This week I brought the federal Shadow Minister for Resources, The Nationals’ Senator for Queensland Susan McDonald, to listen to farmers and miners about mining on prime agricultural land.

Senator McDonald and I visited a farm at Lalbert to hear from Mine Free Mallee Farms, opponents of the VHM Goschen mine. While VHM were not available to meet, we met with Iluka and Donald Mineral Sands during a visit to Horsham, more farmers at Rupanyup and with the 6th generation Anderson farming family affected by Iluka’s unresolved rehabilitation near Ouyen.

If you look on my Facebook at the aerial footage of the Anderson farm you can see how hard it is for miners to rehabilitate prime agricultural land.  Mining in other states of Australia tends to occur either on grazing land or in national parks, in Victoria and elsewhere, state governments propose allowing mineral sands mining in some of the nation’s best food producing areas.

Victorians may not realise that under centuries old state law, State Governments own minerals at any depth on any land, even on the surface, even under homes.  State Governments generally leave the top metre or so alone but if there’s resources near the surface – e.g. alluvial gold in creek beds or coal seams – the Government can compel landowners and homeowners to step aside and let a miner use that resource.  Some Mallee farmers are facing losing access to their homes for 40 years.

The Nationals, including Senator McDonald and I, support mining as it is a major driver for our economy.  When we start extracting minerals from prime agricultural land, the Andersons’ farm demonstrates that rehabilitation to full productivity has not occurred.  The Andersons’ productivity is 20 to 80 per cent less, and bear in mind the top 10 to 15 per cent of productivity is where farmers earn their income each year.  In short, mining has left the Andersons managing their own land without income.

I am working on ways we can have a win-win from mining and farming. I am 100 per cent focussed on maintaining our food security and farm productivity.