[Greens-Media] Mark Parnell MLC - A second Honeymoon for Mike Rann?

[Greens]

30/8/2006

A second Honeymoon for Mike Rann?

In Question Time today, Greens MLC Mark Parnell called on the Minister
for Environment and Conservation to reassure the South Australian people
that the Mike Rann Labor Government would honour its express election
commitment made prior to the March 2006 election to oppose any new
uranium mine in South Australia. 

This renewed call is made in response to today's confident announcement
that the Honeymoon mine's owners were 'look(ing) forward to
commissioning Australia's fourth uranium mine in 2008'.

The Honeymoon mine proposes to use the highly controversial acid in-situ
leaching method which involves pumping sulphuric acid into the
groundwater to dissolve the uranium present in aquifers.

"The Rann Government continues with the fiction that somehow the
Honeymoon mine is not subject to its 'no new mines' election commitment.
This is despite the Honeymoon proposal lacking a key State Government
licence approval*," Mr Parnell said.
"In fact, the proponent is not permitted under South Australian law to
conduct any commercial operations at the Honeymoon site and there are no
mining facilities on site. Clearly Honeymoon is not an approved or an
'existing' uranium mine, and won't be until the Minister for Environment
and Conservation grants the necessary licence".
"We called on the Minister to reassure the South Australian people the
Rann Government would honour a specific election commitment - we were
very disappointed," he said.

* the commercial uranium mining and milling licence under the Radiation
Protection and Control Act (1982), which is granted by the Minister for
Environment and Conservation


For further comment contact Craig Wilkins on 0434 007 893


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