A Country Liberals insider says the party’s decision to follow the Labor government and oppose the Angela Pamela uranium project near Alice Springs was forced by the actions of Member for Greatorex, Matt Conlan.

The insider, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, says the Shadow Cabinet met in Parliament House at lunchtime on Tuesday last week.
There was some discussion about the uranium mine, but no decision was reached.
Mr Conlan left the meeting and without any mandate from the Cabinet, says the insider, gave an interview to ABC Radio, saying his party was also against the mine, a position the Labor government had taken earlier that day.
Part of the interview was broadcast that evening.
According to the ABC, Mr Conlan said if the Country Liberals were in power they would have made the same decision to scuttle the project, the proposed mine was too close to the town and did not have the support nor the good will of the community. 
Asked to comment, Mr Conlan told the Alice Springs News he would not breach Shadow Cabinet confidentiality and said: “We all came to a decision and we’re all in agreement.” 
That is a surprising statement as one Shadow Cabinet member felt compelled to contact the Alice Springs News and articulate disapproval of Mr Conlan’s actions.
However, John Elferink, former Member for MacDonnell and now for Port Darwin, says: “What happens in the Cabinet is confidential, but once a decision is made it is a decision of the Cabinet.”
He also says: “We treat the Angela Pamela issue as a unique decision and it will not change our policy or approach to any other mines.”
Mr Elferink said last week: “We are mindful of the reputation of the NT as a place to do business as a miner.
“We understand the way the industry may interpret a decision of this nature.”
The Arid Lands Environment Centre (ALEC), welcoming Mr Henderson’s decision, said it would “inspire other communities, not just in the Territory, but around Australia, that a campaign of concerted opposition can stop a uranium mine in their area. 
“A precedent is now set for the residents of Batchelor, neighbouring the Area 55 deposit, and the traditional owners of Bigrlyi near Yuendumu, and of Nolan’s Bore near Ti-Tree, as well as the many communities in Western Australia faced with uranium mining.”
Asked why he and not Opposition Leader Terry Mills had made the announcement, Mr Conlan said he had made it “during a press conference on a range of matters in my capacity as Shadow Minister for Central Australia”.
The News sought comment from Mr Mills but he declined, citing Cabinet confidentiality.
The events brought to at least a temporary halt an acrimonious issue that has split the community and has reached new lows in public administration, politics and debate.
ALEC described the planned mine as “dangerous and dirty” without offering any independent evidence in relation to the specific Angela Pamela project.
Says ALEC Project Officer Jess Abrahams: “The recent history of leaks, spills and accidents at other uranium mines both in Australia and overseas give us serious cause for concern. 
“A 2003 Senate Inquiry found the sector characterised by a pattern of underperformance and non-compliance, an absence of reliable data to measure the extent of contamination or its impact on the environment, an operational culture that gives greater weight to short term considerations than long term environmental protection. 
“Cameco’s own 2007 Annual Report documents 22 such accidents,”says Mr Abrahams. 
“The potential for contamination of the Mereenie aquifer via surface recharge at the Rocky Hill bore site from a failed or leaking tailings dam up hill at Angela Pamela is a legitimate concern. 
“The issue of water consumption for the mine is another, not to mention radioactive dust and radon gas from the open-cut pit blowing towards town. 
“All of these concerns have a scientific basis now vindicated by the Northern Territory Government and Opposition’s opposition to the mine.”
The Australian newspaper compared the Northern Territory with Panama, accusing the government of pulling the plug on the Canadian mining giant Cameco and its Australian partner, Paladin Energy, before “processes and hearings had been exhausted”.
The paper draws attention to the by-election on Saturday and quotes an analyst: “It shows you have to be careful in jurisdictions with a limited gene pool.
“The NT government is behaving more like a parochial local council” and he suggests the scuttling of the project may be a sop to the Greens, throwing them a sacrificial lamb to shut them up on the subject of uranium mining.
“Whichever way you cut it, Cameco is out of pocket big time,” says The Australian.
Paladin announced ominously that it is “considering its options in advance of further discussions” with the NT Government.
Chief Minister Paul Henderson’s announcement appears to have the effect of taking a major decision about uranium mining out of the Commonwealth’s hands.
Member for Lingiari Warren Snowdon said: “No action is required by the Commonwealth because there has been no request made by the NT Government to the Commonwealth to approve a mine.”
While ultimate approval of a uranium mine is in the hands of the Commonwealth, under a bilateral agreement the processes leading up to that point are the charge of the NT Government. 
With his announcement Mr Henderson has stepped outside of these processes, which in the case of the Angela deposit, are far from complete. 
Mr Snowdon says his own opposition to the mine is “well known”.
He also announced that the Federal Government has cancelled a study, promised during the election campaign, of the impact of Angela Pamela on groundwater supplies for Alice Springs.
“This study by Geoscience Australia would have ensured any future decisions were informed by science, as well as broader community concern.
“The study would have looked at proposed mining and processing methods at Angela, as well as assessing the groundwater and hydro geological characteristics and data for the area, reviewing baseline information such as water levels and quality, and identifying any knowledge gaps,” says Mr Snowdon.
Paladin CEO John Borshoff says he is surprised about Mr Henderson’s decision.
He says in 2008 the NT Government selected the Paladin and Cameco joint venture from 37 applicants as the preferred one, and the NT Government granted it an exploration licence.
“Relying on encouragement and positive support from the government Paladin pursued the joint venture in good faith … spending many millions of dollars.
“The project is still at the exploration phase and work has been progressing with environmental and hydrological studies,” says Mr Borshoff, and Paladin always expected the government would consider the project “on its merits”.
Another Paladin spokesman, when asked whether the company would sue the NT Government, said: “I could not possibly comment on that.”
Cameco Australia’s manager Jennifer Parks says the company was invited by the NT Government to explore the Angela Pamela uranium deposit south of Alice Springs.
As a result the company has spent “millions of dollars”.
Ms Parks says there has not been any discussion, at least so far, about demands for compensation if the work is stopped by the NT Government.
“We haven’t even discussed that with Paladin (Cameco’s joint venturer).
“We need to work out what our options are.
“We have not really considered compensation.
“We’d like to have a meeting with government first.”
That is likely to take place on Wednesday next week.
Ms Parks says Cameco has not closed its Alice Springs office and is still deciding on its options regarding Angela Pamela.
“We have not made that decision,” she said last week.
“We’re looking at what we want to do with the project. 
“All companies have a profile with different exploration and development strategies, time lines, economics, all sorts of things come into it.”
Ms Parks says, for example, in terms of exploration Cameco currently does more “green fields exploration” whereas its partner, Paladin, is more focussed on advanced projects.
Cameco’s multi-million dollar program so far has included completing two drilling programs. A third one is being considered. 
“Every phase of drilling gives information that helps with planning the next phase,” says Ms Parks.
There have been “no surprises”: the work to date has confirmed exploration results done by the German company Uranerz in the ‘70s and ‘80s.
Ms Parks says the company last year had independent market research conducted in Alice Springs which showed that the people wanting the mine and exploration were in a small majority.
Tourism Central Australia and the NT Chamber of Commerce has also done membership surveys, both showing a small margin in favour of Angela Pamela project (Alice News, September 30). 

U-lobby: It’s not over yet

The uranium industry wants a meeting with Chief Minister Paul Henderson over the future of the Angela Pamela and other NT uranium projects.
Australian Uranium Association CEO Michael Angwin says: “The established processes for assessing resource developments remain in place in the Territory, for all uranium projects. 
“Decisions in accordance with those processes still have to be taken.
“The Commonwealth is also involved in approving uranium projects in the Territory and we have full confidence the Commonwealth’s processes will be followed to allow decisions on the environmental and other merits of any uranium project, current and future.
“Notwithstanding the views expressed by the NT Government last week, we expect the Territory Government to stick to its own processes in future,” Mr Angwin says.