I'm not surprised at Andrew Hewett's very sad tale of how mining companies operate in Third World countries. It is symptomatic of the runaway materialism of our culture - that shareholders require profits, and company executuives require very fat pay indeed - especially when they have to condone and cover up the injustices done by their companies.

Where would a mining company be, if it truly practised ethical operations? - its share-prices would fall - we can't have that!

So - no surprise that mining companies pay lip service to ethics in developed countries, where they are under some scrutiny, and get away with as much as they can - especially Australian ones - off the beaten track, out of sight out of mind - that's us.

On another tack - talking about the "dark side" - how about how Australian companies are to sell uranium to Russia. This is promoted by the Howard government - because, after all, it's for "peaceful uses on;y".

Yet - at the same time, Australia is likely to approve of, even follow, George W. Bush into an attack on Iran. This is because Iran is supposed to be developing nuclear weapons and promoting Al Quaida insurgents in Iraq.

It seems to have slipped our notice that Russia is setting up Iran with nuclear power. As with the previous bribing of Saddam Hussein - while our troops were fighting him in Iraq - now Australia's mining companies are to supply (indirectly) nuclear materials to Iran and Al Quaida.

Shades of Bob Menzies time - salling iron ore to Japan around 1941!
Pig-iron Bob - they called him. Now we have Yellowcake John - and his promoters - the uranium mining industry and all those who hold shares in it.

The Australian Mining Industry rates alsogside its ripe off mates the Fishing and Farming Industries, as the worst Industries in the developed world for the treatment of Aboriginal people and the theft of their natural resources aquired in many cases by force.

Miners alongside the others mentioned have been ripping off Aboriginal people for more than 200 years, and that includes the Gold and other precious metal rushes of the 19th centuary, through to the present Zinc, Tin, copper Baxuit and uranium open mines.

Mining has a profound negative effect on our Indigenous populations including polluting the air, water (surface and underground)and creating respitory and skin problems not to mention cancer.

So I wonder how share holders in the mining Industry would in the city would feel if the sludge and contaminated water created by their mines were to be dumped in their front yards.

It's a pity the author hasn't chosen to define what he means by the word 'community'. Clearly, he implies that the only community whose views should be taken into account is the community people living close to or within the mine site. However, there are many other communities involved who have an equal right to be heard on whether mining should take place or not. There are the people living further away from the mine who will benefit from the improvements to roads, communications, power supplies, job opportunities, etc. Then there is the community comprising the entire Philippine people, who will benefit from the royalties and taxes paid to the government, so that it can in turn meet the health and education needs of the wider population.

Oxfam is anti-mining, not because it is opposed to mining per se, but it knows that by criticising a faceless mining company, it can generate headlines in newspapers in developed countries, thereby attracting more funds into its own coffers.

The problems in the Philippines are immense and I don't see Oxfam doing much to try and turn them around. The Catholic Church is opposed to the use of all contraception, including condoms, resulting in an annual birth rate of about 6%. The resulting population growth will dramatically increase poverty and environmental destruction at alarming rates, yet Oxfam chooses to attack a mining company which is mining with the full support of the national government. Corruption in the Philippines is a way of life, including among politicians and government employees, yet I don't hear any public statements from Oxfam in opposition to this corruption.

Oceana Gold may not have been too smart in the way in which they conducted their local community consultation, but for Oxfam to suggest that the interests of a local community should be unquestionably put ahead of the interests of the wider community in a country as poor as the Philippines is completely unreasonable.

"Clearly, he implies that the only community whose views should be taken into account is the community people living close to or within the mine site."

Come, come Bernie

These are the communities which are being force-fed hazardous emissions from the mining industries. These are the communities who unwittingly ingest chemicals such as cadmium, chlorine, chromium, cobalt, copper, benzene, fluorides, formaldehyde, mercury, PMs, PCDDs, PAH's, toluene, VOC's etc and many eventually succumb to the insidious diseases these chemicals cause in humans.

I allude only to those complex chemicals since I suspect you are the Bernie Masters who had a career as a geologist, prior to entering parliament, where you too remained silent on the excessive hazardous emissions from the operations in your industry.

You would be aware that in your state of Western Australia, the mining industry has polluted communities for decades. "Profits before people" has been the motto of successive governments in your state, despite the hard evidence that communities have suffered the ill-effects from hazardous and toxic emissions from an industry out of control.

These are not faceless mining companies and a couple of the big boys here have an appalling record for pillaging resources in other countries and leaving a mess.

Many citizens in Australia witness the environmental breaches occurring every day and in addition, they have in their possession, company emission reports to substantiate those claims.

However, today's news reveals that for the first time to my knowledge, a Minister in your state is acknowledging the shabby operations of the mining industry. Shabby, due to the incompetence of regulators and governments who remain captured by this influential lobby group.

Perhaps we can live in hope that there may now be some ethical balance between industry and the communities in which they mine and affected communities will no longer be considered cannon fodder for the "greater" good.

Until this industry is properly regulated in Australia, there is little hope that Australian mining companies will adhere to any moral or ethical obligations they have to the people of other nations.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/11/13/2089659.htm

Dickie - yes, you've picked me out correctly as the former state MP who used to work for the mining industry. My disguise didn't work very well, did it?
Your exaggerations about the mining industry certainly don't hide your attitude towards an industry which, while it's made mistakes (like every other industry or activity that actually tries to meet a human need), remains overwhelmingly of benefit to the people of WA. At present in WA, there are some 500 mining operations and I can only think of one - Alcoa's Wagerup refinery - which is causing significant health impacts to nearby residents. Over the last 30 years, from a couple of thousand mining operations, I can only recall a small number that caused problems: the Kalgoorlie nickel smelter, radioactive tailings at Capel and Geraldton, poorly rehabilitated areas at Yelirrie (sorry about the spelling). Can you think of any others?
At present in WA, there are tens of thousands of mineral exploration tenements and the minister today reported that 46 were in breach of regulations. Your likely response - that it was 46 out of 56 exploration sites inspected and isn't that terrible - may accurately reflect the minister's media release but I'm suspicious of the minister's timing: 12 days before a federal election during which the mining industry has publicly criticised the ALP's proposed changes to work place laws. So let's not worry too much about what the member for Swanbourne says (that's an in joke, Logan lives in Swanbourne and rarely goes into his working class electorate of Cockburn).
Overall, the mining industry creates the wealth that provides the people of WA with the economic ability to protect the environment, improve community services, etc, etc. It can always do better, like any industry, but I'd really appreciate you answering some of my criticisms of Andrew Hewett's article.

Alcoa - Wagerup Pollution

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/08/07/1998205.ht

http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:SGPR3sJopRoJ:www.wsws.org/articles/2001/dec2001/alco-d21.shtml+DEC+licence+alcoa+wagerup&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=10&gl=au&lr=lang_en

Bernie

Following are several more documented accounts into the environmental and health castastrophes occurring in your state as a result of mining operations.

I am not surprised you were unaware of them - most pollies I speak with also appear to be in the dark or prefer to remain in denial.

I'm happy to advise you of other breaches of the EPA Act by mining companies should you be interested.

Kwinana Pollution - Highest Cancer Rate in State - Dr Keith Woollard
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PM7QA30JEik

Barrick Newmont - Mercury Emissions - Highest in Nation
http://www.abc.net.au/news/australia/wa/kalgoor/200507/s1424462.htm

Parliamentary Questions - See Paul Llewellyn - Environment - Heaps
http://www.parliament.wa.gov.au/web/newwebparl.nsf/iframewebpages/Parliamentary+Business+-+Parliamentary+Questions

Parliamentary Enquiry into the Cause and Extent of Lead Poisoning in Esperance - Magellan Mines

http://www.abc.net.au/news/australia/wa/kalgoor/

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/09/06/2025843.htm

Dr Hames, Acting Chairman of the Parliamentary Enquiry stated in the final report that:

"The Committee has identified major failings in DEC's industry regulatory function and shortcomings in other regulatory agencies.

"The Committee believes that these regulatory failures , combined with the irresponsible and possibly unlawful conduct of the Esperance Port Authority, Magellan Mines and BIS Industrial Logistics, exposed workers and the community to unacceptable and avoidable health and environmental risks."

Dickie,
Sorry but you've underwhelmed me with your 'proof' of the devastation caused by the mining industry.
First, Kwinana is an industrial area where there is no mining per se and mining-related processing is restricted to nickel and alumina. There are many other industries there, completely unrelated to mining, so you're drawing a very long bow. As well, Keith Woollard is a political activist and I have no confidence in anything he says.
Second, the mercury emissions near Kalgoorlie are not a problem to the WA health regulators so you'll have to come up with some concrete evidence or strong suggestions of harm to human health from the emissions before I get concerned about this one.
Third, I have as much time for Paul Llewellen as I do for Woollard - a green activist who, like Robin Chapple before him, was scaremongering so outrageously on every conceivable anti-mining issue that he now has little credibility - a genuine Chicken Little.
Fourth, the lead poisoning at Esperence was an example that I had not remembered so I accept that this is a serious mining industry problem. So that's 2 significant examples of mining industry problems out of 500. With 200 people dying a year in car crashes and thousands dying from obesity, alcohol and tobacco consumption, hundreds from suicide, etc, mining does a pretty reasonable job overall in my view.
The green movement tries hard to hide its true goals and ambitions of being anti-development. After many years as a delegate to the Conservation Council of WA, I've walked away from any involvement with them because their complaints and concerns are on-going, they're never satisfied, just total doom and gloom. Oxfam's attack on the mining industry in the Philippines is simply another attempt to create sensational headlines, raise some more money from well-intentioned but ill-informed sympathisers in developed countries and, as a consequence, worsen the economic and social well-being of seriously disadvantaged people in a developing country where a well regulated mining industry offers one of very few chances of real progress out of squalor and poverty.

"First, Kwinana is an industrial area where there is no mining per se and mining-related processing is restricted to nickel and alumina."

Bernie, you're dumbing down the environmental impacts that mining has in the Kwinana areas.

These Kwinana companies are mining affiliates or are that industry:

CSBP - Ammonium nitrate

Coogee Chemicals/Aust Gold Reagents - sodium cyanide

Alcoa - aluminium

Tiwest - ilmenite (reacting sythetic rutile with petroleum coke and chlorine.) Some brew eh?

Hismelt/Rio Tinto - pig iron plant

Adelaide Brighton - lime manufacturing supplied to the mining industry (they burn hazardous waste oil as a fuel - oh yummy!)

BHP Billiton - nickel plant

Then you have the BP oil refinery, Wesfarmer Gas etc.

And the charming Alannah McTeirnan is set to double the expansion of the Kwinana industrial site.

"The green movement tries hard to hide its true goals and ambitions of being anti-development."

Hey Bernie, you're running on empty when you use the tired old argument that the green movement wants to shut these industries down. Wrong again, Bernie.

These are the people seeking justice for the health of humans and their eco systems where mining is encroaching on entire townships.

These people ask for pollution technology control to mitigate the excessive, hazardous emissions which have contributed massively to the climate dilemma.

But then you hear the protestations from "Dad's Army" - poor old Omodei, Barnett and the ambitious Boswell. You remember him? He's the one who took your seat in parliament through the pre-selection process. These are the rodents who got rid of young Birney's leadership in a most ignominious manner.

These are the rock apes who have a cultural antipathy to any environmental prosecutions - a paucity of regulations - regulations which would clean up the state of WA and beyond and mitigate the impacts to human and eco health but still allow industry to prosper.

"well regulated mining industry offers one of very few chances of real progress out of squalor and poverty."

"Well regulated mining industry" in developing countries Bernie? Tsk tsk!

Yes, my arguments may be old and tired but that doesn't mean there not still true. Face it, Dickie, you're anti-development, like so many other green activists and you really get annoyed at the improvement in living standards and quality of life that is occurring right around the world thanks to development of which mining is only one of many wealth generating activities.

Did I say that the green movement wants to shut down Kwinana's industry? I didn't, but it's a nice way for you to deflect the discussion away from the points that I was raising in defense of mining and development in general.

We know what you don't like. How about telling us what human development activities you do like, so we can understand how you would lift a billion people out of poverty in the developing countries of the world?

"We know what you don't like. How about telling us what human development activities you do like, so we can understand how you would lift a billion people out of poverty in the developing countries of the world?"

Well Bernie, mate....tying a knot in their "whatsies" would be a good start to mitigate population explosions.

However, there is much documented evidence to show that those employed to work in these unregulated mines remain poverty stricken, often becoming ill or dying from occupational exposure to the hazards. Rarely do their lives improve.

http://www.peopleandplanet.net/doc.php?id=2951

Plundering and pillaging the lands of developing nations is contributing to the environmental and human health problems these nations are now having to endure. Corrupt and avaricious governments must be held accountable - same as ours actually!

And what do you propose for developing nations after the finite resources have been totally exploited by greedy Western nations who lack any semblance of integrity and who contaminate and pollute the crops, air, water and health of these people?

Depleting Mother Nature's waste repositories is no longer smart. She is indeed growing rebellious.

You see Bernie, it is those you defend, the ones with extremist ideologies, formed from avarice (and not from any sense of altruism) who remain in the Jurassic era.

The lack of foresight, the refusal to consider future generations and the endemic ignorance of irresponsible governments and corporations on anthropogenic atmospheric chemicals, has now seen an entire global movement objecting to the ongoing exploitation of this planet.

Let's face it Bernie old chap.......you and your ilk are fast becoming the minority.

Following are documents which you may like to peruse to find how our "good Australian based corporate citizens" are raping the lands of others.

PS: No need to apologise for your "errors" on Kwinana or for your omission to offer any positives to resolve the dilemma of the impotent and farcical regulations in this industry Bernie. I read you, man!

http://s3.amazonaws.com/corpwatch.org/downloads/Barrick_final_sml.pdf

http://www.cathnews.com/news/608/92.php

Reflecting on the current roles of the Commonwealth and State Ombudsmen in Australia, I seem to recall that recommendations made by these Ombudsmen must be presented to the Minister of the relevant portfolio for approval.

As a result, many of us could view the role of the Ombudsman as farcical and a waste of time. Some investigations have persisted for years whereby the Ombudsman's final recommendations are then rejected by a Minister.

The Energy Ombudsman in WA (gas and electricity), however, is perhaps the only one where his/her decision is binding, preventing any interference by a Minister.

Furthermore, I have been advised that matters before the Energy Ombudsman are expedited far more quickly than those complaints in other areas.

I am concerned that with the advent of a Mining Ombudsman for Australian mining activities overseas, the current status quo will apply where the Ombudsman's recommendations must be presented to the Minister for Industry and Resources for approval or rejection.

Political interference, therefore breeds a potential for a conflict of interest, lengthy delays in decision making and a possible unjust outcome for the people in other nations who have been adversely affected from Australian mining practices in their countries.

I would recommend that these concerns be considered, prior to the establishment of a Mining Ombudsman. One would need an assurance that the Ombudsman's decisions are binding and not manipulated by the political processes in our own country.