Federal Nationals Member for Lyne Alison Penfold MP has welcomed the decision by MCi Carbon to relinquish its mineral exploration licences in the Manning Valley and congratulated Manning Against Mining Alliance (MAMA) and the local community for their determined advocacy.
The exploration licences, covering around 93 square kilometres within the Manning River catchment, were cancelled by the NSW Resources Regulator on 4 August after MCi Carbon applied to relinquish them on 1 July.
Ms Penfold said the decision brought welcome certainty for Manning Valley communities who had raised serious concerns about the proposal, including its proximity to Mt George, potential impacts on the Manning River catchment, and questions surrounding serpentinite exploration.
“This is a very welcome outcome for the Manning Valley and particularly for the people around Mt George who have lived with uncertainty about this proposal,” Ms Penfold said.
“I congratulate MAMA, its President Bruce Robertson, its committee, and the many local residents who have worked tirelessly to scrutinise this proposal and ensure the community’s concerns could not simply be ignored.
“I also thank my Nationals’ colleague, Member for Myall Lakes Tanya Thompson MP, for her strong advocacy on behalf of the community, as well as the crossbench members of the NSW Legislative Council who took up the community’s concerns and helped shine a light on this proposal.
“I was clear in my opposition to this project, and I have been particularly concerned by the lack of genuine consultation and the difficulty our community experienced getting straight answers about what was proposed and what its potential impacts could be.
Ms Penfold said she took these concerns directly into the Australian Parliament, raised questions about the project and sought to engage the Albanese Labor Government about Commonwealth support for MCi Carbon and the concerns being raised by the Manning Valley community.
“When taxpayers’ money is supporting projects of this kind, the Australian Government has a responsibility to listen to affected communities and ensure there is proper transparency and accountability.
“The Manning River is the lifeblood of our region. Protecting its catchment, our productive farmland and the communities that depend upon it must come before projects that cannot demonstrate that they have community confidence.
“It is disappointing that, after the concern and uncertainty created by this proposal, it appears the community was not directly informed by MCi Carbon of its decision to relinquish the licences.
“Once again, the Manning Valley community has demonstrated what can be achieved when local people stand together, ask hard questions and refuse to be brushed aside.
“This is their win, and MAMA deserves enormous credit for seeing this campaign through.”
