The Australian Government is working to ensure the ongoing rehabilitation of the Ranger uranium mine adjacent to Kakadu National Park, as well as the eventual return of the site to the Mirarr Traditional Owners.
Minister for Resources and Northern Australia Madeleine King has submitted the Atomic Energy Amendment (Mine Rehabilitation and Closure) Bill 2022l to Parliament, which aims to amend the law to ensure that the government will continue to supervise the clean-up after 2026 and that the mine operator, Energy Resources Australia (ERA) will finish the rehabilitation.
The Bill will be the first step to extending ERA’s authority to continue working on the rehabilitation until the work is complete.
“The Ranger mine must be restored to a condition similar to surrounding Kakadu National Park. For such an environmentally, culturally, and historically important region, only the highest standard of rehabilitation will do,” Minister King said.
She stated that the Bill would also permit a gradual closure of the site, allowing areas that have undergone rehabilitation to return to their original Aboriginal land tenure.
“This will allow Ranger’s Mirarr Traditional Owners to get on Country as soon as it is safe to do so,” she added.
Operations at the Ranger uranium mine ended in January 2021, 40 years after it started.
With support from Rio Tinto, ERA has committed to long-term rehabilitation plans and has been progressively rehabilitating the Ranger Project Area since the 1990s.
While rehabilitation is well underway in some areas, it is clear that the entire rehabilitation will take place after the current regulatory arrangements expire in January 2026. The Atomic Energy Amendment (Mine Rehabilitation and Closure) Bill 2022 ensures that the regulatory framework remains in place until the rehabilitation is completed.
Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney said the Northern Land Council and Gundjeihmi Aboriginal Corporation, representing the Mirarr Traditional Owners, support the Bill.
“Once this Bill is passed, I will be able to start negotiations on a new land access agreement with the Mirarr Traditional Owners. 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,” Minister Burney stated.
Once the legislation is in place, measures such as establishing a new Rehabilitation Authority and negotiating a new land access agreement will follow suit so that the rehabilitation work can extend beyond 2026.
