antimony is a mineral resource used for a range of “high-tech” products such as polymers, fire retardants and electronics,

(d) antimony and many of its compounds are toxic and the World Health Organisation has stated that oral consumption can result in "a strong irritating effect on the gastrointestinal mucosa and trigger sustained vomiting ... abdominal cramps, diarrhoea and cardiac toxicity",

(e) the majority of the municipal water supply for more than 100,000 residents in Coffs Harbour is provided by Shannon Creek Dam which is fed by pipes directly from the Nymboida River,

(f) this project is located within the headwaters of the Nymboida River, which is the highest rainfall catchment in New South Wales,

(g) the high rainfall of the catchment, which sometimes exceeds three metres, means that there is a significant risk that antimony mined in the area could be released and contaminate the water,

(h) a previous antimony ore processing plant at Urunga Lagoon has been described in the Bellingen Council 2009-10 State of the Environment Report as seriously contaminated and unable to be rehabilitated, and

(i) a 2002 report by the University of New England has shown that antimony from the Hillgrove and Bakers Creek mines which are located in the catchment of the Macleay River to the east of Armidale, have seriously contaminated over twenty kilometres of the headwaters of this river system and this has proved impossible to remediate.

2. That this House recognises that:

(a) the government has a responsibility to protect the community from current and future health risks associated with extractive industries, and

(b) proponent driven applications to determine the exploitation of our mineral resources are not in the best interests of the wider New South Wales community.

3. That this House calls on the Government to:

(a) prohibit mining activities within the critical catchments which supply water to our communities because of the unacceptable risks this poses to human and ecosystem health, the quality of our water supply and our state's agricultural capacity, and

(b) engage more extensively with the community in all assessments for extractive industries and take appropriate and precautionary actions, especially in regards to health risks.

(Notice given 23 June 2011—expires Notice Paper No. 43)