[Greens-Media] Black opal emblem tarnished by mining scars on Aboriginal heritage

[Lee Rhiannon]

Greens MP Lee Rhiannon - Media Release - 22 October 2008

Black opal emblem tarnished by mining scars on Aboriginal heritage

Greens MP and mining spokesperson Lee Rhiannon says the government's move to make black opal NSW's new gemstone emblem should be accompanied by action to step up regulation of opal mining to protect the environment and Aboriginal heritage. Yesterday she outlined her concerns in a speech in NSW Parliament on the State Arms, Symbols and Emblems Amendment (Black Opal) Bill 2008 (Hansard transcript below).

"While black opal is a beautiful stone the cumulative impacts from its production can be ugly, taking the gloss off the elevation of the black opal to be NSW's gemstone emblem," Ms Rhiannon said.

"If we are to be proud of the black opal as NSW's emblem the government must clean up the destructive aspects of the mining process. 

"The government needs to institute much more rigorous environmental and heritage assessments and tighten monitoring of the opal mining industry.

"I have visited Walgett and Lightning Ridge and met with the Dharriwaa Elders Group who have taken me on a tour of opal mining areas in North Western NSW.

"The impacts of opal mining on the natural environment, threatened species and Aboriginal cultural sites are considerable but the government has turned a blind eye to this destruction.

"The government has ignored recommendations of a 2004 review undertaken by the Department of Primary Industries on opal mining in the Walgett Area. 

"The government is instead relying on a subsequent 2006 report by consultants Parsons Brinckerhoff. Critics and scientists have identified this report's many shortcomings, including inadequate data collection and poor assessment of environmental impacts.

"The Parsons Brinckerhoff report fails to properly assess the potential impacts of opal mining on threatened species and sensitive environments like the Ramsar-listed 'Narran Lakes Nature Reserve' and the wider Narran Lake wetlands.

"The Dharriwaa Elders Group has been forced to commission its own comprehensive report by environmental consultants Bangalay Botanical Surveys which raises alarm bells about the impact of opal mining in prospecting areas 1-4 and the inadequate government assessment to date.

"The Dharriwaa Elders Group sent its comprehensive report to the Environment and Primary Industries ministers. The group is yet to receive the reply it deserves and I have written to the relevant ministers asking for their response," Ms Rhiannon said. 

Contacts: Lee Rhiannon 9230 3551, 0427 861 568, Wendy Spencer, Dharriwaa  Elders Group  02 6828 2619 and Claire deLacey of Bangalay Botanical Surveys em: bangalay at bangalay.com.au 
Hansard 21 October 2008 Legislative Assembly

STATE ARMS, SYMBOLS AND EMBLEMS AMENDMENT (BLACK OPAL) BILL 2008 

Ms LEE RHIANNON [3.48 p.m.]: The Greens support the State Arms, Symbols and Emblems Amendment (Black Opal) Bill 2008. I acknowledge and congratulate the people of Lightning Ridge on their hard work in winning the support of the New South Wales Government in adopting the black opal as our gemstone symbol. However, a responsible government should look at all aspects of any issue, and that should include this State's symbols. 

The black opal is a beautiful stone, but at times the way it is produced is ugly. It is disappointing, but not surprising, that speakers for the other parties represented in this House have failed to recognise the challenges this State is facing in managing opal mining. The occasion of adopting this symbol should have been used by the Government to announce a tightening up of opal-mining operations. Too often the impact of this industry on the history and culture of local Aboriginal communities, the local environment and local farming practices has been simply unacceptable. Mining practices need to change. 

Unfortunately, the Government's handling of this bill is another example of its failure to acknowledge a major problem. I will outline some of the topical issues as we debate this bill. Opal mining could soon be allowed in OPA 4 in north-western New South Wales. I was recently a guest of the Dharriwaa Elders Group based in Walgett. Many members of the group informed me of their concerns about local mining practices and I had the opportunity to visit opal-mining sites with some of the elders. It was my second visit to an opal-mining area. My previous visit was as a guest of the New South Wales Farmers Association. The elders expressed concerns about the processes the Department of Primary Industries is using to approve claims. If the Department of Environment and Climate Change does not play a role, it will be left up to individual miners to make assessments of threatened species and Aboriginal cultural sites in the areas in which they want to mine. We can all imagine the outcome if that were allowed to happen, but there are solutions that will provide protection and allow mining to continue. Elders are calling for buffer zones to be established around sites of environmental and Aboriginal cultural significance, and for miners not to be given maps of these sites.

I hope members of the Coalition and the Labor Government take this on board and do not try again to distort the Greens' position. We are not saying that opal mining should end. We are saying we need to get the balance right. It is so disappointing that once again when we had the opportunity to make those statements-and this was the perfect opportunity-it was lost. The elders are also calling for more surveys of the areas targeted for mining as there is great ignorance of the environmental and Aboriginal significance of this region. Above all, they want the value of our very special plants, animals and places to be recognised and shared by the Government and the wider community, and not just seen as things to be swept aside in the pursuit of a tiny gemstone.

The Greens share the concerns of locals that it appears the Government is ignoring recommendations of the review undertaken by the Department of Primary Industries of the environmental matters in opal prospecting areas [OPAs] 1, 2 and 3 and of the proposed OPA 4. I understand the Department of Primary Industries commissioned another report from Parsons Brinckerhoff into threatened species on two OPA 4 properties, which came to be extraordinary conclusion that no significant effects on threatened species are likely as a result of opal mining in this area, despite the earlier review of environmental factors [REF] finding that there is a likelihood of significant impact. This second report has many shortcomings, and recently was criticised by scientists. The criticisms included the inadequacy of data collection, survey effort and assessment of the impact on threatened species. For example, Parsons Brinckerhoff's report fails to assess the potential-

The Hon. Rick Colless: Point of order: I understand the honourable member is totally committed to the argument she is presenting but I believe it is well outside the purview of this bill, it being an amendment to the State Arms, Symbols and Emblems Act.

Ms LEE RHIANNON: To the point of order: I have set out why this is most relevant. We are about to bring in the black opal as a symbol of New South Wales, so the circumstances surrounding the obtaining of that opal are most relevant. If my contribution were gagged at this point, I think it would reflect poorly on the House.

The PRESIDENT: Order! At its heart the bill seeks to address issues associated with symbolism, and for that reason I have allowed wide-ranging debate. However, I am constrained to advise members that debate should be confined to the leave of the bill, the long title of which is, "A Bill for An Act to amend the State Arms, Symbols and Emblems Act 2004 to recognise the black opal as a State emblem."

Ms LEE RHIANNON: I noted in your ruling on the point of order that you spoke about the need to recognise the black opal as a State emblem. It is within that context that I address my remarks. Obviously I will endeavour to follow the ruling you have given. In recognising the black opal as a State emblem, clearly consideration was given to the significance of opals to the State. As I was saying, there have been various reports on how opals are obtained. The Parsons Brinckerhoff report fails to assess the potential impacts on sensitive environments in areas like the Narran Lakes Nature Reserve or Narran Lakes proper. It fails to assess the impact on a number of ecologically endangered communities that may occur in or near the study area. I was disappointed in that. I have visited this area to see where the black opal is mined. Just recently thousands of Ibis chicks were hatched. It was the most successful breeding event in the Murray-Darling-very close to where these opals are mined-in almost a decade. OPA 4 would impact upon that area. I understand black opals will be coming from OPA 4 and that is why I want to provide this information to the House.

Another problem with the 2006 Parsons Brinckerhoff report is that it failed to consider the impacts on the environment of bushfire management required by the Rural Fires Act. Also, why is the Ramsar-listed wetland, Narran Lake, included within part of the OPA 4 boundary? I am really worried about this because black opals-our State's gemstone symbol-could come out of an area that is Ramsar recognised and suddenly it has been included in OPA 4. Is this a way of providing water for miners to be used to process opals from the lake? Where is the considerable water needed to process OPA 4 opals going to come from in this fragile, water-sensitive area of western New South Wales? What about the movement of water from the mining areas into the lake? Why has that not being studied? Perhaps it was studied, but it has not been reported on. We need to know. The Greens are concerned that the 2006 Parsons Brinckerhoff report will be used to justify mining practices that bring further destruction to Aboriginal sites and local ecosystems. That is why we believe this is so important. So many of the symbols members have spoken about clearly come together here. How the black opal is obtained is most significant.

The Government could have used the occasion of the announcement of the plan to adopt the black opal as this State's gemstone symbol to give support to the 2004 REF review into environmental factors undertaken by the Department of Mineral Resources, as it was then called. This report provided an invaluable, but disturbing, insight into the detrimental impact mining has on Aboriginal cultural sites and heritage. The REF noted that no comprehensive survey has been made of such sites. Studies have been undertaken in the past, but the document produced by the Department of Mineral Resources, as it then was, found that the previous work did not explore the intensity of Aboriginal sites. The REF recommended further studies of Aboriginal historic archaeological and cultural sites within OPA 4 and the need for a species impact statement or a referral under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act to be undertaken.

The Greens believe that opal mining should not commence in OPA 4 until the other opal mining areas have been exhausted and until the survey of Aboriginal sites has been carried out and appropriate environmental studies have occurred. That is why this debate is so relevant. We need to have this on the record. How damaging would it be if we passed legislation without acknowledging problems associated with opal mining? I recently received correspondence from Maxine O'Brien, the Secretary Manager of the Lightning Ridge Miners Association. Ms O'Brien notes that Lightning Ridge "exists only because of opal and over time a substantial tourism industry has developed based on opal. We are lucky to have a multicultural society, including a substantial Aboriginal population many of who are opal miners of a relatively non-racist society, which is unusual in this region."

I acknowledge the work undertaken by the association in lobbying for the introduction of a rehabilitation levy. However, let us remember that another impact on Aboriginal communities is that the Rehabilitation Fund only stands at a total of $230,000. That is an insignificant amount in dealing with the enormous tailings that litter the landscape in the Lightning Ridge opal mining areas, especially the repair necessary for damage to the environment, which we believe cannot be repaired once the damage is done. I share with the House a letter a received from Mr George Rose, OAM, Speaker for and on behalf of the Dharriwaa Elders Group. I had the honour of meeting Mr Rose when I was in Walgett. In a letter to me dated 8 September Mr Rose stated:
We are extremely concerned that Aboriginal cultural heritage assessments will be the responsibility of individual opal miners. Once places and items are destroyed they cannot be replaced, and the NSW Government has few monitoring & compliance resources here on the ground.
He enclosed a letter he sent to the Minister for Primary Industries, also dated 8 September, which stated:
We request the NSW Government undertakes species impact assessments for threatened species listed under NSW and Commonwealth laws.

We also request scientifically reliable assessments are undertaken which examine the likely cumulative impacts of opal mining on the environment in OPA 4 and on the Narran Lakes wetland area, and take into consideration the factors found in our review which were not dealt with by the existing REF [your department commissioned].

The Greens believe that this bill and the significant step of adding the black opal to this State's emblems should have been linked to the far-reaching changes in how the opal mining industry operates.


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Lee Rhiannon, MLC
The Greens
Parliament of New South Wales
Macquarie St 
Sydney 2000
Tel: +61-2-9230 3551 
Fax: +61-2-9230 3550
lee.rhiannon at parliament.nsw.gov.au
http://www.lee.greens.org.au/
http://www.democracy4sale.org/ 

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