AT a time when many are advocating that landholders lock their gates to mining activities on their properties, a mining company in North Queensland has reversed that trend and controversially erected a fence and locked gate across an access road to a property near Georgetown.
The move by ERO Georgetown Gold – which a company spokesman said was necessary to meet workplace, health and safety obligations – has added greatly to the burden of drought-stricken graziers at Flat Creek Station supplementing 1000 breeder cows and calves.
Instead of a 45-minute drive to town, the property owners are now faced with a trip twice that over what is described as a rough four-wheel-drive track.
Property Rights Australia chairwoman Joanne Rea has called for the mining company to immediately unlock the gate, describing it as a deplorable animal welfare situation.
“The station must be given free access while the miner, the council and the Department of Natural Resources and Mines resolve the matter,” she said.
The road is understood to have been originally gazetted in 1918 but may have since been moved from that corridor to its current location, meaning that the question of providing road access is clouded.
The Etheridge Shire Council hadn’t responded to requests for comment at the time of going to print but a spokesman for Natural Resources and Mines Minister Andrew Cripps said the council was responsible for ensuring suitable road access to properties adjoining the relevant mining lease.
The spokesman said all issues pertaining to land access, including access to local council road reserves, were negotiated prior to a mining lease being granted.
In accordance with the Mineral Resources Act 1989, the mining leaseholder has a compensation agreement with the owner of the property covered by the lease and also has a signed compensation agreement with the Etheridge Shire Council that covers the surveyed road reserve.
“While the mining leaseholder did not advise the Department of Natural Resources and Mines about the construction of a fence and gate, and compliance notices were issued by the department, the broader issue of ongoing public access to Flat Creek Road is subject to significant debate,” the spokesman said.
“DNRM is aware that road access between Georgetown and Flat Creek Station is important for the day-to-day operations of the grazing enterprise and is doing all it can to achieve a swift resolution to this issue.”
A meeting between the mining leaseholder and the Etheridge Shire Council has been scheduled for October 28.
Joanne Rea said the action had shown the cavalier attitude of some companies to landowners and staff.
“With the volume of mining activity in the state perhaps some regulations need to be in place to ensure that landowners’ usual access is not blocked until one of equal quality and convenience is constructed,” she said.
In the meantime, an offer by the leaseholder to transport lick to cattle on Flat Gully Station via Flat Creek Road free of charge has been rejected, but only because caretaker Jan Utschink said she had made prior arrangements.
“The offer was made in lieu of pulling down the fence but that’s not a satisfactory outcome as far as we’re concerned,” she said.
