The Tasmanian Greens have acquired $100,000 in the state budget to carry out a feasibility study into creating a mine remediation and innovation centre of excellence.
The party said the ‘cargo-cult’ approach had failed and reiterated its support for a long-term and smooth-running mining industry for the state, The Advocate reports.
Greens mining spokesman and Member for Braddon Paul O’Halloran said the state should not have large mining companies located somewhere in the country extract resources and bring in their own workforce to do so in Tasmania.
“Saying that the Greens are universally against mining is far from the truth,” O’Halloran said.
“We have supported the reclamation move in Luina and we have long campaigned for a dedicated world-class mine remediation and innovation centre of excellence to be based at Queenstown.”
O’Halloran added Tasmanians should have a modern, long-term industry with minimal impact instead of the cargo-cult model, which he believes is extracting the state’s resources to fill others’ pockets.
“Tasmania can and should be in a position to not just export our mineral ore, but to also develop and export our mining technology and remediation expertise,” he said.
“It has the potential to attract specialists, technicians, students from around the globe to work and study at a world-class centre, and to then export those skills and expertise to the public and private sectors.
The Tasmanian mining industry is in contention with environmentalists, with conservation group Save the Tarkine filing a legal injunction against Shree Minerals.
The group is preventing the company from commencing a mining project in the Tarkine while their case against Federal Environment Minister Tony Burke remains.
They lodged a case against Burke to review his decision to approve Shree Minerals iron ore mine.