Mines Put Public at Risk, Shouldn’t Miners Be Paying for Cleanups?
It was announced during the Queensland state budget that an additional $2million per annum would be spent to clean up abandoned mines.
With this additional $2million, a total of $ 8million of taxpayers money will go towards correcting damage caused by the mining industry, including cleaning up some 15,000 abandoned mines around the state.
No person can be found to take responsibility for rehabilitation of these mines therefore they are left abandoned.
If mining companies or subsidiaries go bankrupt, sometimes the bond they have paid to the government is not enough to cover the cost of the clean-up.
The introduction of Chain of Responsibility provisions in the Queensland Environmental Protection Act mean that companies and their major shareholders can no longer hide behind subsidiaries to avoid rehabilitation costs.
Read more at http://www.dailymercury.com.au/news/miners-should-pay-to-clean-up-mess/3046692/