Senate debates
Tuesday, 9 October 2012
Questions without Notice
Environment
2:56 pm
Peter Whish-Wilson (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source
Mr President, I raise a point of order. I am not disputing the thorough process, Minister Conroy. What I am asking is whether there will be anything left by the time the process is finished.
Bill Thomson
Posted on 10 Oct 2012 12:00 pm
Senator Whish-Wilson might know something about mining, but he clearly knows nothing about exploration. His use of '58 exploration licences over the Tarkine' to question 'whether there will be anything left' is utterly wrongheaded. Only something like 1 in 100 exploration licences ever eventuate to be mines. This is a critical point to understand: Even if mining was allowed complete open access to the Tarkine, no more than a few percent of it would ever be impacted by mining and exploration. All exploration activities put together have very low impact in the context of the region.