A new Bill has been introduced to Parliament thatims to secure the ongoing rehabilitation of the Ranger Uranium Mine and the eventual return of the site to the Mirarr Traditional Owners.
The Atomic Energy Amendment (Mine Rehabilitation and Closure) Bill 2022 will amend legislation to ensure the mine’s operator – Energy Resources Australia (ERA) – completes mine rehabilitation and to guarantee the government will oversee the mine clean-up beyond 2026.
The Bill was introduced into the House of Representatives by Federal Minister for Resources and Northern Australia, Madeleine King, who said it is the first step to extending ERA’s authority to keep working on the rehabilitation until the work is complete.
“The Ranger Mine must be restored to a condition similar to the surrounding Kakadu National Park,” Ms King said.
“For such an environmentally, culturally and historically important region, only the highest standard of rehabilitation will do.
“The Bill will also enable progressive closing out of the site so areas which have been rehabilitated can transition back to underlying Aboriginal land tenure.
“This will allow Ranger’s Mirarr Traditional Owners to get on Country as soon as it is safe to do so.”
The Ranger Uranium Mine operated for 40 years until its closure in January 2021.
ERA – with the support of Rio Tinto – has committed to the long-term rehabilitation plans and has been continuously rehabilitating the Ranger Project Area since the 1990s.
Despite rehabilitation being well advanced in some areas, the full rehabilitation will extend beyond January 2026 – when the existing regulatory arrangements end.
The Atomic Energy Amendment (Mine Rehabilitation and Closure) Bill 2022 will ensure the regulatory framework is extended until the rehabilitation is complete.
Federal Minister for Indigenous Australians, Linda Burney, said the Bill has the support of the Northern Land Council and Gundjeihmi Aboriginal Corporation which represent the Mirarr Traditional Owners.
“Once this Bill is passed, I will be able to start negotiations on a new land access agreement with the Mirarr Traditional Owners,” Ms Burney said.
“While a full handover is still some years away, this legislation will give both ERA and the Mirarr Traditional Owners a line of sight for the land’s eventual rehabilitation and return.
“Ranger’s rehabilitation is a priority for all parties and we all look forward to seeing Ranger being a world-class example of mine rehabilitation.”
Once the new law is in place, several other measures will then follow so that rehabilitation work can extend beyond 2026, including the establishment of a new Rehabilitation Authority, and negotiation of a new land access agreement.
Debate on the Atomic Energy Amendment (Mine Rehabilitation and Closure) Bill 2022 was adjourned.
