LIBERAL GOVERNMENT’S MINING BILL TO BE TABLED IN PARLIAMENT
TOMORROW 2/8/2018
LIBERALS BREAK PRE-ELECTION PROMISE TO FARMERS AND LOCAL COMMUNITIES
NO CONSULTATION BEFOREHAND
Mr Dan van Holst Pellekaan, Minister for Energy and Mining, today gave notice that he intends to table the Liberal Government’s Mining Bill in Parliament tomorrow, taking YP farmers and others across SA completely by surprise.
- WHY WERE YP AND SA FARMERS NOT TOLD THAT THE GOVERNMENT WAS DRAFTING A NEW BILL?
- WHY WERE FARMERS ACROSS THE STATE NOT CONSULTED BEFOREHAND, AS PROMISED BY THE LIBERALS PRE-ELECTION THAT THEY WOULD “consult far and wide to ensure we get this right?”
Once again, farmers find themselves on the back-foot. The fact that the Bill is now to be tabled in Parliament means we have a more difficult task ahead to achieve any changes or amendments we believe are still needed to fully protect farmers’ rights and agricultural land against exploration/mining interests.
However, based on the reactions YPLOG has already received today, farmers will not take this lying down!
YPLOG will work through the new Bill when it becomes available and will do everything we can to fight for a balanced and equitable outcome for landowners. The Member for Narungga, Mr Fraser Ellis, has indicated his “personal willingness to help wherever and however [he] can, by taking amendments to the Parliament or the party room”.
Labor’s Mining Bill, which was not passed by Parliament before the state election, clearly aimed to make it quicker and easier for miners to access agricultural land while reducing the already limited rights for farmers. The key question now is: Will the Liberal Bill be any better? Will it fully redress these inequities?
What the Liberal Government promised pre-election
In November 2017, in the lead-up to the 2018 state election, the Liberals refused to support the passage of Labor’s Mining Bill through Parliament on the grounds that the community consultation process had not been completed. That Bill had been roundly criticised by all sectors of the agricultural industry because it was so heavily biased in favour of the mining industry.
At the time, the then Shadow Minister for Agriculture, the Hon. David Ridgway, stated “We can’t progress this Bill until the local community has had a chance to have their say …. We will consult far and wide to ensure we get this right” (Media Release, 2 Nov 2017).
Many farmers believed these assurances and voted accordingly.
What has happened since
Two months ago (25th May, 2018), YPLOG wrote to the Member for Narungga, Mr Fraser Ellis, asking for details on the promised consultation process and when it would start. Mr Ellis, in good faith, forwarded our questions to the Minister for Energy and Mining for his response and also advocated that the Minister meet with a representative group of YP farmers as a matter of priority.
The Minister did not reply.
Finally, on 26th June, Mr Ellis advised us that, based on the feedback he had received:
There has been no discussion within the Liberal Party regarding the previous governments proposed changes to the Mining Act, that were unfairly being debated during harvest period (once again). The new government has been preoccupied with delivering changes that were promised within its first 100 days and as such I apologise for not being in a position to provide more detail……At this stage the Mining Act remains as it was prior to the election with no immediate plans to change it…..
YPLOG promptly passed that information on to its members.
However, a week ago (24th July), we received an update from Mr Ellis in which he stated that:
“Late [that] afternoon he met with Department of Mining & Energy personnel and Minister Dan van Holst Pellekaan’s advisor …. At this meeting he received surprising information that preliminary work had begun on Mining Bill reform and that discussion at joint party level is scheduled for next week.
YPLOG held an urgent meeting with Mr Ellis last Friday (27th July) to brief him in more detail about our concerns and priorities before that Joint Party meeting.
In light of today’s events, it is clear that the Joint Party meeting was about signing off on a draft Bill. Work on this Bill must therefore have been underway for some time, because a Bill of this complexity is NOT pulled together overnight.
What needs to be done now
Our key priority will be to work through the Bill as quickly as possible to see whether assurances from the Minister for Energy and Mining – that “land rights will be strengthened in the new bill” (email from Mr Ellis, 24th July 2018) – have been met and if not, what we need to do to fix it.
As noted earlier, Mr Ellis has indicated his willingness to help, stressing that he “supports land rights [for farmers]” and “is fully aware of the benefit the agricultural sector provides to YP, the state and the nation”. We appreciate that and will certainly take him up on that offer.
As a final note, we have been informed that the Minister for Energy and Mining has given “a commitment to engage with key stakeholders on the regulations of the act, completing that consultation prior to its passage through the Lower House” (email from Mr Ellis, 31 July 2018). However, the Mining Bill is the critical document, not the regulations. Hence, while useful, this commitment in no way makes up for the Government’s failure to undertake community consultation BEFORE tabling a Mining Bill in Parliament.
YPLOG will do whatever it takes to try to get a Bill that fully protects farmers and agricultural land from the incursion of exploration and mining.
In coming weeks, we will be seeking your help to achieve this.
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