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Ms LEE RHIANNON: I direct my question to the Minister for Mineral Resources. Given the announcement that mining will commence on 27 March at the Lake Cowal cyanide gold mine at West Wyalong, what route is being used to truck the cyanide to West Wyalong, which communities will have cyanide trucked through them, and if the Government is unwilling to release this information why is the Government being so secretive about this issue?
The Hon. IAN MACDONALD: This matter would have been quite clearly dealt with in the environmental impact statement and related assessments. However, I want to deal with a couple of the issues raised in this question by Ms Lee Rhiannon. Often, I find the member's statements are somewhat exaggerated and certainly go beyond the actual facts. The member will find that issues related to the transport of cyanide and any material relevant to the mining proposal will have been well and truly covered in the environmental impact statement, so I believe such materials would be safe for transport. After all, similar substances have been used in the mining industry and other industries for many years for which protocols have been put in place to ensure the safety of the public.
Ms LEE RHIANNON: I ask a supplementary question. Considering that this information is not available in the environmental impact statement and that the Minister said he is confident it is safe, will he provide details of which route the cyanide will be trucked along and the basis on which he says the cyanide will be dealt with safely?
The Hon. IAN MACDONALD: In the near future I would be happy to release the appropriate information and make it available. However, all that will happen is that Ms Lee Rhiannon will rattle up every landholder in the area to say something deleterious will impact on them in a reinforcement of the "not in my backyard" syndrome. That is the way in which some people like to conduct enviro politics. I do not know how she will do it. Late last June I said I hoped that the web site of the Greens would be altered so the fish shown outside BHP Billiton, which allegedly were caught in the river, would be removed. As I pointed out to the House at that time, the site was around 100 kilometres inland and one does not find sea mullet, trevally or yellowtail up there. The fish were officially detected in a photograph and identified by our scientist. When I release the appropriate information on the mining site I hope Ms Lee Rhiannon does not treat it with the same disrespect for the truth. I inform the honourable member that this matter falls largely within the ambit of the Minister for Planning. I will refer her question to him.
The Hon. JOHN DELLA BOSCA: If honourable members have further questions, I suggest they place them on notice.
Questions without notice concluded.
[The President left the chair at 1.02 p.m. The House resumed at 2.30 p.m.]