Wednesday, 18 July, 2007

by Alison Bevege
NT News

The tourism industry is under threat from uranium mining, an environmentalist has said.

No Waste Alliance spokesman Justin Tutty said tourism employed more people than the mining industry.

He said tourism offered sustainable long-term employment but uranium mining was subject to the whims of the market.

"Uranium mining offers long-lived radioactive waste which will remain at dumps and on mine sites long after the market bubble has burst," he said.

NT Minerals Council chief executive Kezia Purick said Mr Tutty's claims were rubbish.

"The mining industry is very sustainable," she said.

Ms Purick said the mining industry acknowledged that it was not a large employer because of the capital intensity of the industry.

"But the total contribution to the community and the economy far exceeds that of the tourism industry," she said.

Ms Purick said government treasury papers showed the mining industry provided 24 per cent of the gross domestic product of the NT while tourism contributed just 6 per cent.