Every West Australian should have access to safe drinking water, including people living in remote areas, according to WA Greens MLC Robin Chapple.
“High levels of nitrates are not the only issue here; where uranium is also present, even in ‘safe’ levels, this forms a compound called ‘Uranyl Nitrate’ which is highly toxic to the kidneys,” Mr Chapple said.
“There are also places like Menzies, Laverton who have Arsenic filtration systems installed where other communities in the region have not been tested for that particular substance and they absolutely should be.
“This should be a black and white issue for the state government – fix the water in every community outlined in the Auditor General’s report as a matter of priority. This includes many regional towns as well as remote communities.
“The government’s reform process is too slow where people’s safety is concerned and its scope is too narrow; these water issues have been present for a long time and documented on the public record for over a year now.
“They should be fixed as a matter of priority, not ‘considered’ as part of a lengthy bureaucratic process that focuses on the Kimberley and Pilbara; every West Australian deserves access to clean drinking water, wherever they are.
“My ‘Prevention of Forced Closures of Remote Aboriginal Communities Bill’, a draft of which I tabled during the last sitting period, deals with the protection of, and right to access, essential and municipal services.”
After months of speculation, the Barnett government has put pen to paper on its imaginary revenue prediction for the sale of Western Power.
“Tell him he’s dreaming,” WA Greens Energy spokesperson Robin Chapple MLC said after today’s budget announcement.
“I’m not sure how the Treasurer came up with that figure, but there is no way the privatisation of state assets can reap $16 Billion for the state’s empty coffers.
“Rapidly increasing solar uptake means the value of this asset if sold outright is going to be significantly less than the budget predictions, and to base the state’s budget around this flagship policy is simply bad economic management.
“That aside, there are already significant loop holes in the market that exist for Western Power and as a government entity, the ERA has relied heavily on their good behaviour not to exploit them.
“We are currently in a regulatory transition process and I would be wary of handing over to a commercial interest likely to want to take advantage of existing loop holes.
“It is absolutely disingenuous to use that figure to justify the sale of Western Power to the people of Western Australia; these are desperate tactics from a cash-strapped government with delusions of grandeur.”
For comment please contact Tim Oliver on 0431 9696 25 or 08 9486 8255.
Premier Colin Barnett hadn’t ruled out remote Aboriginal community closures and continued to offer no solutions in a statement yesterday, according to WA Greens spokesperson Robin Chapple MLC.
“Aboriginal people have been living with this uncertainty, created by the Liberal-National government, for almost 18 months; that’s a long time to be living in fear,” Mr Chapple said.
“What started as an outright commitment to force the closure of up to 150 communities, has become a grey policy area in both theory and practice.
“At this stage, the reform unit is yet to engage in any kind of meaningful conversation as far as I am aware, and there is little being shared about the process in itself.
“Questions in parliament have revealed that just 21 communities in the Kimberley, and one community in the Pilbara have been visited since the reform process started in July 2015, including up to 5 different communities in just one day.
“This is not meaningful conversation with Aboriginal people about their future and frankly, if it is to be used as the driving force behind a so-called ‘reform process’ then it is insulting.
“There is a crucial aspect here that is consistently absent from policy affecting Aboriginal people; proper reform for Aboriginal communities must be community driven by the people it affects the most and not the other way around.”
For comment please contact media liaison Tim Oliver on 08 9486 8255 or 0431 9696 25.
Greens Member for the Mining and Pastoral Region Robin Chapple MLC has congratulated the state government on its historic deal with Rio Tinto and Alcoa to axe a 45-year old state agreement to mine bauxite and refine aluminium on Mitchell Plateau in the North Kimberley.
The plateau will form a part of the proposed Kimberley National Park which will span 2 million hectares of land.
Mr Chapple said he was ecstatic parts of the Kimberley were finally getting the recognition and conservation they deserved.
“The Kimberley is a spectacular region that is truly worth protecting not only for its unique natural beauty, but for its cultural and historical significance,” he said.
“Some of the rock art in the Kimberley is thought to be amongst the oldest in the world – we are talking about some of the first ever recordings done by human beings.
“This is an historic step taken by the Barnett government, a bipartisan step, and I applaud them for their perseverance.
For comment please contact Robin Chapple on 0409 379 263 or 9486 8255.
Greens (WA) member for the Mining and Pastoral Region Robin Chapple MLC has called on the Barnett/Grylls government to revoke all mining exploration tenements in the proposed new Horizontal Falls National Park and Marine Park area.
“If the Premier is serious about conservation at the Horizontal Falls he needs to ensure there is no mining or exploration in the area that might damage what he has referred to as the ‘pristine environment that surrounds them’, Mr Chapple said.
“As the Premier says, the Horizontal Falls are an ‘internationally-renowned tourist attraction’ in a spectacular natural environment that deserves the highest level of protection.
“This will only be possible if mining is prohibited as, when you examine the proposal, you can see that more than fifty per cent of the land and thirty per cent of the marine area earmarked for inclusion in the park is under mining exploration tenements.
“The tenements belong to a number of companies including Hard Rock Resources, Vertu Investments, Hill 50 Gold Mines, FMG Resources, Cliffs Asia Pacific Iron Ore, Money, Kimminco, Pegasus Metals and Koolan Iron Ore exploring for minerals such as copper and iron ore.
“While the Premier’s announcement mentioned recreational fishing, pearling and tourism continuing in the area he failed to acknowledge that under current arrangements mining interests will continue to exist and be supported by the Government.
“Colin Barnett has called it ‘one of the most significant conservation initiatives in WA history’. It could also be seen as a pre-election ploy to deflect attention from his unpopular and divisive promotion of the destruction of James Price Point,” Mr Chapple said.
Encl: Map of Proposed Horizontal Falls National Park, including Mining Exploration Tenements
For more information please contact Robin Chapple on 0409 379 263 or 9486 8255
Colin Barnett’s commitment to protect the West Kimberley’s Horizontal Waterfalls from mining operations is wavering, Greens MLC Robin Chapple said today.
“In August this year the Premier stated that he “supported protecting parts of the west Kimberley, including the Horizontal Waterfalls in Buccaneer Archipelago” but he now seems to be hedging his bets.”
“At the recent Pegasus Metals AGM the company made the claim that the Premier was supporting their copper mining project at Horizontal Waterfalls.”
“I followed up this statement with a Parliamentary Question as to whether Mr. Barnett would protect the area from copper mining, and the Premier’s answer was ambiguous as far as protecting the area is concerned.”
“Mr. Barnett’s answer was that the EPA declined to formally assess Pegasus exploration activity near the Waterfalls due to their low impact, despite both the exploration camp and drill site being very close to the waterfalls and visible from the air.”
“Local tour operators are not happy that a mining exploration site is clearly visible in an area long advertised, and regarded as, pristine. This is the beginning of the end for a tourism icon if the exploration is allowed to proceed, to say nothing of ongoing environmental impacts.”
“What is most outrageous about Mr. Barnett’s answer is that he concedes that his government will consider any proposal from Pegasus to mine the area, rather than reject it outright.”
“This flies in the face of the Premier’s prior commitment to protect the Horizontal Waterfalls from mining activity, and the Heritage Listing of the area by the Commonwealth. He appears to be playing both sides on the matter and in the process, endangering one of the country’s great environmental and tourism areas.”
“According to the Standing Committee on Environment and Public Affairs, the State's position is that ‘no exploration and mining will be allowed around the Horizontal Falls that would in any way compromise the environmental and tourism values of the Falls.’ Anyone who has been to the site would recognise that this should preclude any exploration or mining at all.”
“Mr. Barnett needs to clarify his position to both Pegasus and the local business people whose livelihoods depend on a viable, pristine future for the Horizontal Waterfalls.”
Click here for the the full text (PDF) of the Standing Committee on Environment and Public Affairs letter regarding mining at the Horizontal Waterfalls.
For more information please contact Robin Chapple on 0409 379 263 or 9486 8255
