Ms BADGER – I am only new to parliament, I wasn’t around in the ’80s unfortunately, but I note some hostilities around Bob Brown’s coalmine and the sentiment around it – we absolutely need new minerals moving forward.
Dr BROAD – Coal power station.
Ms BADGER – Yes, sorry. Same, same, involving coal.
Ms FINLAY – Not quite.
Ms BADGER – We have new minerals. Will you rule out providing any more leases to anyone doing any kind of coal exploration in the state? Be that potential for a power station or mining of any sort.
Mr ABETZ – I doubt that there would be any request for a coalmine or for a power station. As I understand it, we do need coal for the making of cement at Railton. The question is, do we make our cement here in Tasmania, or do we import the clinker and other stuff from Thailand and elsewhere and belch out bunker fuel through the funnels of the ships as they bring it to Australia? This is always the balancing act. If you don’t want a wooden floor in your house, you might want one made of concrete. If you want that, you might need cement. Then the question is, where do you get your cement from?
I’m not willing to rule anything in or out, other than I can’t see anybody seeking a coalmine for the purposes of a coal‑fired power station given that we have such a wonderful history of hydroelectricity generation in this state and the suggestion that a coal‑fired power station would be a good idea, has long been rejected.
Ms BADGER – Absolutely. We should probably stop bringing it up now. Minister, what’s the average time that we’re seeing leases on the site say for the last decade that are pending approval? That, as we understand, are still valid, but that are listed as pending approval and are going through that process?
Mr ABETZ – Is that after exploration and seeking a lease or what sort of?
Ms BADGER – The ones that are listed on MRT’s site as pending approval.
Mr ABETZ – Right.
Mr MORTON – There’s always a number of tenements that will be pending renewal at any time. It’s important to note that companies can continue to operate, as I was saying before, under the act, while the assessment of the renewal is undertaken, they can continue to operate. On average, we take around three to six months for pending renewals. What we always do is prioritise new applications and transfers because the pending renewals, they can continue to operate. But three to six months is on average and we’re always looking at what we can do to improve those times.
