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September 27, 2009
Despite the threats of climate change to Australia it is still business as usual. Resources are the key to Australia's prosperity. Australia is selling as much gas and coal and uranium as we can whilst paying lip service to the environment.
Bill Leak
No where are the contradictions starker than in SA where the Rann Government is spruiking the long-term economic and social benefits of mining development.
BHP Billiton has been mining the Great Artesian Basin for years at no cost for the Olympic Dam copper and uranium mine at Roxby Downs.It plans to increase the amount of water it mines from the Basin as part of its proposal to turn Olympic Dam, in far-north South Australia, into the world's largest open-cut mine. The price BHP Billiton will pay for all this water is nothing.
The Rann Government's response is don't worry baby any concerns about the use of water will be addressed by BHP Billiton. The Rudd Government says that there s no indication that the use that's being made of groundwater by BHP is unsustainable. All three concentrate on the economic benefits and ignore and downplay the environmental costs.
For them it is acceptable that BHPBilliton expects to continue to extract water from the Great Artesian Basin AB for free.
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Electricity use – including for off-site infrastructure – will increase dramatically in the expansion of Olympic Dam. Despite this, there are no firm commitments to sourcing a significant percentage of the site’s electricity needs from renewable energy. Its drawing on coal fired power electricity. No doubt t BHP Billiton will get special deals (free permits?) under the the Rudd Government's emission trading scheme.