Opinions divided on uranium royalties

Opinions divided on uranium royalties
Posted Tue Mar 31, 2009 9:30pm AEDT
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/03/31/2531522.htm

The Ranger Mine is exempt from the Bill because it has its own deal with the Federal Government. (Reuters: Rio Tinto/David Hancock, file photo)
A Senate committee has heard from environmentalists who are opposed to changing the way uranium royalties are levied in the Northern Territory.
Hearings into the proposed changes started in Darwin this afternoon.
At present, the royalties are negotiated on a case-by-case basis, but the proposals would see royalties levied at 18 per cent of the mine's profits.
Conservation Foundation spokesman Dave Sweeney says the changes should give Aboriginal people the choice to oppose uranium mining on their land as well as addressing royalties.
"If the justification for this bill is that it will bring benefit to Aboriginal communities, shouldn't the first step be asking the communities if they want it?" he said. "Shouldn't that be the first question that is asked?
"Rather than assuming, rather than dictating, rather than imposing - ask."
Mr Sweeney told senators not to treat uranium like other minerals in the Northern Territory.
"Whilst [the Government] is trying to clear the decks and make uranium like any other mineral, we say very clearly it's not," he said.
"There is no other mineral linked with such significant weapons and proliferation and security risks.
"There is no other mineral that creates such long-lived waste. So it's not business as usual."
Meanwhile, traditional owners of the Ranger Mine land say the changes will compromise the livelihood of Aboriginal land holders.
Ranger is exempt from the Bill because it has its own deal with the Federal Government whereby the royalties are charged based on revenue.
Gundjeihmi Aboriginal Corporation spokesman Justin O'Brien says the revenue-based system is less risky.
"Whether or not the mining company is making a profit, traditional owners are making a profit," he said.
"Traditional owners receive an economic benefit because while that operation is happening, they are precluded from accessing their country.
"We would much rather a system whereby people received compensation for that rather than only receiving an income stream when the company is turning a profit."