ARKAROOLA & THE MYTH OF BALANCE

In an attempt to dress up its decision to allow mining exploration to proceed in the Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary the SA Government has produced a glossy document 'Seeking a Balance.'

It makes for depressing reading.

Not only is the document afflicted with bureacratic waffle -  "the need to further refine the existing management and regulatory framework for ongoing resource activities" - its core premise is also deeply flawed. The notion that there is some happy point of balance to be found between uranium mining and conservation within a Wilderness Sanctuary, reflects a profund misunderstanding of wilderness concepts and practise.

In the case of Arkaroola this mythical balance point is magically created by fragmenting the landscape into four different categories of 'access zones.' Of these there are more than 30 different zones marked on the map. The zones don't correspond to any natural or cultural divisions in the landscape. In truth they are simply a device to allow the discredited Marathon Resources to set up shop in the very heart of Arkaroola's spectacular highlands. By splodging some bright colours on a map to represent the various zones, the Government would have us believe they are simply trying to be 'balanced.'

This, of course, is rubbish. The reality is that the eventual mine site would be smack bang on the path of Arkaroola's acclaimed Ridgetop Tour. It would destroy the vistor experience and the integrity of the region as a declared wilderness sanctuary - a status it has enjoyed for more than 40 years. Wilderness, by it's very nature is an entity; something that can't be hacked into little pieces. To do so would be like saying 'here's the MCG - we'll just take away this back pocket and that forward flank and give you the rest."

Any argument that, because mining exploration has happened here deep in the past it should be allowed to continue, ignores the many changes of recent decades. Not just the changing attitudes to conservation. Or even the hard-won efforts of the Sprigg family - and others - to protect Arkaroola. But most of all the changing community involvement with this landscape, it's history and culture, the way it has been embraced as a region to explore and cherish.

Not that 'Seeking a Balance' gives much weight to the richness of the experiences enjoyed by thousands of overseas and Australian visitors. There's no mention of people as such or campers or bushwalkers or families. Instead, the document reduces the discussion to souless, dehumanising  terminology like "landscape values."

Even on economic grounds, it can be argued that the long-term benefit of preserving Arkaroola as tourism destination, community employer, scientific resource and wilderness drawcard far outweigh any short-term gains from yet another mine. SA already has two uranium mines and many others soon to start - but there will only ever be one Arkaroola.

Now is the time to have your say. Public comment is required by 19 December and can be addressed to:    jason.irving@sa.gov.au

And here's the plea from Marg & Doug Sprigg:


"We are appealing to all Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary friends and supporters to please examine this document very closely and to note that whilst some areas of the northern Flinders Ranges, in particular Mawson Plateau, are being afforded total protection, the majority of important Arkaroola sites are not.
We only have until 19 December 2009 by which to submit objections / suggestions to this proposal.  This could be our last chance to save the Arkaroola Sanctuary from mining and we ask everyone to carefully consider the matter and to please make written submissions in accordance with page 18 of this report."

HOLLOWMAN HOLLOWAY?

For the latest non-news in the unconscionable treatment of Arkaroola and its natural wonders see here. That the SA Government and it's Minister for Mineral Resources should dither around for so long betrays a crippling failure of leadership, vision and basic logic.
Paul Holloway talks legal argy bargy when what's needed is a clear decision to protect one of the State's most significant environmental and tourism assets. Not just that but he also goes for a gold medal in duck shoving: "The challenge for Marathon Resources—in fact, for all explorers in this region—is to show how the mineral and energy resources can be extracted from this region in a manner that preserves the environmental and scenic values."
No, sorry Minister, the real challenge here is for the SA Government is to carry out its duty to defend a properly established and internationally acclaimed wilderness santuary. The idea that any mine could be put within Arkaroola's highlands without affecting their integrity is simply laughable. And besides, don't we in SA already have more than enough mines, alternative uranium deposits, geothermal projects etc, etc to be going on with?
For more on the whole fandango see Bill Doyle's site.









Doug & Marg Sprigg, operators of Arkaroola Sanctuary with a geological mosaic put together by their father and sanctuary founder, the late Reg Sprigg.

MARATHON FARCE

You've got to wonder what kind of Kool-Aid they serve in the Marathon Resources lunch room. As if the cack-handed attempts to explore for uranium - and dump exploration waste - at Mt Gee were not bad enough, this mob are now trying to bumble their way back into Arkaroola on various pretexts, sending out assorted notices , press releases etc. The whole sorry saga is shaping as a text book case of how not to conduct yourself professionally with Governments, Ministers of the Crown, Government agencies, the mining industry, landholders, the media, conservation groups, shareholders and members of the public. For the full story visit Bill Doyle's extensive summary at UnknownSA or Mike Parnell's site.

AND NOW THE GOOD NEWS

Two bits of good news - both long overdue - for Arkaroola in the far northern Flinders Ranges:

Firstly from their website: Great news! Since 14 November, a total of 100.8mm (about 4 inches or 400 points) of rain has fallen over Arkaroola. As at today (12 December), the Arkaroola Creek is still running 0.5 metre deep and young seedlings are coming up everywhere - Marg reports that if you concentrate, you can even see a slight tinge of green!

Secondly, it's reported the mining exploration waste dumped in Arkaroola by Marathon Roesources is now 'cleaned up' - see story. Now all that's required is for the government to put the kybosh on any further exploration or mining in the sanctuary.

YET ANOTHER ROCK-SOLID REASON TO PROTECT ARKAROOLA

Ever since my first Arkaroola bushwalk in 1976 the place has always seemed special, different and just a little bit, well, strange. The rocks and terrain were like nothing else in the Flinders. As the years have passed, this intuition seems to be borne out by all sorts of scientific news.

The latest bulletin is coming up this Thursday at Melbourne Uni’s Selwyn Symposium, when scientists will reveal the discovery of an ancient underwater reef high and dry near Arkaroola. Dating back 650 million years, this priceless relic contains new evidence of lifeforms that were bopping about in the oceans during the climatic bunfight known as the Neoproterozoic.

And this in the same week that Greens MP Mark Parnell and other parties, including perhaps the Libs, move once again to ban uranium exploration and mining in Arkaroola.
Here’s hoping the powers that be finally recognise Arkaroola is much too valuable as a scientific treasure and tourism icon to turn it into another hole in the ground. We've got plenty of mines in SA and more on the way. But there's only one Flinders Ranges - and there's nothing else on earth quite like Arkaroola.

(UPDATE 29 September: The Melbourne Uni team's reef discovery has created a wave of publicity for the area, with coverage from local media to the international press. What really seems to get the headline writers revved is the notion of the start date for animal evolution being pushed back by 80 million years.
This is even more astonishing, given that Arkaroola's tourism pioneer Reg Sprigg was the last person to redefine this frontier in a big way with his work on the Ediacaran fossils.
Arkaroola has been known for its geological wonders for a long time and while it is true that some mining and exploration has happened here in the past, the idea of a large-scale mine being thrust into the heart of this significant landscape is unthinkable. Any government that went down this path would create a national and international scandal.)

COULD ARKAROOLA BE MINED, ALL MINED ?

What happens when a company dumps 22,800 bags of mining waste in a Wilderness Sanctuary? Hefty fines? Criminal proceedings? A ban on further operations?

How about none of the above.
That's the scenario with mining company Marathon Resources and the mess it created drilling into Mt Gee in Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary. After several months of ballyhoo, the SA government has asked for the waste to be cleaned up and . . . well, actually, that's all they've asked. To catch up with the saga see Bill Doyle's blog and Greens MP, Mike Parnell's site.

The Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary - including Mawson Plateau - is some of Australia's greatest arid high country. The place is a geological wonderland and a biodiversity stronghold. Even allowing commercial mineral exploration in the heart of these ranges is bizarre enough. But to contemplate full-scale mining here would be a crime against nature - and commonsense. Even Liberal Party hardnut Nick Minchin agrees with that - see story and this one.

(The top pic above shows Arkaroola, looking southwest across Mt Painter; the shot above looks due west towards Freeling Heights.)

THE FLINDERS IN 3D (June 2008)
A somewhat surreal experience being wedged in a tiny theatre watching Tim Baier's images of Arkaroola in the northern Flinders Ranges. All those bright horizons and vast spaces appearing in a darkened room. Adding to the strangeness was the fact that we the audience were wearing 3D glasses to savour the effect of Tim's dual camera work. As a result the images had a richness of detail and perspective that was startling and a bit unnerving as well. There were some stunning effects with rock textures and wildlife as well as the landscape shots. At times the grander images with a big depth of field made the scenery seem eerily diminished, like something out of toytown or a episode of Gumby. Still, it's early days and there's no denying the incredible solo effort he has put in. For me the story behind the making of the images was almost as fascinating as the pics themselves - another example of how wild country can fire up individuals to do inspired work.

Speaking of Arkaroola, in the first week or so June they had 39mm of rain, the first decent falls for some time. That's some welcome news for the good folk at Arkaroola who have been grappling with the proposed mine at Mt Gee