Kokoda Track Foundation
Thursday February 7th, 2008
LAST UPDATED
Foundation urges caution on Kokoda Track mine
By Patrick Lindsay, KTF Chairman
The potential threat of irreparable damage to the environment from a massive open-cut copper mine on the Kokoda Track demands caution in the decision-making process involved in granting a mining permit, according to the Kokoda Track Foundation.
Speaking in Sydney, the Foundation’s Chairman, Patrick Lindsay, said today:
"We hope that the Papua New Guinea Government will not be stampeded into a hasty decision on the mine by the symbolic closing of the Kokoda Track by a group of landowners who hope to benefit from the mine."
"A massive open-cut copper mine on the Kokoda Track, as proposed by the Gold Coast-based exploration company, Frontier Resources Ltd, may benefit the owners of the land on which the mine is centred but could put at risk the livelihoods of thousands of other villagers who rely on the tourism drawn to the Track," Lindsay said.
The Kokoda Track is PNG’s greatest tourism attraction, bringing in around 25 million Kina annually. Villagers along the Track currently benefit from this income through the 6000 trekkers who, each year, walk in their footsteps of Australia’s WWII Diggers.
"The potential cataclysmic damage to the intricate rivers systems and delicate eco-systems of the region demands careful investigation", Lindsay said.
"The Australian Government’s Department of Environment is in discussion with its PNG counterpart on a possible joint application to secure World Heritage Listing for part of the Owen Stanley Range, including the Kokoda Track region.
"We hope the PNG Government waits until the impact of the proposed Frontier Resources Mine on such a listing is assessed before making any decision on its future."
...ENDS//
Further information:
Kokoda Track Foundation Chairman
Patrick Lindsay