A royalty, a river and a ripoff

A royalty payment at last!

But what's the cost when compared with what is lost - the river!

Moriarty's view

Photo by Ben Rushton for The Age

John Moriarty - an Aboriginal traditional owner originally from Borroloola in the Northern Territory and now a very well-heeled businessman - gives his view of Howard's Shock and Awe intervention.

McArthur River destruction by XStrata

Barbara McCarthy's brother was buried in Borroloola yesterday - a significant man and a significant fighter against the destruction of the McArthur River. The sorry business continues. This is the reason that three Aboriginal Labor members of the NT Legislative Assembly crossed the floor to vote against Labor's mis-timed and anti-environmental legislation supporting xstrata's proposal to wreck one of the great rivers of Australia, the McArthur River.

Farewell, Kurmanjai

Better barra than a river no more

Meanwhile, in the Northern Territory, certain North Australians are busy shooting themselves in the collective foot and legislating for a massive environmental disaster of the future: here are the future eaters of to-day. What is the alternative? Being able to catch the best fish in the whole of Australia: the beautiful barramundi of Borroloola.

Inserting the word McArthur in the search space at the top left of this blog will lead you, dear Reader, to Miss Eagle's previous posts on this topic: the destruction of the Northern Territory place of beauty and barramundi, the McArthur River.

Read the debate here. Find out why Barbara McCarthy, Alison Anderson, and Karl Hampton who are Aboriginal ALP members of the NT Legislative Assembly cross the floor of the House to vote against their own party. It is noteworthy that Barbara McCarthy who represents the NT seat of Arnhem is a Borroloola girl and firmly embedded in that community.

How other Aboriginal ALP members voted: Marian Scrymgeour who is the Northern Territory Minister for Natural Resources was absent when the vote was taken. Elliot McAdam, the NT Minister for Housing and Member for the seat of Barkly in which Borroloola and the McArthur River mine are situated, voted for the legislation. Those who were bound by the convention of cabinet solidarity voted for the bill - except when absent from the House.

Problems in Paradise

Denis Wilson over at The Nature of Robinson has been burning the midnight oil quite a bit as he does battle for the Kangaloon Aquifer at Robertson in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales. He came across this media item on McArthur River. Miss Eagle has posted from time to time about what is happening in a part of the world beloved to her. See here, here, and here. Miss Eagle posts the item in full. She has no comment - indications within the news item are far too serious.

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Xstrata denies link to flesh-eating disease

The company that owns the MacArthur River Mine has rejected any link to a flesh-eating disease that has killed three people who came into contact with river and seawater in the Borroloola region.
An article published in the British Journal of Infection has connected high levels of heavy metals in the region with the disease.
The article, written by Top End tropical disease specialist Dr Bart Currie, cites four cases of the disease over the past seven years.
In the first case in 2000, a 55-year-old man who went fishing in rivers near the Nathan River homestead contracted the disease and died two years later.
In May 2001, a 63-year-old man who fished off Vanderlin Island died 18 days later from the disease and in April 2003 a 38-year-old Victorian man had his leg amputated after fishing in the Wearyan River.
As well, a 19-year-old woman died 24 hours after swimming in one of the region's waterways.
The article reported zinc and lead levels downstream from the mine are twice what they are upstream and that it is possible these levels could increase the risk of human infection from the disease.
Mine owner Xstrata say it is aware of the report but it does not link the mine to the cases.

Keep McArthur wild, free and clean - 2

Miss Eagle, you may recall dear Reader, posted back in March about X-Strata's proposal to divert the McArthur River and to mine its creek bed. They were knocked back by the NT Government then but have now come back with a revised - but basically the same - plan. Here are some links to explore on the subject:

http://www.mcarthurriver.com.au/
http://ntnews.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,7034,19688930%255E13569,00.html
http://www.ecnt.org/html/cur_mining_mcarthur.html

Miss Eagle has to-day written to the Hon Kon Vatskalis at 'minister.vatskalis@nt.gov.au'. It is interesting to note that Kon Vatskalis is not only the Minister for Mines and Energy but also holds the portfolio of Minister for Primary Industry and Fisheries. Please remember this, dear Reader, as you read the letter your Miss Eagle sent to the Minister. Of course, one has to ask if these portfolios can co-exist together without conflict of interest. Perhaps the NT Government could address this question. The Minister himself could prove this by giving a decision that takes into account the important fisheries of the Gulf of Carpentaria.

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Dear Minister,

I am a former resident of McArthur River Station and a former electorate officer to Maggie Hickey who was formerly Member for Barkly and Leader of the Opposition.

I lived on McArthur River Station when the McArthur River Mine was just a pilot project. I worked for Maggie when all the negotiations were going on to develop the mine – particularly discussions with traditional owners and the people of Borroloola. The McArthur River itself has played a major role in my life and since 1977 I have always kept a personal watching brief on what has happened to it and to the mine because I have always recognised the capacity of the mine to interfere in the life of the river. Now interference is proposed in a drastic and dramatic fashion.

I am horrified by the plans of X-Strata to divert the river and mine the river bed. I ask you, Minister, to use your best efforts to thwart X-Strata’s plans and prevent this development. There is a more precious resource at stake than the mineral deposits of the McArthur River creek bed. There is the environmental and recreational and economic resource of such a river in pristine condition and its contribution to the Gulf of Carpentaria.

As you are well aware, arguably the best barramundi fishing in Australia is off Borroloola. By extrapolation, it is arguably the best barra fishing in the world. This is an environmental, recreational, and economic resource which we have to guard and develop for the future. The major risk factor to the protection and development of such a resource is mining and the outfall from its development and processes.

My view is that diversion of the river would be an environmental disaster to an otherwise pristine river. To add to this environmental rape, the mining process will mean further environmental damage with the distinct possibility of impact over a wide area. Particularly problematic are heavy climatic conditions during The Wet.

X-Strata can neither predict future events and outcomes with 100% accuracy nor is it able to control for all foreseeable contingencies, let alone the unforeseen ones.

Minister, please act to prevent X-Strata’s plans and to preserve the McArthur River for its traditional owners and custodians, for the people of the Borroloola and Barkly Regions, and as part of the heritage of Territorians and all Australians.

Keep McArthur wild, free, and clean

This report this morning is quite disturbing. This concerns me greatly. I lived at McArthur River Station in 1977 while on a working holiday with my family. This began my love for the river. When I left I promised one day that I would return. 1977 was the year that saw the stealthy declaration of the Borroloola Town Plan by the CLP Government to protect the interest of Mount Isa Mines (MIM) and any future involvement of the river in mine-related activity against the interests of traditional owners – particularly because at that stage a slurry pipeline was being discussed to get the product to port. My husband and I had a close friendship with a Gurdanji traditional owner. At this time the Aboriginal Development Corporation (ADC) was negotiating the purchase of McArthur River Station, on which the Xstrada mine is situated, from Mount Isa Mines. Then one morning people found out that all this effort was for nought. The Northern Territory Government had intervened to protect the interests of MIM.

I kept my promise of 1977. My husband was dead. My children had grown and flown the coop. Sixteen years later, a job came up in Tennant Creek working for the local Member of Parliament in the seat of Barkly. The seat of Barkly covers McArthur River Station, the McArthur River, and Borroloola. I applied. I got the job. I came back. I lived in Tennant Creek from 1993 to 1997. This period covered the gearing up of McArthur River Mine by Mount Isa Mines (MIM) from its previous status as a pilot project. I was used to dealing with MIM because, in the interim, I had spent nearly a decade living and working in Mount Isa. When I consider the agreements made with local aboriginal people by Mount Isa Mines, I don’t believe that the mine has delivered for the interests of local aboriginal people.

For thirty years, I have been concerned with the impact of mining on the pristine McArthur. Now it has become an eventuality.

There is the distinct possibility of a fightback by Xstrada following the NT Govt’s decision against Xstrada’s EIS statement. If this fightback comes about, it will receive strong support from the mining community and will be run by a professional public relations company. Business interests will seek to dominate against the interests of aboriginal people and against the welfare of the local environment.

Human beings know better than this. No amount of dollars - whether it is in the pockets of Australians or the Swiss, in the pockets of corporations or government - can replace the dugong and the turtle (which I have eaten, prepared by an aboriginal clan, beside the McArthur River) if they and their habitat, along with with the barramundi for which Borroloola is famous, are destroyed.