Mideast Times
Giles' visit to Gove depends on Rio Tinto
Edited by : AL CIRCLE
2 min read
"The fate of Nhulunbuy continues to hang in the balance as the Northern Territory government and opposition trade barbs over who is responsible for the escalation of the situation.
Leader of the Labor opposition, Delia Lawrie, on Tuesday called for a censure motion of the government over the issue.
Nhulunbuy, a town of about 4000 people, is facing major unemployment if the diesel-run alumina refinery at neighbouring Gove is forced to close due to high operating costs and the low price of alumina.
In February, former Country Liberal Party chief minister Terry Mills announced a deal to keep the refinery open by releasing gas to help it with running costs.
It's operated by Rio Tinto subsidiary Pacific Aluminium (PacAl).
But last month, Chief Minister Adam Giles said the government never signed on to the deal to supply 300 petajoules of gas over 10 years and instead offered to supply 195 petajoules over 15 years.
During question time on Tuesday he said that before last August's Territory election, the Labor government said it would provide only 120 petajoules of gas to the refinery, and refused to allow PacAl to use coal power.
He said he offered the opposition a full briefing the day after he reneged on the deal, but said they wouldn't accept until Monday.
But Lynne Walker, Member for Nhulunbuy, said the opposition had declined because it wanted the briefing to involve the authors of the original report.
She said more than 1000 residents of her electorate had signed a petition calling on the government to resolve the issue, and repeated a call for the chief minister to visit.
In a statement to AAP, Mr Giles said he was negotiating with Rio Tinto and the federal government, and said a decision about the NT government's proposal rested with Rio Tinto.
""I will visit Gove when Rio Tinto has some good news,"" he said.
Leader of the Labor opposition, Delia Lawrie, on Tuesday called for a censure motion of the government over the issue.
Nhulunbuy, a town of about 4000 people, is facing major unemployment if the diesel-run alumina refinery at neighbouring Gove is forced to close due to high operating costs and the low price of alumina.
In February, former Country Liberal Party chief minister Terry Mills announced a deal to keep the refinery open by releasing gas to help it with running costs.
It's operated by Rio Tinto subsidiary Pacific Aluminium (PacAl).
But last month, Chief Minister Adam Giles said the government never signed on to the deal to supply 300 petajoules of gas over 10 years and instead offered to supply 195 petajoules over 15 years.
During question time on Tuesday he said that before last August's Territory election, the Labor government said it would provide only 120 petajoules of gas to the refinery, and refused to allow PacAl to use coal power.
He said he offered the opposition a full briefing the day after he reneged on the deal, but said they wouldn't accept until Monday.
But Lynne Walker, Member for Nhulunbuy, said the opposition had declined because it wanted the briefing to involve the authors of the original report.
She said more than 1000 residents of her electorate had signed a petition calling on the government to resolve the issue, and repeated a call for the chief minister to visit.
In a statement to AAP, Mr Giles said he was negotiating with Rio Tinto and the federal government, and said a decision about the NT government's proposal rested with Rio Tinto.
""I will visit Gove when Rio Tinto has some good news,"" he said.
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