“

sure, there's a place for the Prius - but it's not in every driveway!

”

it's the pits!

after having to publish a disturbing list of just what's in the unauthorised waste pits they installed in the heart of the arkaroola wilderness sanctuary marathon resources say they've seen the error of their ways - and want to be allowed back to drill again!

NO! NO! NO!
to any re-run for marathon

Ugly pictures of piles of shoddily concealed waste dumped in plastic bags. (Read the company's own list.) Bulldozer tracks carved across hillsides. Heavy drilling rigs. Is this how we see our premier wilderness sanctuary? It's certainly how we're seeing it now!...

To see it yourself you need only visit the journal.

It's clear; Marathon Resources' exploration program at Mount Gee must not be allowed to recommence!

The State Government has - rightly - indefinitely suspended exploration activities pending the clean up of 35 tonnes of material - including radioactive rubble and general waste - disposed of in explicit contravention of the company's exploration lease.

But the Rann Government can no longer hide behind procedural technicalities in defending their ever having allowed exploration in this spectacular area in the first place. Nor can they shirk their responsibilities and pray the project goes away. They have to ensure that it does not recommence any of its damaging activities, and that it stops attempting to establish a mine in the heart of the sanctuary.

The company's current legal dispute with former CEO Stuart Hall has revealed that even the much-vaunted 'mega tunnel', that theoretically allows miners underground access from the adjacent plains leaving the core of the Sanctuary 'undisturbed' (an absurd idea in itself, but this is not my current point), is not necessarily a firm commitment! Slurry pipleines and heavy haulage routes across Arkaroola, anyone?

Even people as conservative as Senator Nick Minchin and Professor Ian Plimer thinks this is a terrible idea! How on earth could such an absurd situation ever have arisen?

rann must step in!

Premier Mike Rann must take the bull by the horns and step in, as he did when the same company tried to set up operations on the Fleurieu Peninsula in 2006.

Please e-mail Mike Rann, telling him so. Phone his office. Fax him. You don't have to say much at all - he knows what's going on. All you need to do is get it across his desk.

Just say the exploration program must be permanently halted.

You can mention the Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary's being inducted into the SA Tourism hall of fame last year. And it's winning the 2007 award for Ecotourism. And for Major Tourist Attraction. And Sustainable Tourism.

You can mention that this exploration activity is being undertaken directly adjacent to the internationally famous Ridgetop Track, along which the Ridgetop Tour runs.

You can mention that Mount Gee is an internationally significant geological monument - and that even this has been damaged in the course of the company's exploration activities.

You can mention that in that any reasonable interpretation of the legislation that makes this a Class A Environmental zone this deposit could never be mined anyway (least of all by those who have produced this kind of mess in the exploration stage!)

You can mention that this is your landscape, and you don't want to see it trashed by those who are blinded by dollar signs!

You can raise any number of other points raised in the journal, or by The Wilderness Society, or by the Sanctuary owners themselves.

He knows it all already. It probably won't hurt to remind him.

But most of all he needs to be reminded that the people of SA don't want mineral exploration in the heart of the Wilderness Sanctuary. Not now; not ever. Some gems are way too precious to mine. And way too valuable to account for.

The Premier The Hon. Mike Rann

e-mail: premier@saugov.sa.gov.au
Phone: 8463 3166
Fax: 8463 3168

slideshow of the month
- the mawson plateau

know your ABC

see the spectacular flinders ranges
via the flinders ranges feature pages:

visit the unknownsa feature areas page to see many other wild regions of south australia - or visit my ever-growing flinders ranges set of photographs on flickr
( try the slide show )

head to the coast

i've currently been commissioned to photograph adelaide's coastline for the adelaide and mount lofty ranges natural resource management board's coastal management branch

click here - or the photo above - to see the results on my flickr pages, or here to see it as a slideshow

undermining

we're all being told to celebrate the current mining boom, but what if it threatens some of our most pristine landscapes?

"We don't want a mine - of any description - on Arkaroola"

...and, if this is anything to go by, who can blame them?:

unfortunately i am not able to present the disturbing image of mineral exploration activities at mount gee

anybody who may be interested in the impact of this company's mineral exploration may like to examine the other shots in my 'arkaroola - would U mine it?' set, and particularly to look at the latest edition of the arkaroola wilderness sanctuary's own newsletter 'from the ark', detailing their case against the mine

the above 'we don't want a mine' quote comes from a press release issued by doug and marg sprigg, owners of the arkaroola wilderness sanctuary

did you know that uranium miners are currently targetting the sanctuary and the nearby foothills of the mawson plateau?

this highlights the fact that the state's most spectacular mountain wilderness is actually completely unprotected from mineral 'development' - and now incursions into the area are being sold to us as saving the environment through 'green power'!

take action: help run Marathon - would-be wilderness miners - out of the Arkaroola Sanctuary - click here
see the 'would U mine it? mount gee and the arkaroola sanctuary' photo set on flickr - also available as a slideshow

see the journal for more...

the heat is on...

global warming is the current number one threat to the south australian - and every other - environment

it's not only a matter of direct threat of warming and drought - it will exacerbate all the other threats our species face, and it's currently providing a rationale for uranium miners to attempt to access some of our most spectacular landscapes

see the campaigns page for more...

...cooling it

while personal decisions will be decisive in creating a sustainable future, our individual actions - no matter how worthy - won't be sufficient in themselves

we need to be regulated!

contrary to the prevailing notions on the australian's editorial page, winding back government power to interfere in the economy for the benefit of parties (other than shareholders) has been a disastrous mistake which we are only beginning to see the consequences of

see the campaigns page for more

 
you are welcome to use images and text from this site for any 'non-inimical'*, non-profit purpose, giving credit to bill doyle and the unknownsa site - and showing a web address and link if possible; I would appreciate notification of any such use

use of images in any commercial setting must be negotiated with bill doyle

all images are available in larger 'non-lossy' formats upon request [often considerably larger, and well suited to high-quality reproduction] - payment will be required in straight-forward commercial circumstances, but not generally for ngos and community groups - again, please contact bill

my work has been featured in numerous publications

i also take on contract photographic projects, and have undertaken extensive shoots on behalf of of the state government's department of environment and heritage and NRM board, and the wilderness society in SA - please contact me via the link above to get advice on my rates

*a 'non-inimical' purpose is one that is not contrary to the spirit of this site - graphics and text must not be utilised in any document or publication, including any electronic document, that attempts to promote or encourage mineral exploration, mining, or any other physically destructive exploitation of natural resources in any wild region