Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1697643119089.pdf (Australia)
Introduction We’re concerned about what’s going to happen in future for our kids.

Latter on, that’s when rehab matters, when our kids going to be affected.

Inside us, Aboriginal people, we hurt when country is damaged.

Some of us don’t get up, too shy, too much politics, too much technicality we don’t understand, too much worry about getting food on the table too.

A lot of people - we don’t speak for a mine site specifically - but we’re affected you know?

We live down stream.


It’s about all four clans that are affected by mines.

Like Redbank mine it affects lots of groups.

One group can’t make agreement – has to be all-together.

Making decisions about rehabilitation together, as one, that’s the most important thing.

Redbank Copper Mine We’ve got that mine just left there without fixing it.

We know what happens when a mining company walks away.

It’s happening in front of our eyes.

So we worry about that with other mines like the McArthur River Mine.
When mining companies find out the big problems at Redbank they just sell it again and again, recycle it you know.

Government allows that but nothing happens to fix the site.

The government has responsibility for that site now, but there’s not enough money coming in to fix it all up.

In fact it’s already ruined, can never be fixed.

They just put a fence around it – that’s it.

Transparency of rehabilitation bonds They don’t treat it properly – they’re not serious about these sort of things.
Just worried about how to make money now, not fix it up at the end.

Our personal feeling, it’s not fair to Aboriginal people to not know how much money is held by government to fix up the McArthur River Mine site.

That money is there for the people.

The ask us to trust us, but it’s very hard to do that when we don’t know how much money is there.

Mining companies come and go from this country.

But mines like Redbank, McArthur – so many broken promises – that’s why we can’t trust them no more.
Training & rehabilitation jobs Every meeting, we’ve been asking for our mob to be trained up in monitoring and rehabilitation jobs but nothing happens.

They come and talk to us, but we should nominate the person that come and talk to us.

Should be up to the community to nominate the people from community responsible for rehabilitation work.

Environmental Defenders Office (NT) Inc | 2 Rehabilitation of mining and resources projects as it relates to Commonwealth responsibilitiesSubmission 41