Circular Head deputy Mayor John Oldaker speaks at the Our Tarkine Rally at Burnie. Picture: CHRIS KIDD
TEMPERS in the Tarkine are set to reach boiling point this summer if yesterday's pro-mining rally is anything to go by.
The anger was palpable as 3500 people in Burnie chanted and screamed for Canberra to let new mineral projects go ahead in Tasmania's Tarkine.
Premier Lara Giddings and Resources Minister Bryan Green struggled to be heard as the crowd booed their arrival on the podium at the Australian Workers Union-organised event. Ms Giddings was hit with a barrage of verbal abuse by an angry placard-bearer as she approached the stage.
The retired miner was forcibly held back as he yelled at the pair.
A lone conservationist who hid his face with a mask was told to leave the rally by police as the mood turned ugly.
The protester said he was not representing any group but had come to the rally in the name of free speech.
A loud cheer erupted as the protester left.
Circular Head Deputy Mayor John Oldaker dared conservationists, who have threatened to mount a campaign to rival the bitter Franklin protest, to "bring it on".
"Let them come. But let them be warned we are bloody angry," Cr Oldaker said.
"Why can't Tasmania share in the national mining boom.
"We need (federal) Environment Minister Tony Burke to pay attention to what is being said today."
AWU national secretary Paul Howes told the crowd that Tasmanians, and Tasmanians alone, should have the right to determine their own future.
"This isn't a state of rednecks but decent hard-working Australians who want a fair go," he said to applause.
He said the local community did not want a blanket World Heritage listing imposed over 450,000ha of land in one of the most heavily mineralised parts of Australia.
"There must be protection of high-value conservation areas but there must also be opportunities for much-needed jobs and investment.
"The existing mines in the area must be allowed to continue operating and new projects must be given a fair chance to get up and running."
Mr Howes said the proposed Venture Minerals mine near Tullah would generate about half-a-billion dollars in revenue, with much of this pumped in to the local economy.
A delegation will travel to Canberra on November 28 to deliver a petition to Mr Burke, who is yet to make a decision on whether the Tarkine will receive a national heritage listing which would complicate plans for any new mines in the region.
Mr Burke also has on his desk the final approval for Shree Minerals' proposed mine at Nelson Bay River near Temma, in the Tarkine.
West Coast Mayor Darryl Gerrity labelled the attitude of environmental groups such as the Tarkine National Coalition, which is driving the heritage-listing campaign, as selfish and Neanderthal.
Burnie Mayor Steve Kons said the rally represented a turning point in negotiations in Tasmania. "We no longer want to negotiate with fringe groups," he said.
"We are digging in our heels and telling them they can no longer dictate what happens."
Speaking in Launceston after the rally, Tasmanian Greens senator Peter Whish-Wilson disputed that the listing would have an impact on existing mines or mining communities.
"The message for Minister Burke today from Paul Howes was that Labor as a party should be putting short-term corporate profits and short-term jobs ahead of both the environment and long-term prosperity for Tasmanian communities," he said.
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