Chris Hartcher: "What the governments do of course, as far as the mines themselves are concerned, is have a strict rehabilitation programme.  So if you go to a modern mine that’s been rehabilitated you wouldn’t even know there’d been a mine there, it’s so good, and I’ve gone and visited them, it’s quite extraordinary, the level of rehabilitation.  They collect traces of the earth and put the same earth back.  They collect the seeds that were growing in the trees and put the same trees back, the same fauna then come back to follow those food sources.  It’s absolutely brilliant what modern rehabilitation does.  The second role that government has is to actually regulate the development, to make sure that’s in sympathy with water usage, that’s it’s in sympathy with roads and with bridges, that aren’t over-taxed therefore, if necessary they’re enhanced, and that the mining company makes that contribution to the enhancement, in fact in some cases pays 100% of the cost of the enhancement.  And thirdly, it just makes sure that all the environmental issues, be they dust or noise or traffic, are all addressed on proper management plans.  So once a mine just went out there and developed, that was a long time ago.  Now a mine that’s developed has to go through a careful planning assessment programme, which actually works through all the offsets, as far as dust, noise, fauna, flora, water, environment are concerned, and makes sure that the community just do not suffer."

Categories: Coal in Australia, Environment, Environment & Climate, Government, Sustainable Mining
Author: Chris Hartcher MP